Should it Stay or Should it Go: Vintage Page

Should it Stay or Should it Go: Vintage Page

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San Diego Historical Society (right)

Can I take your pulse for a minute? I am staring at this month’s Vintage page, in which we run an old photo of some place in San Diego, and then give a little history. I love it. It’s fun to research and I like learning about my city. …It never gets old, heh heh.

But I’m second-guessing the decision to include a feature like this. A black-and-white image with text that is essentially old news feels somehow, well, dated in a magazine that focuses on what to do this weekend and where to go and what to eat.

This month’s subject, Highway 101 looking down on Torrey Pines State Reserve, is a very familiar, beloved view for me. This is the area I grew up in. When I saw this historical image, I was shocked at how different everything looked (yet was still recognizable). I mean, four traffic lanes! At first, my editor Erin gave a little Kayla Maroney—not impressed.

Should it Stay or Should it Go: Vintage Page

So, do we keep the page? Is it cool? As we used to say at Glamour, is Vintage a DO or a DON’T?

Secondly, if it’s a DO, should we show the present day image? I always love a Before & After, but if everyone knows what it looks like now, the image might be superfluous. Also, the black-and-white looks even more ancient and so-last-century when next to a modern-day pic.

Thoughts? As always, I appreciate your feedback!