Website Updates: Tiki, Teepees, Food, and More

The grueling winter project has begun. But it’s so necessary to keep my website as current as possible and plan reshoots in the future. In this slew of posts over the next few months, you’ll find before/after shots (my photos vs. snippets from the latest Google StreetView maps). I promise there will be some good news here and there. But most of the changes will be on a scale somewhere between sad and heartbreaking.

I always start off with the small sections and work up to the biggest ones (like the Gas Stations, Mid-century Buildings, and Signs sections which are huge — so those posts are months away).

Nothing to report for the Paul Bunyan and Collections statues sections this year. No changes for the Egyptian Revival building section. No news is good news.

From the Tiki section, a couple of things to mention. This building in Niles, OH was built for the Aloha restaurant and later became the Sunshine Chinese Buffet. My photo from 2010:

It had been vacant since around 2014 until earlier this year when it was remodeled for a cannabis store:

Also, from the Tiki section. The former Bahooka restaurant in Rosemead, CA was always hard to shoot because of all the palm trees but here’s a photo I took in 2008:

Well, now the palms are gone and so are the remaining Polynesian architectural features:

From the Teepees section, it appears that the teepee from the 1940s in Globe, AZ is being restored. There have been plans to do so since 2021. Here’s a photo I took in 2012:

and now from a couple of months ago at GSV. I assume repainting is to come:

The Teepee in Allentown, AZ… was originally a gas station office:

My photo from 2012:

And now… the windows and door have been covered up:

This Teepee in Hollywood, FL was built as a souvenir stand in the 1950s:

At some point, a building was built around it. But now it’s gone and so is the entire building:

This Teepee in Cave City, KY is gone now:

From the Vessels section (giant bottles, coffee pots, and other giant containers)… This building in Reading, PA was built for the Levengood Dairies milk/ice cream store chain with cup-shaped buildings. Over the years, the rounded cup was covered with siding and the giant straw was removed. The building housed Speedie’s Dinette from 1974-2020. It had been vacant since then. My photo from 2010:

Earlier this year, the building became home to the King of Stoves and a crown was added above the former cup:

The giant cup (and the Starbucks) in Sacramento, CA which had been there since at least 2008 are gone now:

This cup and mug in Del Norte, CO are gone now:

From the Food section…. the Bagelry in San Francisco, CA has closed and this giant bagel is gone:

Tanner’s Big Orange opened at this location in Greenville, SC in 1966 and this sign with the giant hot dog was installed then. The restaurant closed in 2023 and there’s a new pizza place going into the building. It sounds like this sign is coming down and will most likely be destroyed:

The former Cheese House in Wells, ME, with its wheel of cheese shaped building, has closed. There were about 20 of these buildings in this 1960s chain and only a handful of these buildings are left. The scruffy mouse on the roof is also gone. I’m devastated. He was the last mouse left:

Here’s a postcard of one that was in Wiscassett, ME. For more about these buildings and to see the ones that still survive, see this page at my website: https://www.roadarch.com/food/other2.html

Mac’s Deli in Kenosha, WI closed around 2021. Earlier this year, the building began housing another business and this Nut Bar was removed:

The Vinehenge playground in Escondido, CA was removed earlier this year when the grapes and vines were showing some wear and found to be unsafe:

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And while I’m posting all this news… Here are a couple of things that happened very recently which have been updated at my website already.

The former Franksville in Joliet, IL had a bad fire about 3 days ago and the building will likely be demolished. My photo from last year:

About a week ago, the Jack and Jill Bowling Lanes sign in American Fork, UT fell over during high winds. My photo from 2014:

The damage looks pretty bad and I don’t know if it will be restored. The sign is about 50 feet tall so it would cost a fortune to repair or even replicate. Here’s a photo from KSL-TV: