This blog documents the photo-gathering roadtrips for RoadsideArchitecture.com (aka roadarch.com). That gigantic website covers buildings, signs & statues from the 1920s-1970s. The posts here offer about a dozen photos from each day of shooting. In winter, there are "news" posts about demolitions, removals, remodeling, restorations, etc.
From the Giant Vehicles pages… this flying saucer in Haslett, MI is gone now:
From the Windmill pages, this water vending machine building in Plant City, FL is gone now:
Shoot those little cuties while you can: Watermill Express is rapidly replacing all of these windmill structures with larger, boring box versions like this one:
The windmill at Jerry’s Nursery & Garden Center in Farr West, UT was looking very sad and neglected when I took this photo in 2022. And that sprinkler wasn’t helping the little wooden structure with missing paint:
The StreetView map from a year later showed that someone had taken the time to paint it — although the blades were still pretty askew:
But, alas, the interstate view from August shows that Jerry’s is closed after a major fire — and the windmill, now missing its blades, is likely doomed. Unless there’s a major miracle and Jerry’s rebuilds and restores the little mascot:
In better news, the windmill in Salt Lake City, UT was looking pretty ratty back in 2005:
In 2021, they repainted the building and started working on a new window. The new StreetView is up and it looks great!
From the Castles pages, this former Children’s Castle building in Kenner, LA…:
… has been stripped of its turrets & other castle features:
From the Misc.Giant Things section– this shovel in Creedmoor, TX is gone now:
This saw in Gainesville, FL is gone now:
I believe these hair scissors in Crescent City, CA are gone now:
I’ll be moving on to the Car Showrooms section in the next post.
If you’re curious, I’m almost 25% of the way thru this project. So, there will be many more posts over the next few months.
Here’s the wrap-up of the SCA Signs section with the remaining two subsections. First, the Scaffold Signs pages.
I just shot this sign in Quincy, IL in June — ain’t it lovely?
but Google StreetView shows this:
Wuh-oh. Yup – an online article shares that the sign is “getting a facelift… They will be replacing the sign’s neon bulbs with LED bulbs, fixing the clock and painting the sign. Just refreshing the look. So, to stay only in spec, just the way it was designed. We’re just going to freshen it up, get the clock working and not malfunctioning. It should have some pop to it with the LEDs, but it will look exactly like it did, hopefully this all goes well or goes to plan exactly like it did when it was made, maybe even a little brighter if anything,”
I can’t help but be skeptical. I fear the next time we see it, there will be backlit plastic letters. Let’s all hold our collective breaths and pray…
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Google StreetView still shows the letters missing from the Androy Hotel sign in Hibbing, MN. But they were reinstalled and relit a few months ago. I can’t find anywhere whether they used neon or LED. Most scaffold signs are restored with LED these days. This photo from the Mesabi Tribune:
This sign in Memphis, TN is gone now:
Moving on to the Bowling Signs pages. The Leda Lanes in Nashua, NH closed earlier this year and the building was demolished for a shopping center development. So, this rooftop candlepin sign is gone now. I hope someone snagged it since candlepin signs are VERY rare:
The Echo Lanes Bowl in Warren, OH fell over a couple of years ago and I can find nothing about it being restored or replicated. I think we can assume it was either trashed or the top panel sold:
The nifty “BOWL” letters on the Shawnee Bowl sign in Shawnee, OK…:
… have been replaced with boring block letters and LED strip borders instead of neon. The new top panels have also been replaced (no more fun bowling pin characters) but at least the left the metal star on top:
This sign in Johnstown, PA from the long-closed Zip’s Classic Lanes is gone now:
The San Juan Lanes in Anacortes, WA was removed in 2022 after the bowling alley closed and was demolished. The sign was taken to a junkyard and then purchased by Dad’s Diner in town before it could be destroyed. They were “working with the city” to install the sign on the side of their building but I don’t think that happened:
This sign in Hillsboro, WI is probably gone now. The two poles are still there so maybe there’s some hope that it’s at the shop being restored:
This sign in Hamilton, ON is gone now:
This sign in Belvidere, IL is gone now. The building was demolished in July and will soon be replaced with a Starbucks and a Chipotle:
That’s a wrap for signs for a while. The “real” Signs section will be towards the very end of this project (about 400 pages of those to go thru). The next post(s) will cover the Giant Stuff and Car Showrooms sections.
