Here we go — some of you have been patiently waiting for this section. I’m just getting started and there are already lots of heartbreaks.

This jewelry store in Bessemer, AL closed in 2020 and these signs are gone now:

This sign in Birmingham, AL is gone now. I emailed the business which is still open but no one replied:

Dammit. This one has been on my “to-shoot” list for a long time. The owners of the Mar-Mar Resort retired in 2019 and this cute sign-topper in Bull Shoals, AR is gone now. I hope that someone saved it. It lives on at StreetView:

This sign in Hot Springs, AR is officially gone now. The restaurant is long gone but the sign gradually deteriorated until I’m sure they scrapped it:

This sign in Texarkana, AR is also gone now. It was laying on the ground for a while and there was hope it would be stood back up, but no:

This Budweiser sign in Tucson, AZ was on top of the Home Plate sports bar sign. Last year, the text panels below were adapted for The Dugout and this sign was gone:

The IOOF sign in Lompoc, CA…:

… has been repainted and no longer has neon:

The Paint Mart sign in Red Bluff, CA was replaced with a boring plastic box. What a shame…:

Last year Hap’s Bait in Rio Vista, CA moved from downtown to the Brannan Island State Recreation Area park. I don’t know if this sign made the move or if it’s gone now:

This sign at a former veterinary clinic in Turlock, CA is gone now:

This restaurant has closed and the sign in Chester, CA is gone:

This sign in Fresno, CA…:

… had the neon removed earlier this year and backlit plastic letters installed – so tragic:

Here’s another one that’s been plastic-ed this year — in Long Beach, CA:

Apparently, this sign in Sacramento:

was repainted around 2022:

The Harbor King sign in San Francisco, CA is missing at the latest StreetView. I’m hoping that’s temporary:

This beautiful sign in San Francisco…:

has been turned into this ugly POS:

Another San Francisco tragedy – the Siegel’s sign:

… now looks like this:

That’s enough for one post. Be back soon with more “discoveries.”

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Picking back up with the “M” states — this former station in Salisbury, MO was looking shabby in 2010:

and this is what it looked like in June:

This former Pan-Am station in Prentiss, MS is gone now – replaced with a new supermarket:

This former station in Lexington, MS:

… has been renovated for Holmes County:

This former Texaco in La Grande, OR was restored in 2008 and began selling full-service gas from vintage pumps. The pumps were removed in 2018:

And now, the building is housing The Local, an ice cream and coffee shop:

This former Flying A station in Portland, OR is gone now:

The former Phillips 66 in Ashland, OR has been vacant for many years. The new StreetView shows it being restored:

Sure enough, it opened as a Kingston Cannabis in April. Photo from an Ashland news article:

The former Standard Oil Red Crown station in Lafayette, IN has been renovated as a 24-hour library. Here’s one of my photos from when it was a Standard Oil museum:

From StreetView a couple of months ago:

And from the library’s website — vending machines for books — who knew!

This Red Crown in Galesburg, IL is now housing Sprinkle & Spoon:

Please somebody, save me! This former Pure Oil in Welch, WV, vacant since forever, is apparently missing the roof in back over the bays on the right:

This former Esso station in Lynchburg, VA was vacant for many years. Then, in 2016, it was remodeled for Fifth & Federal Station, a bar & restaurant. But then, during a riot in 2020, the place was badly damaged (there are articles online about the facemask incident & all that…). Anyhow, they replaced all the windows and got the place back in operation but then gave up last year. And so it sits:

This former Pure Oil station in Enfield, NC has been restored and reopened this summer as an interior design store:

I never got a chance to shoot this Matawan Texaco station in Madison, WI which last housed a Michael’s Frozen Custard. There’s now a giant apartment building there:

WTF? This former station in Ralston, OK recently had a water and ice vending machine built into the left half of the building. Why…..?

I can’t say I’m surprised by this one. This former Conoco cottage station in Altus, OK is gone now:

Fingers crossed — the most recent Street View shows the long closed Conoco station in Buffalo, OK getting some work done:

This former cottage station in Tulsa, OK…:

.

… has been fixed up and now houses Chacuteray (cheese & charcuterie):

This former cottage station in Tulsa, OK is gone now:

The Threatt Filling Station in Luther, OK was restored earlier this year:

This former Sinclair station in Italy, TX has been restored and houses the Station Cafe. The pole sign reads “Enco Service Station” and there’s that Esso sign on the canopy but I doubt this station was ever operating as those brands:

This former restaurant with an attached streetcar in Gordon, TX has been abandoned for years:

The latest StreetView from June shows that something is going down. Despite much searching at Google, I couldn’t find out what the plans are:

This double canopy former Conoco station in Corpus Christi, TX will be remodeled as a pizza and ice cream shop this year:

That’s a wrap for the Gas Stations section. Be back soon with a some “news” from the Signs section.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram