Vanishing America

Picture your ideal city: Does it include acres of big-box stores, identical strip malls and unbroken stretches of parking lots long enough to double as jetport runways? No? Then perhaps you should check out Michael Eastman's new book of photography, Vanishing America: The End of Main Street Diners, Drive-Ins, Donut Shops and Other Everyday Monuments. The product of numerous trips across the country, Vanishing America documents the idiosyncratic architecture we're plowing under and replacing with prefab boredom. Eastman's photographs pay homage to the rhapsody of ramshackle and bring dignity to down-at-the-heel. Tonight at 7 p.m. at Left Bank Books (399 North Euclid Avenue; 314-367-6731 or www.left-bank.com), Eastman signs copies of his book and discusses his work. Admission is free.
Mon., May 19, 2008