The Reeves Drugs signs in Pulaski, TN were missing at StreetView — but I was able to poke around to discover they were restored in August. From Reeves FB page:

This sign in Whiteville, TN is gone now:

This sign in Nashville, TN is gone now. I doubt it was saved. The property is being developed for housing:

Oh no… this restaurant in Deland, FL closed last year and the sign had slipped about 2/3 the way down on the poles (storm damage?). It also looked bent where the arrow and the Restaurant panel met. I just found a real estate listing from 6 days ago that said the sign had been removed:

The sign originally advertised for Jack’s Boulevard Restaurant:

This sign was at Harvey’s Groves in Rockledge, FL. The citrus store closed in 2017 but this sign remained until last year when the entire building was demolished:

I did find this photo and info at the Florida Today newspaper saying that the sign is now in city storage and might be used in the future at the StorSafe self-storage business that is being built on the property:

Skycraft Surplus made the move from Winter Park, FL to Orlando, FL in 2021. The UFO that was over the entrance at the original location was restored and installed on top of the shopping center sign in Orlando. StreetView hasn’t been there yet but this photo from Skycraft’s website shows it right after it was installed in June:

This skeleton window sign in Allen Park, MI is gone now. A chain pharmacy is there now:

This sign in Ferndale, MI…:

… has been stripped and repainted for the Lotus Inn:

This sign in Kalamazoo, MI originally advertised for a restaurant:

… has been repainted for a brewery:

Well crap. I never got around to shooting this one in Pontiac, MI:

and now it’s been crapped up with plastic:

This beautiful sign in Saginaw, MI appears to be gone now. I don’t believe it’s at the Saginaw Old Town neon sign park, although they do have another nice Aubry Cleaners sign:

This parking sign in Saginaw was attached to a parking garage:

They leveled the parking garage for a parking lot but put the sign on a pole:

Top Cleaners in Utica, MI is gone now:

Here’s what the storefront looks like now:

This sign and building in Wayne, MI are gone now:

That’s it for Michigan. Eight more states to go in the Signs section. I’ll be back probably tomorrow with more.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Let’s wrap up Oregon with some Portland news. This sign’s charming corrugated plastic panels…:

… have been replaced with new panels for a boxing gym:

The Waddle’s Coffee Shop sign has been through countless iterations. From the 1950s, before I-5 was built:

From after I-5 was built is when the clock first appears:

And into present day history – my photo from 2015:

And now, StreetView from June:

It’s been a tough year for signs in Wisconsin. This Standard Oil sign at a bar in Ashland, WI had been updated at some point with neon reading “GAS”:

Recently, a plastic letter panel was placed on the sign:

This sign in Friendship, WI is gone now:

This sign in Hayward, WI…:

… has been replaced with this:

This cutie in Iron Belt, WI…:

… has been replaced with this boring thing:

I love it when the Google StreetCar actually catches something good happening — in September, the Cozy Inn sign in Janesville, WI was being restored:

This sign and the building where the bar was in Madison, WI are gone now:

This sign and the store in Stevens Point, WI are gone now:

I believe this was originally a Chevrolet OK Used Cars sign like this one:

This sign in Superior, WI…:

… is gone now:

This restaurant closed in 2016 and this sign in Washburn, WI is gone now:

The Lookout Mountain Tourist Lodge in Chattanooga, TN was demolished in June. I don’t know if this sign was saved:

Here’s what the sign looked like in 1980 when John Margolies shot it:

This store in East Ridge, TN had been closed since at least 2009. The plastic panel was gone for years but now the neon piece with the shirts is also gone. There are new plastic panels for a vape shop there now:

The cool mid-century modern building behind this sign in Knoxville, TN has been demolished. This sign will likely be adapted for the new apartments that are being built at the site:

This post is getting pretty long. I’ll pick back up with more Tennessee in the next one.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

This sign in Garden City, ID is gone now. The property was remodeled for the Arcadia Hotel and there’s no pole sign there are all now.