Getting back to the SCA (Society for Commercial Archaeology) article companion pages…. from the Sputnik Sign pages. This sign in San Bernardino, CA disappeared earlier this year:
The C-152 Lectra in Stamford, TX is gone now:
From the Opal Glass Letters Signs pages, this sign in Independence, CA is gone:
This sign which was tucked away in an alley in Susanville, CA is also gone:
From the Neon Extension Signs pages — this sign in South Gate, CA has plastic panels now and the arrow is gone:
Speaking of extension arrows… the latest Street View doesn’t show it yet, but the Last Chance Liquors sign in Nashville, TN was restored in August. It’s definitely on my map & list for this summer’s trip but here’s a short video showing the eight chasing arrows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vTelQgsFvk
The Star Liquors sign in Garden Grove, CA…:
… got some atrocious backlit plastic letters but at least they left the bottles alone:
The Bon-Ton Cafe sign in Memphis, TN…:
… is now missing the bottom canopy panels with the circles:
From the Clock Signs pages… This Elgin Watch Company sign in Hibbing, MN is gone now. There are only a few of these once commonplace signs left:
This business in Bradley, IL closed in 2025 and this sign is gone now:
Another business opened in town and has a “tribute” sign:
Moving on to the Donut Signs pages… this former Mrs. Chapman’s Angel Food Do-Nuts in Long Beach, CA on Carson St….
… is now part of the Tierra Mia Coffee chain. The sign is still donut-ish but I wish the hole was still there:
This store in Lafayette, LA closed and I assume that the sign is gone. The store was housed in a former Mission-style Taco Bell but that building was demolished earlier this year as a Cuban restaurant is being built in its place:
This shop in Rochester, PA closed last year and the giant donut on top of the sign has been removed:
This shop in Wichita, KS closed las year and this sign is gone:
This sign in Oakland, CA disappeared earlier this year:
This former Jolly Pirate Donuts sign in Columbus, OH…:
… has been “updated” with backlit plastic letters and the neon removed from the top and bottom:
I knew this long-closed donut shop in St. Louis, MO began housing the Milque Toast restaurant in 2024. I reshot it that summer and just a few weeks later, they restored the donut sign’s neon — god bless ’em!
This shop in New Albany, IN closed earlier this year and the sign is gone now:
This Southern Maid Donuts in Odessa, TX…:
… has been repainted — I approve since I love bright green:
The M&T Donut Shop sign in Compton, CA is gone now:
Let’s end this post with some much-needed good news. This donut shop in Allston, MA closed earlier this year and it was announced that a Blank Street coffee shop would be moving into the space. With no landmark protection, etc., we held our breath that there would either be a new sign or some horrible adaptation. But no! The sign was completely restored by Neon Williams – thanks Dave & crew!!: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRGKHx3kR47/?img_index=1
I still have even more SCA pages to go through — the two biggest: Scaffold Signs and Bowling Signs. And then, I’ll be moving on to the Giant Stuff and Car Showrooms sections.
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 SkatingSigns 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 BearsSigns 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.
Nothing to report from the Fairy Tale & Santa Parks section.
So, let’s start with some good news from the Bus Stations section. The former Greyhound bus station in Olympia, WA has been renovated and adapted as the Bus Stop Bar & Bistro. Wonderful good news after being on the endangered list for many years. My 2015 photo:
And the renovated building which opened late last year — from their FB page:
From the Bottling Plants buildings section… I didn’t get a chance to shoot this 1961 building yet in Durham, NC… and GSV shows that it was demolished earlier this year in order to build housing. There are plans to integrate “pieces” of the building into the new development. We’ve heard that before! Usually, some awful tribute and not even the original “pieces”:
Moving on to Drive-in Theatres section. The Starlite Drive-in in El Monte, CA has been bulldozed for housing. But, as promised, they are “preserving” the sign. It must be a replica since the current sign was a complete wreck. Here’s a photo I took in 2013:
And it only got worse after that. Here’s GSV from last May:
Both sides of the original sign from 1950. Note the long-missing “Drive In” letters and stars in the background:
Now at the November GSV: this is the side that’s nearly done (other side still missing star and letters). Apparently, the stars in the background will also be replicated!
The Van Del Drive-in screentower in Middle Point, OH…:
… has been repainted to match its sign:
From the Tires Stores section… This Goodyear store in Pontiac, MI moved to another location and this sign is gone now:
Another of these now rare giant Goodyear signs — this one in Columbus, OH…:
was adapted earlier this year:
Earlier this year, the Firestone letters on this building in Spokane Valley, WA…
… had been replaced with plastic versions and that part of the building had been painted black (why?!? but it seems to be a trend as I have seen other Firestones that have done this). The pole sign still has neon:
The long-closed Firestone in Butte, MT…:
… now houses the Butte Native Wellness Center. I’m not a fan of how they stuck cow skulls right on top of the Firestone shields:
And lastly, this Firestone sign in Bakersfield, CA is gone now:
Back with more “news” soon. Dinosaur statues and Department stores are next.
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:
I’ll be back soon with another newsworthy post. Happy Holidays!
The Apache Motel sign in Tucumcari, NM — laying the in the parking lot for a couple of years now to prevent it from falling over:
Here’s a photo that I took of it in 2012:
At No Bull Prime Meats in Albuquerque, NM:
A former Tastee-Freez (now Mexican restaurant) in Albuquerque:
The streamline moderne Lembke House in Albuquerque:
Nearly home – a former gas station next to the Road Runner’s Retreat in Chambless, CA:
Here are the numbers from this trip: 35 days on the road, 14,027 miles (avg. 401 mi per day). I spent $2950 on gas and had to replace two tires ($464). There were 3 oil changes ($322) and about $80 in tolls. Museum admissions about $80. But no speeding tickets! I came home with about 5750 photos which are all up now at the website (roadarch.com). Remember, what you see here and at Flickr/Instagram is only a teeny tiny fraction of what’s at the site.
You won’t hear from me for at least a month as I’ll be putting together the lists and maps for next summer’s trip (focusing on Kentucky and Tennessee).
Once that’s done, I’ll be doing the grueling winter project going through all the maps in descriptions for all 3500+ pages at my website to see what’s changed since last year. I’ll be posting to this blog throughout this process (takes about six months) with the bad & good news about what’s been demolished/repainted/adapted, etc. since last year’s check.
I hope you’ve enjoyed tagging along virtually via the posts from this summer’s trip. Bye for now from me and my travel buddies: Orbit, Griswold, Dilly, & Gremlin at just one of our fave beaches in town:
Giant baseballs in front of the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati:
These books were originally part of a fountain in front of a library in Cincinnati. Now, they’ve been moved back next to the entrance and used as a planter:
This giant bottle is at a liquor store in Covington, KY:
“Clive” the alien is installed on a parking garage is also in Covington, KY:
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, the Roman soldier and statesman, is the guy after which Cincinnati was named:
This flying pig nearby, Lucius Quinctius Pigasus, is a more modern, humorous rendition:
There are many Mr. Redlegs (mascot of the Cincinnati Reds) statues in different uniforms on benches scattered around town:
A detail from the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper building:
A detail from the Times-Star newspaper building — also in Cincinnati:
The long-abandoned Regal Theatre in Cincinnati is about to be restored:
The Marianne Theatre in Bellevue, KY:
The former American National Bank in Newport, KY:
A former gas station in Cincinnati:
A former Tresler Comet gas station in Cincinnati:
An operating Mountain View Diner in Cincinnati:
I believe this sign in Cincinnati with its revolving bottom panel was built for the Gateway Quarter real estate office around 2007 (Google StreetView):
The sign’s panels were swapped for Taste of Belgium in 2012 and they’re looking pretty awful now. This location closed in September. Hopefully, the next business will keep this design and just replace the panels. Maybe get a new ballie for the bottom, please:
This clothing store in Cincinnati closed in 2016 but the sign remains. I believe it opened in 1961 and this sign appears to be from then:
This sign in Covington, KY originally advertised for Covington Chili:
The Western Bowl sign in Cincinnati with its crappy LED tubing “update”:
The Golden Fleece Lounge in Cincinnati was some other bar before this. But despite my digging, I don’t know what it was:
The Brass Ass Lounge in Newport, KY has been MANY bars before this and the sign updated just as many times. I think the sign dates from the late 1940s when it was the Stark Club. This vintage image shows the bar sign on the left when it was the Galaxie Club:
Rich’s Jewelers in Covington, KY opened in 1944 and this sign may be from then. For more about these Gruen Clock signs, see my website here: https://www.roadarch.com/sca/clocks.html#Gowdy
When I shot the sign this summer, it still had the Rich’s name on one side, but now both sides have been adapted for the Noche restaurant. It makes me sad — but they did a nice job. From their website:
This sign in Cincinnati was restored in 2017 by the American Sign Museum’s Neonworks shop:
This sign in Cincinnati originally advertised for the Route 52 Flying Saucer Drive-in:
Three more signs from Cincinnati:
And lastly, this sign from Newport, KY which was brought back to life a couple of years ago when the building was restored. The store itself is gone:
There will be one more short post from this trip with some photos from the long drive home and a trip summary (miles driven, etc.).
This guy is at the still-operating Frisch’s Big Boy in West Chester, OH:
This mastodon is in Sharonville, OH:
This former A&W (now The Root Beer Stand) is also in Sharonville, OH. The folded plate canopy was turned into a dining room in recent years.
The Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church with its rocket ship steeple is in Cincinnati:
This streamline moderne former Nehi Beverage bottling plant in Cincinnati is currently vacant:
This Dairy Queen in St. Bernard, OH started out with a flat roof walk-up stand, probably with a neon sign on top, and was remodeled later to this split gable style & lips pole sign:
This former gas station with its porcelain enamel tile slanted roof was originally a Pure Oil station. It is in Cincinnati:
This sign in Cincinnati originally had neon and a bulb-studded arrow:
This sign is also in Cincinnati:
The Tasty Bird in Cincinnati was part of a soul food restaurant chain. This photo from the Cincinnati Enquirer is from 2003:
And what the signs look like at this point:
I spent a good part of the day revisiting the American Sign Museum (and visiting with Tod) in Cincinnati. If you love signs, it’s an absolute-must destination. The signs below are just a tiny sampling of the hundreds of signs. It you want a better idea of what’s there, see these pages at my website: https://www.roadarch.com/signs/ohasm.html
This is one of my favorites: ripple tin panels AND colored opal glass letters at the top:
Just another incredible backlit, colored opal glass sign:
A couple of super old jewelry signs: a bulb-lit ring-shaped sign and a backlit, perforated metal sign below:
A really nice Federal Electric bulb sign with lots of porcelain enamel detail and sectional “MEAT” letters:
The recently acquired Frisch’s Big Boy Mainliner sign from Fairfax, OH which is being restored right in the middle of the museum:
This one came from Beaver, UT:
This one came from Brooklyn, NY:
The camera below came from Loomis Camera in Elyria, OH — my photo from 2007:
These signs came from New York City. The museum features a simulated main street with signs on the facades and other related signs in the display windows:
And lastly — from Toledo, OH — my photo from 2011:
and now gloriously restored at the museum:
One full day’s shooting left with more stuff from Cincinnati coming up in the next blog post.
Wilson’s General Store & Cafe in Evansville closed around 2019 but the sign collection is still there. This sign came from Mt. Pleasant, TN:
This sign is in Versailles:
Smith Jewelry in Princeton has been closed/vacant for years but this sign remains:
The Expressway GM dealership in Mt. Vernon has a few vintage signs inside:
This sign is installed on the side of the Gerst Haus restaurant in Evansville:
This sign is in Greensburg. It looked prettier in green and when it had neon. I believe there was a different name at the bottom originally:
The Cork Liquors sign in Shelbyville is modern. The chain has only been around since 1982 and some of the other locations have these neon signs:
This was taken in horrible light with the sign directly behind. This pet shop in Evansville has five neon animals — probably modern. But the store was just bought out by a pet food chain and I’m fearful these signs will be removed:
I believe this sign in Evansville is from the 1950s:
Evans Motors in Evansville was established in 1978 but this sign is clearly earlier than that:
And lastly, another one from Evansville — at the Lewis Bakery which produces Bunny Bread, Sunbeam, Butternut, and other breads. Yes, this one operates at night– with sequentially lit ears:
There’s just a tiny bit more of Indiana to go and then we’ll be moving on to some Ohio stuff.
RoadArch.com companion 