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Last week, she returned from a promotional tour for her second book, Motel California, a celebration of the themes, design, and culture of the Golden State's myriad motels.
"There were a number of motels that were designed by notable architects, and I think a lot of people are surprised by that," she says. Not content with just documenting the industry's astronomical mid-century boom, "I ask myself about historical context and the cultural context."
"My passion is for commercial architecture rather than residential," she explains, listing among her favorite architects John Savage Bolles, John Carl Warnecke, and Edward Durrell Stone. "If you look at my playing cards, most of the featured buildings are commercial."
That deck of cards, called 'Bay Area Modern,' has suits representing San Francisco, San Jose, the Peninsula, and East Bay/Marin, all extant structures—except the Jokers, which are "buildings that are gone but I don't think should be."
In between books, David finds time to devote to her current passion, San Jose signage, authoring a recent guide booklet, The San Jose Signs Project (through the San Jose Preservation Action Council), to support what she said is now "a bit of a movement."
"I'm really lucky to work with some talented people," she conceded of designers Rob Keil and Lisa Wangsness, who donated time to design her playing cards and sign projects booklet respectively, as well as the designer of her two books, Benjamin Shaykin.
Ever one to root for the underdog, David said preserving neon signage is getting more support these days, but "I kind of feel like somebody has got to be advocating for plastic."
That's Heather David, willing and dedicated enough to champion as uncool a material as mid-century plastic.