Capital Improvements, 1984

TEOA is very pleased to publish Jeff Meikle’s introduction to Mark Goodman’s Capital Improvements. Written in 1984-85 on a Kaypro 2 computer and then filed away for almost thirty years, this wonderfully evocative essay captures a great deal about Austin in the 1980s that remains true.

Jeffrey L. Meikle is the Stiles Professor in American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Meikle’s research interests as a cultural historian include industrial design and technology, visual representation in popular print media, and alternative cultures from 1950 to the present. His books include Twentieth Century Limited: Industrial Design in America, 1925-1939; American Plastic: A Cultural History; and Design in the USA.