The Hideous Duo

 

Here's a pair of Arvin 5561s. This design reminds me of late fifties predisposition for excessive design and ornamentation.

This flamboyant styling is also seen in cars of this period; large tail fins, heavy chrome bumpers, flashing and ornate trim. 

 

The green one, called "Mist Green" is exceedingly rare.

The pink one is easier to find than the green one although it too is rare among clock radios of the fifties.

This model was not very popular probably due to its somewhat larger size and angular orthogonal styling. 

If this radio broke, you could reuse the grills to make waffles!

 

Adorned with presumptuous misleading names that offer lofty promises but deliver less, this design brings to mind the dingbat architecture and design motifs from the mid century period.

Definition: A dingbat is a type of formulaic apartment building that flourished in the Sun Belt region of the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, a vernacular variation of shoebox style "stucco boxes". Dingbats are boxy, two- or three-story apartment houses with overhangs sheltering street-front parking.

Names like:

This photo is from "Slums of Beverly Hills," a movie from 1998. Can you guess the car? It's a 1975 Buick Oldsmobile 98.

Here are more Dingbats:

"Stoner Apts.," the residence of choice for the sophisticated, and the well-heeled crowd of Los Angeles. 

"The Starlet," where actresses of the golden era of cinema live out their final years in private but affordable luxury. Note the gall bladder shaped swimming pool in the residence sign in front and the scantily clad bathing beauty which, presumably, is a likeness of many of the tenants of the building.