This sign and the Bellingham Auto Sales building in Bellingham, MA are gone now. The property is being developed for an office complex:

The Care Cleaners letters in Chelmsford, MA…:

… are now laying flat on the roof. I don’t know if they will be stood back up again. I found a recent real estate listing posted in December. So, it looks like this may be permanent and not the result of a storm or some such:

A little bit of good news – this store in Springfield, MA moved to Chicopee, MA in 2020:

and the sign was moved to the side of the building there. The letters still have neon!

The Owl Shop in Worcester, MA closed in 2022. This sign is gone now. It was supposed to be installed at a new location in New Hampshire in 2023 but that hasn’t happened and there has been no announcement of even what city the store will be in:

Sun Furniture in Shreveport, LA closed in 2018. In 2022, the sign was removed to be adapted for SporTran City. Note the neon tubing of a sun on top of the “SUN” letters:

Sure enough, last spring, the sign was reinstalled with backlit plastic letters and LED borders. Sigh…:

This sign at a long-closed business in New Orleans, LA is gone now:

This sign in Fort Wayne, IN is gone now. There was a fire in 2020 and the building was demolished in 2022:

This Masonic Lodge sign in Shoals, IN appears to be gone now:

This sign in Great Falls, MT is gone now. The motel was demolished in 2022 and there’s now a Chipotle on the property.

This sign in Shelby, MT is gone now – empty storefront:

This sign in Shelby, MT…

… has been turned into a Welcome sign for the city. All the neon is now plastic. Ugh, not a fan.

The Recreation Center building and remaining letters in The Dalles, OR are gone now:

New boring storefronts going in there now – StreetView from August:

More news from The Dalles: the Oregon Motor Motel is being developed as The Annex as a shelter and for transitional housing. These two signs are gone now in the August StreetView:

I’m hoping the National Neon Sign Museum in The Dalles got the signs:

I did find a photo from a news article in October which shows the adapted plastic “MOTEL” sign with the other two signs below gone:

I’m assuming these two signs around the corners of this building are also gone – the Google car hasn’t gone there yet:

That’s enough for one post. With a 3-day weekend ahead, I’m going to try to wrap up this section but there are 13 states to go (132 pages). So, we shall see.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Update from the last post: I just heard back from the WHOC station about the sign in Philadelphia, MS. The sign is now standing outside at the downtown location and is lit at night.

Mom’s Diner (originally Mom’s Peppermill Restaurant) in Hightstown, NJ closed in 2007 and was demolished last year. The rickety sign is still there. The “Diner” panel was once an animated peppermill and the top panel reading “Exit” and “8” revolved. I don’t know if whatever gets built here will adapt the sign. This is the best I can find for the original look:

Please tell me that this sign in Ocean City, NJ is not gone! I tried calling but it is the off season. I even called the Forum Motor Inn across the street but no answer there either. The motel was put up for sale in 2022 so I’m fearing the worst:

StreetView from 2018 — note the rooftop sign on the left, the Seahorse Grill canopy, the Pavilion painted on the facade, and the neon sign on the right:

But as of August:

There’s still a skeleton sign in the office reading “Pavilion Motor Lodge” that gives me hope:

This sign in Pine Brook, NJ is definitely gone and so is the motel property — a huge vacant lot now:

Bummer! I had always wanted to shoot the neon lobster in Somers Point, NJ that was originally installed for Mac’s Seafood. It was still there in 2019:

It went through several business names after Mac’s but the lobster was still there. Until now…. all plastic crap:

This sign in Boone, IA…:

has been repainted – yay!

Well, I’m glad they brought the sign back in Chariton, IA when the building restoration was done. But they went the cheap route and used LED tubing instead of neon:

This sign in Fremont, NE is gone now:

This location in Omaha, NE has been closed for a few years…:

and now the neon has been stripped and the signs painted over with black paint:

This adapted motel sign in Omaha, NE seems to be gone now. The tattoo studio moved to a new location and this sign is not on display there:

This sign in Omaha was removed in 2022, soon after the store closed. The new property owners said they would restore the sign and display it somewhere on the property but there was nothing at StreetView:

After some digging, I found the top part of the sign installed inside the event venue, The Hitch, at Wolf’s original location. I don’t know if they kept the legs. The neon does not appear to have been restored:

Gosh, you would never know that this sign in Keeseville, NY is still there. Can you see that little bit of blue?

