Friday, May 1, 2015

Painted Bricks: Evangelo's, Santa Fe New Mexico

Over on one of our other blogs, we posted this item:

Painted Bricks: Evangelo's, Santa Fe New Mexico:



Tavern sign for Evangelo's in Santa Fe, New Mexico, featuring the famous Life Magazine cover photograph of Angelo Klonis, the founder of the tavern. The late Mr. Klonis was a soldier during World War Two when this photograph of him ws taking by Life photographer Eugene Smith.  Konis, a Greek immigrant, opened this bar in his adopted home town in the late 1960s, at which time his identify as the soldier photographed by Smith was not widely known.
We also posted this on our blog Some Gave All.

There's some interesting things going on in this scene, that are worth at least noting.  For one thing, we have an iconic photograph of a U.S. soldier in World War Two, which is often mistaken for a photograph of a Marine given the helmet cover, appearing on the sign for a cocktail lounge in 2014.  Sort of unusual, but the fact that it was owned by teh soldier depicted explains that.

Note also, however, the dove with the olive branch, the symbol of peace.  Interesting really.  Perhaps a reflection of the views of the founder, who was a Greek immigrant who located himself in Santa Fe, went to war and then  came back to his adopted home town.

All on a building that is in the local adobe style, which not all of the buildings in downtown Santa Fe actually were when built.

I don't know what all we can take away from this, but it sends some interesting messages, intentional or not, to the careful observer.

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