I’ve got a nice big post for you. Let’s start with this sign in Atchison, KS. It must have been a stunner at one time with neon and better paint. The store is now a pawn shop and vape store. The storefront below suggest jewelry store but I find no evidence of that online — other than that Rudolph’s was renting musical instruments in the 1950s and selling handguns in the 1970s:

This motel/restaurant in Kansas City, KS has been abandoned for decades. I couldn’t stir up any vintage color photos but there’s this tiny/fuzzy image from the 1960s:

The Crest Motel in Kansas City, KS was built in 1951 and this sign is presumably from then. The remaining bits of neon were removed around 2012:

This shopping center in Kansas City, KS was built in 1961 and the sign must be from then:

This former Safeway in Kansas City, KS has housed a church since at least 2007. I believe there are only two other Safeway spear signs like this left (Independence, MO and Vancouver, BC):

This sign in Kansas City, Kansas appears to be from the 1930s. The “1928” date refers to the business’ downtown location. There was another huge horizontal sign which was removed late last year or earlier this year:

Moving on to Johnny’s Tavern in Lawrence, KS. This cute beer mug sign is likely from the 1960s:

These crude, changeable letters at the Liberty Hall in Lawrence are intriguing. I can’t tell if they are metal or ceramic. Obviously, they have/had backlit glass. The bottom letters appear to have plastic inside. I can confirm from recent photos that the letters are all still lit at night:

This sign at the Ag Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, KS hasn’t changed much since it opened around 1964:

This sign is at the former Tastee-Freez in Olathe, KS. It’s still there despite several other name changes and even though the building with the sawtooth roof is vacant now:

This Crown Drugs projecting sign in Kansas City, KS is now in storage at the Midwest Sign Company in Kansas City, KS. Now that the sign is down, you can see where the “D” and “S” would have been. I suspect that the fascia letters had the “D” and “s” originally and were just moved closer together when the rug business moved in. My photo from 2010:

Midwest Sign has about about two dozen other vintage signs in storage — including this nice Eagles Lodge sign:

The White Haven Motor Lodge in Overland Park, KS was built in 1957 and this sign is from then. It closed in 2010 and the restored sign is now displayed inside the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center in Overland Park:

A very rare McDonald’s sign in Kansas City, KS:

There’s also a beveled letter plastic sign on the building. I’ve never seen such a huge mansard McDonald’s before:

Moving on to some buildings. This one in Leavenworth, KS originally housed the Perry L. Black Oldsmobile Cadillac dealership when it was built in 1940. It now houses a vape store. The original neon sign is supposedly underneath the Herken’s sign.

This former gas station in Fairway, KS was built around 1961, possibly as a Sinclair. The building housed a pizza place recently but is now an ice cream/coffee shop:

Homer’s Drive Inn in Leavenworth, KS started out as a root beer shack with car hops in 1931. It moved to this building in 1938 which was remodeled in 1962:

The Rio Theatre in Overland Park was built in 1946. It closed in 2020 and is now being restored:

Mad Jack’s Fresh Fish in Kansas City, KS is a two-fer with a castle-style building and a fiberglass catfish chef:

This bear statue in Stilwell, KS waves to cars on Highway 69. It was built in 1979 for a realtor and was painted brown originally. It has been in this backyard since at least 2009 and is often dressed in Kansas City Chiefs or Royals jerseys:

This termite and ants are located at this exterminator office in Shawnee, KS:

This former Sirloin Stockade bull was installed in a strip mall in Olathe KS last year. It came from Wichita. More examples of these bulls at my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/critters/bulls2.html

This midcentury modern bank is in Lawrence, KS:

This house in Lenexa, KS was built in 1986 and consists of two giant cubes. The locals call it the “Dice House:”

Lastly, this former gas station in Atchison, KS with this iceberg-like facade was built in 1930. Around 2021, it was painted this horrible gray (previously white):

Even more Kansas soon.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

It’s been a few weeks, I know. I was sidetracked with a trip up to San Francisco for the NeonSpeaks live presentations and then the virtually watching/presenting myself last weekend. If you love signs, you are definitely missing out if you haven’t been part of it. It’s been going on since 2018, so chances are, they will be doing it again next year. Flag your calendar for mid-September.

www.neonspeaks.org

On the way up to SF, I took a couple of days off from work to shoot things in Central California & the Bay Area. Once I catch up with this summer’s trip, I’ll add those photos to my website and post some other shots here.

