Background
Michael Karl Witzel was born on January 22, 1960 in New Jersey, United States. His parents were Karl D. Witzel and Gabriele Witzel, an illustrator.
Tarrant County College, Tarrant County, Texas, United States
Michael Karl Witzel attended Tarrant County College.
701 S Nedderman Dr, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
Michael Karl Witzel attended the University of Texas at Arlington.
Tarrant County College, Tarrant County, Texas, United States
Michael Karl Witzel attended Tarrant County College.
701 S Nedderman Dr, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
Michael Karl Witzel attended the University of Texas at Arlington.
(The American Gas Station is a nostalgic history of the se...)
The American Gas Station is a nostalgic history of the service station and the American car culture it helped create. An exceptional chronicle of the birth of roadside architecture, the development of gasoline pumps, corporate trademarks, and gas station memorabilia.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760712409/?tag=2022091-20
1992
(Photographs and text depict the history of the folklore, ...)
Photographs and text depict the history of the folklore, architecture, and food of drive-in restaurants throughout the country
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879389192/?tag=2022091-20
1994
(Traces the history of the American gas station, and looks...)
Traces the history of the American gas station, and looks at stations, attendants, gasoline pumps, containers, signs, and premiums
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879389257/?tag=2022091-20
1994
(Interstates have largely replaced the old Route 66, "the ...)
Interstates have largely replaced the old Route 66, "the Mother Road" that was the main connector between Chicago and Los Angeles for so many years. In this richly illustrated portrait of the old route, Witzel showcases an amazing variety of diners, motels, roadside attractions, and pictureesque scenery, plus historical photos, contemporary shots of now defunct locations, and period ads.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076030114X/?tag=2022091-20
1996
(A nostalgic trip back to the great drive-in restaurants o...)
A nostalgic trip back to the great drive-in restaurants of the 1950s and 60s. Drive-ins from across the United States are featured in fascinating archival photography as well as new photos of still in-use restaurants. Illustrations include period advertising, memorabilia, juke boxes, great new photography, and historical shots.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760302111/?tag=2022091-20
1997
(Put on your chinos, comb back your hair, hop in your deuc...)
Put on your chinos, comb back your hair, hop in your deuce coupe, crank up the radio, and prepare to cruise! This light-hearted look back at the social and cultural activity spawned by the automobile is filled with historical photographs, new color photos and specially commissioned artwork by artist Kent Bash. A lively text examines all aspects of this popular past time, including classic cruising venues like Detroits Woodward Avenue, street racing, cruisers versus the law, popular music, cinema and television.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760301484/?tag=2022091-20
1997
(While traveling to diners across the US, author Michael K...)
While traveling to diners across the US, author Michael Karl Witzel assembled a heaping mound of history and a plate-full of colour photography that celebrates and examines an American institutions architecture, memorabilia, current restoration efforts, and role in pop culture.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760301107/?tag=2022091-20
1999
(A compendium of America's favorite soft drink, this is an...)
A compendium of America's favorite soft drink, this is an entertaining account of the product that helped define the term "pop culture". A compendium of America's favorite soft drink, this is an entertaining account of the product that helped define the term "pop culture".
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0896584542/?tag=2022091-20
1999
(Taking their name from an amalgamation of the words motor...)
Taking their name from an amalgamation of the words motor and hotel, motels were conceived in the 1920s as roadside lodges for motorists who increasingly set out on vacations by car. As such, the motels development has largely paralleled that of the automobile. Michael Karl Witzel examines the evolution, architecture and decor of the motel in all its forms.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760301018/?tag=2022091-20
1999
(All aspects of bygone gas stations lore, from globe-toppe...)
All aspects of bygone gas stations lore, from globe-topped pumps to long lines.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760307407/?tag=2022091-20
2000
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0681626836/?tag=2022091-20
2003
(Until Jamestown was established, nothing in North America...)
Until Jamestown was established, nothing in North America grew taller than the native forests, grasses, and mountains. Beginning in 1620, the settlers who plowed the indigenous sod also dotted the virgin landscapes with towering, stately structures, the likes of which had never before been seen on the continent. This photo/essay treatment of barns in America is arranged by the five distinct roof styles that have largely come to define American barns, presenting six 20-page spreads detailing the Dutch, bank, crib, round, and prairie styles. The result captures the pastiche of rural America through stunning photography, conveying everything from stone barns in hard-scrabble Maine to thoroughbred barns in the lush bluegrass regions, to traditional Gambrel-roofed red barns in the Midwest.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760316082/?tag=2022091-20
2003
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760317720/?tag=2022091-20
2003
(In this book Michael Witzel shares his expertise and weal...)