There it is earlier in 2011:

This one is perplexing. I never got to shoot this sign in Cedar City, UT which looked like this in 2008 in a blurry StreetView:

It apparently sat in sign shop storage in Cedar City for a while (StreetView 2015):

And now it would appear it’s been adapted and stands next to VARR in Heber City, UT (July 2022):

However, what I don’t understand is why the sign in Cedar City seems to still be there (StreetView 2022) and seems to have have the original Sullivan sign’s panels with Arcade painted over the Sullivan panel. Were there two of these signs?

This restaurant in Culpeper, VA was destroyed in a fire in 2023 and demolished. I’m told that the sign was moved to the Rock Hill Farm wedding venue in town which is owned by the same person. I couldn’t find any photos of it there yet:

This Chevrolet OK Used Cars sign in Winchester, VA is gone now:

This sign in Bradford, PA is gone. There’s a puny, plastic Econolodge sign there now:

This sign in Jermyn, PA is gone now:

That’s enough bad news for one sitting. Be back soon with more. Hopefully, there’ll be some positive stuff in the next post. 20 states to go and about 174 pages to go thru.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Let’s start with a couple of Canadian signs. This restaurant in Surrey, BC closed in 2021 and the sign stuck around a couple of years before it was removed. The owners have it in storage:

The Les Pin Motel in Granby, QC…:

is looking pretty rough now. I’m worried about this one:

This Norge Village sign in Oakland, CA is gone now — the panels have been replaced with new ones for another business:

This Norge Village Norgetown Ball (the ones with stripes) in Largo, FL was recently adapted for Gulfside Pizza & Subs. I’m glad to see that they are lighting it at night (from their website):

Moving on to the Rexall signs section. These signs in Crossett, AR are gone now:

This store and sign in Homestead, FL are gone now:

This store in Belen, NM closed in 2022 and these signs are gone:

This sign in Crescent, OK is gone now. A new drug store moved in around 2022 and I bet this rough but beautiful sign was chucked:

I never got to shoot this sign in Cumberland, MD:

But now, never mind, plastic letters:

The Poist Gas Co. sign in Laurel, MD was recently repainted:

The Hotel E.F. Young Jr. in Meridian, MS has been demolished. This sign is gone but it might have been saved:

The hotel’s canopy sign is now sitting on the ground across the street:

This sign in Philadelphia, MS and the building next to it are gone at StreetView. BUT! I emailed the station and the sign was moved to the new location downtown. I’m waiting to hear back about whether it’s inside or outside since StreetView doesn’t show it at that spot yet. Here’s my photo pre-move:

This sign in West Point, MS is gone now. The store closed in 2021:

This store and sign in Hampton, SC are gone now:

This sign in Lexington, KY:

was adapted last year. At least they left the horse at the top:

This building and sign (and much of the city of Mayfield, KY) were destroyed to a tornado. It’s still shocking to see all the empty lots at StreetView. Here’s one of my photos from before that:

This sign in Louisville, KY:

… was covered with panels for the Red Top Dogs around 2019:

Last year, the sign was uncovered for The Keswick – thank you!

Let’s end with that bit of good news. Be back soon — lots of sign pages still to go.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Here we go — some of you have been patiently waiting for this section. I’m just getting started and there are already lots of heartbreaks.

This jewelry store in Bessemer, AL closed in 2020 and these signs are gone now:

This sign in Birmingham, AL is gone now. I emailed the business which is still open but no one replied:

Dammit. This one has been on my “to-shoot” list for a long time. The owners of the Mar-Mar Resort retired in 2019 and this cute sign-topper in Bull Shoals, AR is gone now. I hope that someone saved it. It lives on at StreetView:

This sign in Hot Springs, AR is officially gone now. The restaurant is long gone but the sign gradually deteriorated until I’m sure they scrapped it:

This sign in Texarkana, AR is also gone now. It was laying on the ground for a while and there was hope it would be stood back up, but no:

This Budweiser sign in Tucson, AZ was on top of the Home Plate sports bar sign. Last year, the text panels below were adapted for The Dugout and this sign was gone:

The IOOF sign in Lompoc, CA…:

… has been repainted and no longer has neon:

The Paint Mart sign in Red Bluff, CA was replaced with a boring plastic box. What a shame…:

Last year Hap’s Bait in Rio Vista, CA moved from downtown to the Brannan Island State Recreation Area park. I don’t know if this sign made the move or if it’s gone now:

This sign at a former veterinary clinic in Turlock, CA is gone now:

This restaurant has closed and the sign in Chester, CA is gone:

This sign in Fresno, CA…:

… had the neon removed earlier this year and backlit plastic letters installed – so tragic:

Here’s another one that’s been plastic-ed this year — in Long Beach, CA:

Apparently, this sign in Sacramento:

was repainted around 2022:

The Harbor King sign in San Francisco, CA is missing at the latest StreetView. I’m hoping that’s temporary:

This beautiful sign in San Francisco…:

has been turned into this ugly POS:

Another San Francisco tragedy – the Siegel’s sign:

… now looks like this:

That’s enough for one post. Be back soon with more “discoveries.”

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Picking back up with the “M” states — this former station in Salisbury, MO was looking shabby in 2010:

and this is what it looked like in June:

This former Pan-Am station in Prentiss, MS is gone now – replaced with a new supermarket:

This former station in Lexington, MS:

… has been renovated for Holmes County:

This former Texaco in La Grande, OR was restored in 2008 and began selling full-service gas from vintage pumps. The pumps were removed in 2018:

And now, the building is housing The Local, an ice cream and coffee shop:

This former Flying A station in Portland, OR is gone now:

The former Phillips 66 in Ashland, OR has been vacant for many years. The new StreetView shows it being restored:

Sure enough, it opened as a Kingston Cannabis in April. Photo from an Ashland news article:

The former Standard Oil Red Crown station in Lafayette, IN has been renovated as a 24-hour library. Here’s one of my photos from when it was a Standard Oil museum:

From StreetView a couple of months ago:

And from the library’s website — vending machines for books — who knew!

This Red Crown in Galesburg, IL is now housing Sprinkle & Spoon:

Please somebody, save me! This former Pure Oil in Welch, WV, vacant since forever, is apparently missing the roof in back over the bays on the right:

This former Esso station in Lynchburg, VA was vacant for many years. Then, in 2016, it was remodeled for Fifth & Federal Station, a bar & restaurant. But then, during a riot in 2020, the place was badly damaged (there are articles online about the facemask incident & all that…). Anyhow, they replaced all the windows and got the place back in operation but then gave up last year. And so it sits:

This former Pure Oil station in Enfield, NC has been restored and reopened this summer as an interior design store:

I never got a chance to shoot this Matawan Texaco station in Madison, WI which last housed a Michael’s Frozen Custard. There’s now a giant apartment building there:

WTF? This former station in Ralston, OK recently had a water and ice vending machine built into the left half of the building. Why…..?

I can’t say I’m surprised by this one. This former Conoco cottage station in Altus, OK is gone now:

Fingers crossed — the most recent Street View shows the long closed Conoco station in Buffalo, OK getting some work done:

This former cottage station in Tulsa, OK…:

.

… has been fixed up and now houses Chacuteray (cheese & charcuterie):

This former cottage station in Tulsa, OK is gone now:

The Threatt Filling Station in Luther, OK was restored earlier this year:

This former Sinclair station in Italy, TX has been restored and houses the Station Cafe. The pole sign reads “Enco Service Station” and there’s that Esso sign on the canopy but I doubt this station was ever operating as those brands:

This former restaurant with an attached streetcar in Gordon, TX has been abandoned for years:

The latest StreetView from June shows that something is going down. Despite much searching at Google, I couldn’t find out what the plans are:

This double canopy former Conoco station in Corpus Christi, TX will be remodeled as a pizza and ice cream shop this year:

That’s a wrap for the Gas Stations section. Be back soon with a some “news” from the Signs section.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Lots of good news in this post for a change! The long-abandoned “White Elephant” gas station in Roanoke, AL from 1922…:

… started housing a drive-thru coffee shop last year:

In 2023, this long-vacant former Pure Oil gas station in Brewton, AL…

… was painted pink and began housing the Fancy Taco and Grill:

