This will be a quickie post since this was a slow roll home and there were only a few pre-determined stops.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t shoot the sunny side of this one in Paso Robles because of that pole directly behind it.  Noted to return in afternoon…

A former TraveLodge sign in Paso Robles.  Here’s a postcard of the same location showing what the sign looked like originally.

A rusty crusty from Paso Robles.  You can see the patched tubing holes indicating that this sign had neon at one time.  It was originally the Trees Motor Lodge and the sign probably a pretty paintjob:

The Paso Robles Inn Coffee Shop roundy-ness continues inside with a round counter:

 

Let’s take a break from the signs for the giant milk bottle in Templeton which was restored last year.  The bottle originally advertised for the Rossi Dairy along Highway 101.  It is now located at the Templeton Historical Museum Society.  Here’s a photo that I took of it in 2014:

and now:

Last stop for this post — in Santa Cruz.  For those of you familiar with the nicely restored sign at MONA (Museum of Neon Art in Glendale) which came from the Green Frog Market in Bakersfield, this sign will look familiar.  The MONA sign:

And here’s a twin sitting outside a yoga studio.  There were several Green Frog Markets but I didn’t know there were identical signs and that any others had survived before I found out about this one:

 

I will be back before you know it with lots and lots of posts.  I’ll be on a major roadtrip for the month of June and will be shooting like a maniac in Arizona, New Mexico and (mostly) Texas.

Until then, Happy Trails!

dj & the dogs

This is a quickie post since it was a day short on shooting.  The Neon Symposium fell pretty much in the middle of the day and I wanted to allow plenty of time to find parking to have the dogs nearby.  This was my first real foray into public speaking as well other than the presentations I do at work.  I brought lots of facts & photos & was, of course, very organized.  But so as to not screw up and get the most info in, I pretty much read the whole thing.  Maybe I’ll be more relaxed next time.  It went well and I met a ton of very nice people (and I don’t like people!).  The other presentations were all completely fascinating and inspiring as well.  You gotta GO next year!

Anyhow — let’s start with this nice pair in Oakland.  They appear to be recent replicas:

 

And now on to San Francisco.  Too bad about the protective, plastic box:

For the rusty/crusty fans:

This guy is inside Miller’s East Coast Deli on Polk.  Sorry about the lights:  the sign is on top of shelf & difficult to shoot:

And lastly — I never get to shoot this wonderful plastic sign at the right time of day.  Always tree shadows.  I’m a little worried that it might disappear.  Note the deteriorating, rusting bottom panel which might tear away at some point soon:

One more day & post to go.  Lots of nice photos from today over at my Flickr account:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

G’night,

dj & the dogs

 

 

I was very sad to see another sign defaced.  This one in Vallejo still had neon until at least last summer.  My photo from 2014:

And now….

 

These embossed Schwinn signs used to be everywhere — now there are just a few scattered around the country.  The one is in Fremont:

I stopped by Bell Plastics in Hayward to see a few of Bruce’s new acquisitions.  This fiberglass boy with a burger is a mystery to both of us.  I suspect it was a one-off since I’ve never seen one before:

 

Bruce just got this guy from Moody, AL.  These Pioneer statues were produced by International Fiberglass, the makers of so many recently so-called “Muffler Men.”  More about their Pioneer statues at this page at my website:
http://www.roadarch.com/giants/ifother3.html

You might notice the half globe on the left.  Yep, Bruce has also got an Atlas statue or two now.  He’s got a lot of restoring to do!

This towering sign is also in Hayward.  If you’re curious about the cool building next door, I’ve got info about Caspers Famous Hot Dog locations here:
http://www.roadarch.com/eateries/hotdogs2.html#Hay1

Moving on to Oakland.  I’ve never been able to catch this sign in full sun.  My last photo from 2015:

And now… Another one destroyed with backlit plastic:

I’m so glad that this florist sign in Oakland is still hanging in there — even though there’s now a coffee shop below it (Black Spring Coffee Company):

And then it was over the bridge to San Francisco for Day 1 of the three-day Neon Symposium.  An incredible gathering of neon sign fans & experts.  If you missed it, mark your calendars for this time next year & get tix early (it sold out this year).  This was the first of, hopefully, many more to come:
http://sfneon.org/

I’ll probably be back tomorrow night with Day 3 of this trip.  In the meantime, don’t forget about the some other photos from this trip over at Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Good night,

dj & the dogs

A busy weekend of shooting & schmoozing.  The Neon Speaks Festival and Symposium took place Fri, Sat & Sun in San Francisco.  It was simply fantastic.  If you are into neon signs and you didn’t make it, there are plans to do it again next year.  Mark your calendars to check in at the website in maybe March of next year so you can get tix (sold out this year):
http://sfneon.org/

I took Thursday off to get up to the Bay Area & grab photos on the way.  The first few hours in the Bakersfield area, the sky was one big cloud — making for crappy photos.  So, these will have to do for now until I can revisit & reshoot.

