Rolando Pujol (The Retrologist)
@rolandopujol.bsky.social
Author, “The Great American Retro Road Trip.” Pre-order wherever you buy books!
The @empirestatebldng.bsky.social is decked out tonight in honor of Good Morning America’s 50th anniversary!
November 2, 2025 at 10:38 PM
The @empirestatebldng.bsky.social is decked out tonight in honor of Good Morning America’s 50th anniversary!
Ever stop at Roadside America on I-78 in Pennsylvania? The miniature village closed five years ago, but you can now scoop up memorabilia from it at an auction. More in my latest jam-packed newsletter:
rolandopujol.substack.com/p/rare-chanc...
rolandopujol.substack.com/p/rare-chanc...
September 29, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Ever stop at Roadside America on I-78 in Pennsylvania? The miniature village closed five years ago, but you can now scoop up memorabilia from it at an auction. More in my latest jam-packed newsletter:
rolandopujol.substack.com/p/rare-chanc...
rolandopujol.substack.com/p/rare-chanc...
Traces of the lost Twin Towers around NYC: open.substack.com/pub/rolandop...
September 11, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Traces of the lost Twin Towers around NYC: open.substack.com/pub/rolandop...
MetroCard not going down without a fight!
August 21, 2025 at 2:49 AM
MetroCard not going down without a fight!
Love Lucy? You'll love her hometown of Jamestown, New York! Let's take a Retrologist tour on what would have been her 114th birthday! rolandopujol.substack.com/p/exploring-...
August 6, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Love Lucy? You'll love her hometown of Jamestown, New York! Let's take a Retrologist tour on what would have been her 114th birthday! rolandopujol.substack.com/p/exploring-...
Dear friends, this is one of those pinch-me moments, the realization of a dream. I walked by The Strand Book Store tonight off Union Square and saw an ad for my book signing in the window! I invite you to join me this Wednesday at 7 pm at The Strand www.eventbrite.com/e/rolando-pu...
July 1, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Dear friends, this is one of those pinch-me moments, the realization of a dream. I walked by The Strand Book Store tonight off Union Square and saw an ad for my book signing in the window! I invite you to join me this Wednesday at 7 pm at The Strand www.eventbrite.com/e/rolando-pu...
Meet me at The Strand Book Store in NYC Wednesday night at 7 for a book signing and chat about “The Great American Retro Road Trip”! Hope to see you. Tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/rolando-pu...
June 29, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Meet me at The Strand Book Store in NYC Wednesday night at 7 for a book signing and chat about “The Great American Retro Road Trip”! Hope to see you. Tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/rolando-pu...
Rainy night, nifty neon make for Manhattan magic | 6/16/25
June 17, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Rainy night, nifty neon make for Manhattan magic | 6/16/25
While poking around central Florida researching “The Great American Retro Road Trip,” I encountered the Yalaha Bootlegging Co. in Yalaha, Florida. I present this photoworthy roadside quirk in honor of National Moonshine Day! rolandopujolbook.com
June 5, 2025 at 6:35 PM
While poking around central Florida researching “The Great American Retro Road Trip,” I encountered the Yalaha Bootlegging Co. in Yalaha, Florida. I present this photoworthy roadside quirk in honor of National Moonshine Day! rolandopujolbook.com
The World’s Smallest Buc-ee’s, an art project along Highway 90 in southwest Texas. Featured in my book, “The Great American Retro Road Trip.” Preorder here: www.hachettebookgroup.com/landing-page...
May 26, 2025 at 1:03 AM
The World’s Smallest Buc-ee’s, an art project along Highway 90 in southwest Texas. Featured in my book, “The Great American Retro Road Trip.” Preorder here: www.hachettebookgroup.com/landing-page...
Arthur Treacher’s has just opened a new standalone store, and the owner is looking to expand. Did you ever eat at Arthur Treacher’s back in the day? rolandopujol.substack.com/p/by-jove-ar...
April 13, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Arthur Treacher’s has just opened a new standalone store, and the owner is looking to expand. Did you ever eat at Arthur Treacher’s back in the day? rolandopujol.substack.com/p/by-jove-ar...
Vignelli’s Revenge: Just spotted the new “retro” NYC subway map, the first overhaul since 1979 and a bold embrace of the geometric 1972 Massimo Vignelli map I’ve long admired.
April 3, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Vignelli’s Revenge: Just spotted the new “retro” NYC subway map, the first overhaul since 1979 and a bold embrace of the geometric 1972 Massimo Vignelli map I’ve long admired.
