Day 23: Indiana Continues

Let’s start with this concrete sculpture from Bluffton from 1936. There was originally an airplane gas station on the property but that’s been gone for many, many decades — but the tree lives! The only photo that I can find of it:

A knight at the Vandermark Sign Co. in Larwill:

This mastodon is at Purdue University in Fort Wayne – the home of the “Dons:”

The Strauss Building (now the Murphy Building) in Fort Wayne from 1908 got an early 1950s facade remodel. This penthouse residence and offices were added to the top of the building for A.M. Strauss:

This well-preserved Sunoco in North Manchester is STILL operating with modern pumps in front:

This Dairy Queen in Huntington has the only example of a sign with a sundae instead of a cone:

The Roller Dome in Fort Wayne list its freestanding rooftop letters a few years ago..:

… but it still has this funky fun sign:

City Glass in Fort Wayne has a wonderful vitrolite facade and a fantastic sign. This vintage (1950s?) shows the now-missing letters above the entrance… and that the stained glass in the windows was added later:

This fun 1960s? sign is in Columbia City:

This one in Huntington could use some paint but, thank god, those neon rings on top are still there:

This sign in Muncie was restored and moved around 2013 and is still looking good:

This sign was originally installed in Muncie for the Cintas uniform company. The guy in the truck was named “Tim” — my photo from 2009:

In 2020, the sign was adapted for Madjax and Tim got a new uniform:

I’m not a fan of the purple airbrushy background but I’m glad this sign in Fort Wayne is being taken care of. My 2009 photo:

… and now:

The neon on this sign in Fort Wayne was removed, tubing holes patched, and repainted recently:

This Humpty Dumpty Drive-in in Fort Wayne closed and was demolished decades ago but the sign remains:

This V.F.W. sign is also in Fort Wayne. This vintage photo shows the sign before the neon portion was boxed in and covered up with plexi and the “Fort Miami” was painted over:

and now:

The Bowling Center in Bluffton which had opened by 1947 was renamed EZ Bowl in 2018. Around 2024, the words “The” beneath the pins and “Center” below bowling were painted over:

This ice cream stand is in Albany. I think this sign may have been installed on the roof originally:

Let’s close with a couple of night photos from Muncie. Yes, these Arby’s hat signs are dwindling but I’ve still got a bunch from around the country at my website: https://www.roadarch.com/eateries/arbys3.html

These McDonald’s signs are even rarer. The only one left in situ besides this one in Muncie is in Green Bay, WI. Then, there are only three at museums (American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ford Museum in Dearborn, and the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka which is now in storage indefinitely).