This one was recently restored but, unfortunately, the panels & neon are covered with plastic protection.

 

A couple of places on the Bakersfield/Oildale border:

 

A blasted out sign & what seems to be 1960s-era drive-in:

I don’t know how long the place has been Young’s Drive-in.  The crappy rooftop food signs were added in recent years:

Moving on to Fresno — and sun for the rest of the trip!  This arrow sign is at Jim’s Chinese Restaurant:

A couple more signs from Fresno:

And this modern sign is awfully cute — at Pismo’s Coastal Grill:

 

In Carmichael — this bowling alley has been demolished.  I don’t know how much longer this sign will be there.  Plastic signs don’t get no respect.

A close-up of the flames:

From Madera —  for you rusty/crusty fans.  From the shape, I’m betting that the “MOTEL” panel was originally painted as logs:

Lots more to come from this four-day weekend trip.  Probably back with another post tomorrow night.

dj & the well-traveled dogs

I just got back from a little two-day trip to San Diego, the desert, and a little bit from east of L.A.  I would’ve stayed longer but the sky became one big grey cloud and the forecast was for nothing better the following day.  The dogs got to run in city parks, dirty sand, and among Joshua Trees and cactus.  I subsisted on lemon cake, bananas, and lots of coffee.  Oh, and since I was passing through Westmorland — a wonderful date shake.  It was HOT.  I tested Sparkle’s AC  for a few hours and it seemed to work fine. Hoping the best for the big 4-week trip to Texas in June!

Let’s start with San Diego.  The Corvette Diner a bunch of vintage (and not so vintage imposters) displayed inside.  This one is differently vintage.  Although I have my doubts about the neon swirl on the right:

A couple of Chevrolet “OK” signs.

This Dr. Pepper sign might be vintage-ish.  Not sure.  Possibly, the neon added later:

This “5 Cents a Dance” window “skeleton” sign tubing looks vintage to me:

Only partially lit but a classic Rexall sign.  I don’t know where this one was installed originally.  I’ve got five pages of Rexall signs from around the country here:
http://www.roadarch.com/signs/rex.html

The restaurant moved to this location in 2009.  At the old place, this muscleman panel (no idea where he came from) was installed on top of the text panel.  The ceilings are not as tall here, so the sign is displayed in two pieces:

I was disappointed to find these game machines blocking the animated bowling sign.  Here’s how it was displayed at the old place:
http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/dsought/media/bWVkaWFJZDoxODU2OTM5Nw==/?ref=

 

Back out into the real world (away from the loud 1950s music, screaming kids, etc.)  I went to see this sign at Chito’s Shoe Repair new location (which is  few years old now).  The owner had a semi replica made when the City would not allow the original sign to be moved.  This one has different colored tubing but it was never animated.   The tubing is installed on a piece of plastic which is installed in the window (therefore, the glare – sorry). The neon worked for awhile but no longer.

The  original sign hangs above a coffee shop now.  When it finally came out of storage after restoration, it was lit at night.  But I’m told that it no longer is.

 

Bye-bye sun.  I shot some things anyway for now.  These two signs are in La Mesa.

There’s another  Baskin-Robbins sign like this one in Hollywood.  I don’t know of any others:

 

After the San Diego area, I headed over to the deep desert border town of Calexico since I missed shooting a few things the last time I was there.  This sign is probably not all that old but merits blog-inclusion.  I’m guessing 1970s?

 

In El Centro:  Originally, the Imperial Motel, later Imperial Apartments:

 

On to San Bernardino for a bit before giving up on the grey and heading home.  One Stop Liquor:

And, next door, a painted over classic Rexall sign (like the one at the Corvette Diner shown above).  From the orange & navy porcelain peeking through at the lower left, I’m betting that this hideous grey paint can be removed and the sign would be as good as new.  Those tube light bars above facing both panels were standard for a lot of these Rexall signs.  I’m sure the neon versions cost more money and this method was also easier/cheaper to maintain:

Lastly — this place is still open.  The wiring is unfortunate, but hey…

I’ll be back in a few weeks with photos from the Bay Area.  I’ll be speaking at this action packed three-day Symposium in San Francisco — details and tickets here:

For more photos from this weekend’s trip (the purtier ones), head over to my Flickr account.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

dj & the dogs
RoadsideArchitecture.com