In this book Michael Witzel shares his expertise and wealth of personal, archive, collector, and contributing photographer images in these pages, offering a nostalgic tour of the charms and oddities of this road through American cultural history. Starting in Chicago and running to Santa Monica, this book highlights the sights along the highway with historic and current photos in then-and-now pairings, and includes Route 66 postcards, road signs, trinkets, maps, brochures, and advertisements.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760329788/?tag=2022091-20
2007
(This book is the first to explore American barbecue’s reg...)
This book is the first to explore American barbecue’s regional roots. Mike Witzel takes readers on an eye-opening (and mouth-watering) tour of the histories, techniques, culture, competitions, traditional side dishes, and classic hot spots associated with barbecue’s four major regionally based styles.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004PLNRR8/?tag=2022091-20
2008
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FTPSWTJ/?tag=2022091-20
2018
Michael Karl Witzel was born on January 22, 1960 in New Jersey, United States. His parents were Karl D. Witzel and Gabriele Witzel, an illustrator.
Michael Karl Witzel attended Tarrant County College and the University of Texas at Arlington.
Borrowing his father's Yashica Lynx 35mm rangefinder camera, Michael Karl Witzel began experimenting with photography - dabbling in the creation of hand-colored images and mixed media paintings. Inspired by pop artists Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Hamilton, and Roy Lichtenstein, he set forth to forge his own aesthetic.
To support his art and writing endeavors, he pursued a career in engineering, literally starting “on the drawing board” as a technical illustrator - honing his spatial design skills using ink pens on mylar. Ultimately, his career path took him to greater heights as a structural designer for a major commercial aircraft manufacturer. Over the next twenty years, he mastered various computer-aided (CAD) design systems and traversed the United States as a hired gun, working high-profile assignments at numerous aerospace companies.
As he criss-crossed the United States, he developed an enduring love for the road, its history, food, architecture, and the pop culture of travel - leading him to produce his classic roadside America book titles. At the same time, his creative muse continued to call from around the next bend, inspiring him to channel his energies into new works of art, influenced by his nomadic life on the road.
Michael Karl Witzel's articles and photographs have appeared in numerous periodicals, including American Heritage of Invention & Technology, Motorhome, Volkswagen World, Texas Highways, Rider Magazine, New World Outlook, Mobilia, Check the Oil!, Chickadee, Horseman, Texas Co-Op Power, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and Route 66.
The first edition of his non-fiction best-seller "The American Gas Station: History and Folklore of the Gas Station In American Car Culture" was published by Motorbooks International of Osceola, Wisconsin in 1992.
Witzel continued to chronicle American car culture with "Gas Station Memories" (1994) and "The American Drive-In: History and Folklore of the Drive-in Restaurant in American Car Culture" (1994). An eclectic history of the "Mother Road", "Route 66 Remembered" (1996) came next, followed by the MBI Enthusiast Color Series Drive-in Deluxe (1997).
His more recent book project “Strange 66: Myth, Mystery, Mayhem and Other Weirdness on Route 66” was published by Quarto Publishing Group USA in October of 2018.
Today, when Witzel is not busy working on his novels or designing new prototypes of tomorrow's aircraft, he continues to create an exciting array of photography, mixed-media paintings, collage, and three-dimensional installations for a receptive following. His work resides in public and private collections in the United States, Germany, Denmark, and Canada.
(Put on your chinos, comb back your hair, hop in your deuc...)
1997(While traveling to diners across the US, author Michael K...)
1999(In this book Michael Witzel shares his expertise and weal...)
2007(Taking their name from an amalgamation of the words motor...)
1999(Interstates have largely replaced the old Route 66, "the ...)
1996(A compendium of America's favorite soft drink, this is an...)
1999(Traces the history of the American gas station, and looks...)
1994(Photographs and text depict the history of the folklore, ...)
1994(Until Jamestown was established, nothing in North America...)
2003(The American Gas Station is a nostalgic history of the se...)
1992(All aspects of bygone gas stations lore, from globe-toppe...)
2000(A nostalgic trip back to the great drive-in restaurants o...)
1997(This book is the first to explore American barbecue’s reg...)
2008Michael Karl Witzel has been a member of the International Petroliana Collectors Association, Society for Commercial Archeology, and American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA).
Michael Karl Witzel is married to Gyvel Young.