The MetroCard is almost dead. This 50th Street No. 1 train newsstand is already dead. But this sign for the MetroCard hangs on, an accidental museum piece and curiosity in our “tap and go” world of getting around down below.
March 29, 2025 at 2:55 PM
The MetroCard is almost dead. This 50th Street No. 1 train newsstand is already dead. But this sign for the MetroCard hangs on, an accidental museum piece and curiosity in our “tap and go” world of getting around down below.
Happy Valentine’s Day! How beautiful and achingly perfect was the now shuttered home of Cupid’s Hot Dogs, in Northridge, California. I stopped by not long after it closed, leaving me with an empty stomach but a full heart. This store opened in 1964 and almost made it to its 60th birthday. 💕
February 14, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Happy Valentine’s Day! How beautiful and achingly perfect was the now shuttered home of Cupid’s Hot Dogs, in Northridge, California. I stopped by not long after it closed, leaving me with an empty stomach but a full heart. This store opened in 1964 and almost made it to its 60th birthday. 💕
On this snowy night, it was Delite-ful to see the warm neon of the Delite Bake Shop. A staple of Yonkers, New York, for over 80 years, Delite recently reopened after an electrical fire.
February 3, 2025 at 2:56 AM
On this snowy night, it was Delite-ful to see the warm neon of the Delite Bake Shop. A staple of Yonkers, New York, for over 80 years, Delite recently reopened after an electrical fire.
Talking Apple Trees should be mandatory at every McDonald’s. This one in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, gets it right.
January 25, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Talking Apple Trees should be mandatory at every McDonald’s. This one in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, gets it right.
The ABC broadcast center in New York included "Twin Peaks" on a display of classic shows that aired on the network. RIP David Lynch.
January 16, 2025 at 10:32 PM
The ABC broadcast center in New York included "Twin Peaks" on a display of classic shows that aired on the network. RIP David Lynch.
A sweet vintage Wendy’s in Sunnyside, Queens, complete with sensational sunroom.
January 16, 2025 at 5:42 PM
A sweet vintage Wendy’s in Sunnyside, Queens, complete with sensational sunroom.
The social-media holiday gods inform us that today is National Bagel Day, so let’s celebrate at a former donut place. Bellflower Bagels, in the Southern California city by that name, was once a donut shop, part of the Big Do-Nut chain, with Randy’s the most famous example.
January 15, 2025 at 11:08 PM
The social-media holiday gods inform us that today is National Bagel Day, so let’s celebrate at a former donut place. Bellflower Bagels, in the Southern California city by that name, was once a donut shop, part of the Big Do-Nut chain, with Randy’s the most famous example.
This epic Arby’s sign in Phoenix has been wrangling customers hankering for the meats since December 1968.
January 14, 2025 at 3:12 AM
This epic Arby’s sign in Phoenix has been wrangling customers hankering for the meats since December 1968.
Pizza Land in North Arlington, New Jersey, since 1965. And 26 years ago tonight, Jan. 10, 1999, Tony Soprano first passed by here on the first episode of “The Sopranos.”
January 11, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Pizza Land in North Arlington, New Jersey, since 1965. And 26 years ago tonight, Jan. 10, 1999, Tony Soprano first passed by here on the first episode of “The Sopranos.”
Jeopardy! joined the WABC-TV Channel 7 lineup 40 years ago today -- Dec. 31, 1984 at 4 p.m. Here's our first ever spot for Jeopardy!, which we initially paired with Name That Tune.
December 31, 2024 at 3:36 PM
Jeopardy! joined the WABC-TV Channel 7 lineup 40 years ago today -- Dec. 31, 1984 at 4 p.m. Here's our first ever spot for Jeopardy!, which we initially paired with Name That Tune.
Nothing quite like a Manhattan newsstand to capture a moment in time and the import of a big story, like the death of Jimmy Carter.
December 30, 2024 at 8:58 PM
Nothing quite like a Manhattan newsstand to capture a moment in time and the import of a big story, like the death of Jimmy Carter.
Last call tonight for the Subway Inn. 1937-2024. The owners hope to resurface early next in Brooklyn or Queens. I'll drink to that!
December 29, 2024 at 1:48 AM
Last call tonight for the Subway Inn. 1937-2024. The owners hope to resurface early next in Brooklyn or Queens. I'll drink to that!
Merry Christmas from #BigSanta at the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, New Jersey. He first visited here in 1957, vanished in the 1980s until returning for merriment in 2018! And that’s a little snow on his boot!
December 25, 2024 at 9:31 PM
Merry Christmas from #BigSanta at the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, New Jersey. He first visited here in 1957, vanished in the 1980s until returning for merriment in 2018! And that’s a little snow on his boot!