From the Dinosaur statues section… The Green Forest Car Wash in Los Angeles, CA became Luv Car Wash earlier this year and the dinosaur statues are gone:
Every year, I discover the loss of at least one Kress department store building during this map-clicking process. This time, it was the one in Shawnee, OK which had been damaged in a tornado in 2023:
Moving on to some signs from the SCA section. This section has companion pages for the Journal articles that I wrote for the Society for Commercial Archeology from 2007-2025. This is a smallish section with about 100 pages. Towards the end of this winter project will come the “real” Signs section with about 400 pages.
From the Cars Signs page — this sign in Dover, OH is gone now:
The car sign at the Car Shack in Corpus Christi, TX….:
… has a new paint job:
From the Skating Signs page – the Jack’s Skateland’s sign in Fort Smith, AR…
… has unfortunately updated the original corrugated text panel from 1962 (but they kept the same general style of font & a nice clunky skate)…. AND!!! they added neon back to the star – wow-ee! I just added to my reshoot list & map for this summer on my way back from Tennessee & Kentucky:
The star is very likely a Neo-Lectra Jr — shown here in the middle of the ad:
From the Pancakes Signs page — This sign in Selma, AL is gone now. It had been moved to the Steak Pit in 2014 which had the same owners. But now the Steak Pit is also closed:
This sign in St. Louis, MO...:
… is being restored/updated by new owners. It’s not up yet on the street yet or at GoogleStreetView but poking around, you can see what it will look like soon. From their FB page — chasing lights & neon, repainted light brown (pancake color?), “Pancakes” replaced with “Pancake House”….
… and from their website, although the cocktail glass is gone (bummer), there will be pancakes instead!
From the Penguins & Polar Bears Signs page — DeLuxe Cleaners in Clifton, NJ …
closed earlier this year and this sign is gone now. The other signs remain for now:
From the Pizza Chef Signs page… Uncle Dante’s Pizza (later Tulipano’s Pizza) in Egg Harbor Township, NJ is now a Filipino restaurant and this fun sign is gone:
From the Plumbing Signs page — In Los Angeles, the Adee Plumbing signs and those long-repainted mystery panels to the right are both gone now:
From the Mechanical Signs pages — this former Boot Barn sign (horse originally had moving legs) in Billings, MT is gone now. The good news is that there are still three of these signs left — with the one in Cheyenne, WY still operating.
This post is getting pretty long. So, I’ll pick back up soon in the next post with more “news” from the SCA Signs section. The Giant Stuff and Car Showrooms will be next.
Happy Trails,
dj & the dogs
RoadArch.com companion 