No Lie, This Party on Pinocchio Drive Put the "Mod" in Mid-Century Modern

Danny Hurley

Saturday afternoon, I picked up the boy from a schoolmate's house that sits across Pinocchio Drive from the mid-century modern masterpiece that, I discovered later, belongs to graphic designer Carlos Cardoza. Normally I'd never knock on a stranger's door to inquire about the doings within -- then again, most houses don't have a Big Boy statue installed next to the backyard pool, all clearly visible from the street. I had but one question for Cardoza, who generously invited the missus, the boy and myself inside for a tour, to which he replied: Yes, as far as he knows, that is the Big Boy that used to sit at the corner of Marsh and Forest Lanes. I spent the better part of my childhood climbing on that very statue, God rest Kip's checkered soul.

As it turned out, Cardoza and his partner were prepping for the night's shindig: a Mod party for which invitees were to turn up decked out in their retro best. Since Danny Hurley knows both Cardoza, sort of, and the Mod set, most definitely, I asked him to shoot the soiree for Unfair Park. The timing was most fortuitous: Cardoza told us the house appears in the Summer 2009 issue of Atomic Ranch magazine, which should hit newsstands today. And, sure enough, yesterday the Portland-based magazine posted to the Web this sneak preview.

Danny's slide show is here. So very, very, very jealous.