Let’s start with this woolly mammoth made from shredded tires at Ripley’s Believe It or Not in Branson, MO:

The new Buc-ee’s in Springfield, MO has one of the new beaver statues. These are more detailed with a t-shirt, bigger teeth, etc.:

This giant snake is at the Crystal Cave Dino Trail in Springfield, MO:

The “Storming the Beach” sculpture is in Branson, MO:

This Stan Musial sculpture is at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO:

The Olympic Runner sculpture is also in St. Louis, MO:

This giant fiddle is in Branson, MO. The neck protrudes through the window to the outside of the building:

This huge pencil, made from wood and graphite, is inside the City Museum in St. Louis, MO:

The former J&W Liquor store from 1969 is in Paducah, KY. The building originally had round plastic letters spelling out “LIQUOR” over the roof but only the supporting posts remain:

The Lemay Church of Christ is in St. Louis, MO:

This City Hall is in Trenton, IL. A glass block detail shot is below:

This ghost sign was uncovered in Clayton, MO when the John P. Field’s bar building was demolished last year:

A modern sign at the Westport Plaza in St. Louis, MO:

A vintage sign from who knows where – at the City Museum in St. Louis, MO:

The Loop Building in St. Louis, MO was demolished many years ago but this sign was moved inside the Market Pub House. That bar is gone now and the sign has been been installed outside and down the block:

This sign in West Frankfort, IL is just a few years old. There was previously a rectangular plastic box sign at the store. I don’t know if this design was inspired by an earlier sign:

This sign in St. Louis, MO is also just a few years old:

This sign was originally displayed in Carthage, MO:

It’s been replicated and is now displayed at the Route 66 Neon Park in St. Robert, MO. Too bad that the phone number panel is gone. Note that the top panel shown above originally had a tack-on panel which would indicate a name change at some point. And the left panel on the new sign below is taller now:

This sign in Trenton, IL was removed a few years ago – photo from the late & great John Margolies:

The new business had a sign built that went up earlier this year which pays tribute to the original sign:

That’s the end of the Missouri photos for this trip (tons more of them at my website, of course) and we’ll be in Illinois for quite a while now. Another post coming soon… possibly this weekend.

Happy Trails,
dj & the dogs

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