Now, back to Kansas. Let’s start off with some Salina, KS signs. This pair of directional signs point the way to two motels in town:

Let’s have a look at the two motel pole signs that they direct you to. The Starlite Motel on the left was quite lovely when I shot it in 2010:

But around 2021, the neon was removed and it was repainted — here’s a Google image (couldn’t bear to shoot it myself on this trip):

By the way, this top of the sign in Minneapolis has the same design and lettering. I don’t know if it built by the same sign shop (unlikely) or one of the sign’s was inspired by the other. Note that the Salina sign was not built with the “Swiss cheese” holes below but has a readerboard instead:

The Airliner Motel is still hanging on:

This ghost sign is also in Salina. It’s an odd place for one but at least its protected from the sun now:

This faded beauty is in Belleville, KS:

This bookshelf mural is on the side of the library in Clay Center, KS:

This sign in Sabetha, KS is pretty bland looking at this point with its missing neon, hand-painted letters, and Christmas tree bulbs. The shade from the surrounding trees made the sign look even drearier. The letters originally read “Koch’s.” I can’t find any vintage photos but I assume that was also a pointing arrow at the top:

This rusting temperature clock in Holton, KS hangs on the side of what appears to be a former garage:

The Cedar Court Motel sign in Clay Center, KS is half-covered now:

From a vintage postcard – note that, at some point, the neon on the nicely-painted tree was removed and text panel was replaced with a corrugated plastic panel:

But these two signs on the motel’s restaurant building remain intact:

I believe this towering palm tree sign in Salina was built in 2004. The restaurant has closed so I don’t know what will become of this sign:

This sign is in Clay Center. I can’t find any vintage images or postcards to show whether the “MOTEL” panel was ever neon:

This sign is in Hiawatha. The little “TV PHONE” panel originally had an “AAA” endorsement:

This sign in Mankato is probably from the 1960s:

There was another sign there in the 1950s – I can only find a tiny image of it:

The Post Rock Motel in Lincoln, KS was still quite nice when I shot it in 2010:

Last year the neon was removed and replaced with plastic letters and the middle panel with a graphic display box:

The Porter Hotel in Beloit, KS was built in 1939. By the 1950s, it had an L-shaped sign above, an Art Deco looking canopy sign, and a neon Coffee Shop sign on the side of the building:

In 1989, the building began housing the Porter Apartments. In 2004, the name was changed to the Porter House Apartments. These signs were apparently either built in 1989 and adapted — or built in 2004 when the name changed:

The Ute Theatre in Mankato, KS dates back to 1905. I don’t know what the original sign and marquee looked like but these were there by 1982 when John Margolies took this photo:

By 2009, those had been replaced with the current signs. The older version had a much nicer, painted face. This looks like laser-generated vinyl:

This bowling sign in Belleville, KS was built in 2021:

Let’s wrap up this post with a few buildings. This Art Deco Courthouse is in Mankato, KS:

Some details from another Art Deco stunner: The United Building in Salina, KS:

The Fox Watson Theatre in Salina, KS opened in 1931. It’s now known as the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts. The top two levels of this tower and the spire were damaged by lightning in 1954 and recreated in 2020:

And a couple of former gas stations. This sweet former cottage station in Brookville, KS has rocks and/or petrified wood details — long vacant:

This big canopy station in Marysville, KS must be from the 1920s. It is now used by the Pepsi distribution center across the street:

Be back soon with more Kansas.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Let’s start with a few “rusty crusty” signs that gratefully are still out there. This one is in Dodge, City, KS and the business is still operating:

The Curtis Cafe in Stafford, KS opened in 1946 and this sign might be from then. It closed in 2012 and the building remains vacant:

Carl’s Furniture in Hutchinson, KS is also long-closed:

When this drug store in Anthony, KS moved to its current location, I’m assuming they couldn’t hang this as a projecting sign and had to stick it on the side of the building:

This backlit plastic sign is installed there under the canopy next to the entrance. VERY few of these left around the country:

This one is in Hutchinson, KS and the business is still open:

The Ken’s Pizza chain was established in 1961 in Tulsa, OK. It grew to around 100 locations in the Midwest by the mid-1970s. This location in Hutchinson, KS opened in 1978. This backlit plastic sign with beveled letters is probably from then:

That location also has a neon sign which was built in 1993. It is/was animated:

The Rolla-Rena Skate Center in Pratt, KS opened around 1945. It became Rolla-Rena in 1988. The owner got these two signs from a skating rink in Great Bend, KS. The neon sign was put on two tall poles so that it can be seen from the highway:

This vacuum form plastic sign there was built in the 1980s. It also came from the Great Bend rink:

This bowling alley in McPherson, KS was built in 1961 and this sign is probably from then. There was a readerboard where the graphic display is now until around 2017:

This drug store in Kingman, KS had a much nicer sign with vacuum form panels until around 2018:

They kept the sign frame but those panels look pretty boring now:

This stained glass sign in Anthony, KS hanging above a vacant space which probably housed Marshall Jewelry prior to 2008 (located next door now):

Let’s turn to some statues. These were built by Richard Brown in the early 1990s in front of his home in Hutchinson, KS. He passed away in 2004 and the dozen or so statues are getting pretty funky at this point. Big no trespassing signs which I, of course, ignored:

This cowboy statue in Dodge City, KS was built from 1927-1929 and represents Joe Sughrue. It was created from a plaster casting of Sughrue who nearly died in the process when the straw through which he was breathing collapsed. The statue was restored in 2015:

Let’s wrap up with a few buildings. This facade in Dodge City, KS for the city’s newspaper was added around 1930:

This former faux windmill building is in Hutchinson, KS. It was built in 1939 for the Dutch Mill bar. In the late 1970s or early 1980s, it was moved to its current location. All four windmill blades were still there in 2007. Up until around 2020, there were still three left, albeit in bad shape. Alas, now without any, there’s no indication of the origins of this building. Maybe someday, they can be restored. The building has housed a hair salon since 2011:

This former Sinclair gas station is in Medicine Lodge, KS. Whenever you see a building like this with the little tile details, Art Deco posts, window and door frames, and the diamond and bar relief patterns, you can be sure that the building was a Sinclair. Although not all had the diamonds/bars. There are still hundreds of these stations out there all over the country, usually still with their canopies:

The Sandy’s Hamburgers chain was established in Peoria, IL in 1958. By 1968, there were 100 locations in different states. Only about a dozen of these unique buildings survive, most very remodeled like the one in Salina, KS below. Note the original wood beams, giant glass canted windows, and plaid tiles (Scottish themed). More about the chain and the survivors at my website:

https://www.roadarch.com/eateries/sandys.html

The Salina location is now a Mexican restaurant. There’s hope that behind all that crappy paneling that’s been there for decades are the original and restore-able beams:

I’ll be back soon with even more Kansas. I have about a week’s worth of photos still to crop/tweak and add to my website.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Let’s start off as we usually do with a batch of signs. The Ayr Lanes, now Billy’s Ayr Lanes, is in Liberal, KS.

If bowling signs are your thing, I’ll be doing an article about them for the SCA’s Spring 2024 issue:

https://sca-roadside.org/sca-journal/

and I’ve got 9 packed pages at my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/sca/bowling.html

A former Jack & Jill supermarket in Lakin, KS. There are very few of these cute signs left:

Ruder’s Draperies & Interiors in Liberal, KS has been closed since at least 2008 but this sign remains:

The pheasant on this sign in Sublette, KS apparently had animated wings originally:

The top of this sign in Meade, KS may have been inspired by the classic Burger Chef sign. The building originally housed a Dairy Queen (much modified now):

I can’t find any vintage images of this sign in Hugoton, KS but I’m sure it had neon. There are now raised plastic letters on the top panel:

Also in Hugoton — there are two decent signs at the Jet Drive-in:

This Dillons Food Mart chain sign is in Garden City, KS. Most of the Dillons neon signs have been replaced with backlit plastic letters:

I’m 99% sure that this former gas station in Fowler, KS … :

… was shot by the late, great John Margolies in 1979 and was simply misidentified as Cimarron, KS. The alterations to the bay next to the office suggest so (added door in exact same place):

This building in Garden City, KS was originally a Ku-Ku Hamburgers:

Although the sign is long gone and a box was added to the front of the building, the peaked roof and zig-zags on the side are still there. The only location still open is the Waylan’s Ku Ku in Miami, OK. For photos of that one and others, see my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/eateries/ffood5.html#Waylan

The Frigid Creme in Dighton, KS is a Valentine diner. The business opened in 1961. There are lots of Valentines in Kansas since that’s where they were produced:

https://www.roadarch.com/diners/ks.html

The former Paul’s Funeral Home (now Robson Funeral Home) in Hugoton, KS. Modified but you can’t hide that roofline:

The building’s supporting wooden beam “legs” were unfortunately bricked up:

This former Phillips 66 station in Scott City, KS was restored as a Texaco. The pumps, lights, stars, signs… all added around 2010. The canted windows on the office indicate that this is from the P66 era where there would have been a “batwing” canopy attached originally… :

… like this one in Syracuse, KS:

A former Phillips 66 cottage gas station in Protection, KS. Yes, there are a LOT of these P66 stations and their bigger cottage siblings in Kansas — a couple pages of them at my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/gas/ksp66.html

How about a couple of statues? These two are at the Dorothy’s House and the Land of Oz in Liberal, KS. The Dorothy and Toto are bronze:

The Tin Man was made from air ducts by a local refrigeration class. Lots more tin men statues here:

https://www.roadarch.com/giants/tinmen.html

I don’t normally shoot airplanes but, what the heck, this one was sooooo cute. This LB-5 was built by Wilbur Staib (the LB series stood for “Little Bit”). I can’t find a build date but his LB-4 was built in 1966 so this one was probably built soon after that. It’s now inside the Mid-America Air Museum which has lots of cool stuff in Liberal, KS. The plane was powered with a Volkswagen engine and named after his wife who was nicknamed “Tiny”:

More Kansas soon.

By the way, if you love signs, even just a tiny bit, you will want to sign up for some of the virtual and/or in-person NeonSpeaks events in San Francisco (better yet, get a full passport for everything) taking place September 8-17. I’ll be one the the virtual presenters on the last day and I’ll be there on the 9th for a quickie appearance in a preservation panel:

https://neonspeaks.org/2023-schedule/

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs