It’s that time of the year again.  I’m going thru all 2500+ pages of my website and removing/replacing dead links to external websites and checking all those Google Street View maps in my descriptions to see what’s changed.  I’ve only just begun and found all kinds of interesting and heartbreaking things.  I might as well share the pain & news with you guys since my friends & family do not understand the importance of these things.  I expect to be busy all winter with this project so there will be multiple posts as I go.

But before I dive into that — some other recent roadside events on the front of my mind that might be of interest.  All photos taken by me unless credited otherwise.  The long-abandoned Pig Stand in Beaumont, TX was just demolished.  Here’s a photo from 2011:

More info about the place here:
http://www.roadarch.com/eateries/txdi.html#Pig2

The Fresno Motel sign in Fresno, CA was removed a few weeks ago — one of my photos from 2013:

The good news is that someone’s got it.  Someone got a photo of it tied securely down to a flatbed truck and being taken off to who-knows-where.

A former McDonald’s building and sign in Los Angeles were just demolished.  Okay, so, both had been remodeled quite a lot but still.  Here’s what the sign looked like in the end:

This sign would have looked like this originally:

That leaves the McDonald’s sign of its kind left in Pomona, CA:

The Peter Pan Motel sign in Santa Cruz, CA was recently demolished.  It crumbled and broken into a million pieces as it was being removed.  The Museum of Art in town was going to rescue it just before the tragedy occurred.

More sadness — the Moon Winx sign in Tuscaloosa, AL is up for sale:
http://www.al.com/news/tuscaloosa/index.ssf/2016/09/iconic_tuscaloosa_moon_winx_lo.html

But there is lots of good news out there.   Restored neon signs in Sacramento, CA are now on display:
http://www.comstocksmag.com/web-only/vintage-neon-signs-light-golden-1-center 

The Roto-Sphere in Memphis was taken down and thorough restored this summer (my photo from 2010):

The Roto-Sphere in Salt Lake City was also taken down and completely restored about a month ago (my photo from 2014):

And mixed-bag news — The Charcoal Oven in Oklahoma City closed but the gigantic sign was at least saved:
http://newsok.com/article/5517786

my photo from 2012:

I’ll be back tomorrow with another post — the first of many — with findings from my website updating.  If you care or dare to try to keep pace with me, I’ve updated these sections so far:  Soda Bottling Plants, Paul Bunyan Statues, and Greyhound Bus Stations.  All find-able at the Main Page:
http://www.roadarch.com/roadside.html

Happy Trails (real or virtual),

dj