This former station in Jacksonville, FL…

… began housing Dreamette Ice Cream earlier this year:

This former station in Pensacola, FL…:

… is now being restored — StreetView from April:

But even better – this article from October shows many photos of the progress — and it looks GREAT!
https://www.pnj.com/picture-gallery/news/2023/10/19/historic-sinclair-gas-station-restoration-in-pensacola/71244529007/

This former Texaco station in Gainesville, GA looked like this just a few years ago…:

Restoration of the building began in 2018. In 2022, it opened as the Standard Service restaurant and taproom:

Another miracle – this station in Beardstown, IL…:

… has been transformed into this ice cream shop:

This nice little former Sinclair station in Lincoln, IL still had the original colors and porcelain enamel panels. It was one of just a handful of these buildings in a fairly original state:

… but now the building’s been painted over:

Here’s a tragedy in Evansville, IN. This special station looked like this in 2010 — shabby but there was still hope of turning it around:

I followed its progressing demise at StreetView for years now — missing the roof in 2015:

and now — just the little octagonal footprint:

After decades of being vacant and then many years of restoration, this station in New Orleans, LA has opened as a Cafe Habana:

This station in Brunswick, MO is gone now:

Restoration of this former Skelly station in Macon, MO started earlier this year:

That’s enough for now. I should be able to wrap up Gas Stations in the next post. Then, I’ll be starting on the Signs section.

Happy trails — and Happy New Year!
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

This former Bell’s Hamburgers, later Zack’s Hamburgers, in Charlotte, NC closed in 2021 and the sign was removed. A huge vacant lot there as of last year:

The Hong Kong restaurant in Pensacola, FL closed around 2019. This pagoda entrance was recently removed while the building remains vacant:

The Chinatown Restaurant and Japanese Steakhouse in Wyoming, MI closed in 2016. In 2022, the pagoda-like facade was removed for Rio Peruvian and Mexican Cuisine:

This KN Root Beer in Mayfield, KY is gone now — a big empty lot there (and all over town) after the big tornado in 2021:

This B&K Root Beer in Akron, OH closed in 2018 and was demolished earlier this year:

This former Sandy’s Hamburgers in Fayetteville, AR was demolished earlier this year:

The Sky View Drive-in in Florence, SC was destroyed by a fire in 2008 and this sign remained on the vacant lot until earlier this year:

Perhaps the best-preserved example of the Village Inn Pizza Parlor chain was in Billings, MT. It closed last year and was demolished in March:

The former White Tower in Worcester, MA has housed countless businesses over the years. And now has a wild paintjob for the Caribbean Vybz Jamaican restaurant:

This former Tastee-Freez in Fuquay-Varina, NC...:

… has been remodeled for Pelican’s Snoballs:

That wraps up the Eateries section — all nearly 300 pages worth. I’m moving on to the Gas Stations section now with more posts coming soon.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Mr. Ed’s Family Restaurant in Canon City, CO closed earlier this year and now the property is surrounded by chain link fencing. I don’t have a good feeling about this:

The Dari-Delite in Swissvale, PA was closed for many years but reopened in 2021. The sign has been repainted:

The Dairy Dream, former Dairy Queen, in Dunkirk, OH...:

… has repainted the rooftop sign repainted the rooftop sign recently and gave the building a black & white paintjob:

Here’s a better photo from their FB page:

The Dairy Queen in Carbondale, IL closed earlier this year and the rooftop sign was removed. It is now housing The Big Chill:

This chateau style (unique to Canada and rare) Dairy Queen in Montreal, QC…:

… closed around 2020. The latest StreetView shows it boarded up, tagged, and behind fencing — I fear for its life:

This castle style Burger King in Pennsville, NJ was demolished and replaced with a giant modern Taco Bell:

This pirate statue was installed at Sylvia’s Super Sub Shop in Allen Park, MI in 1969. The restaurant closed in 2020..:

… but the statue was saved and installed at Sylvia’s Catering in Jackson, MI earlier this year. It looks like the statue has been restored!:

This former Hot ‘n Now building in Marshfield, WI is gone now:

This former Royal Castle in Tallahassee, FL is gone now:

Although this Wishbone location in Tifton, GA had been closed since 2019, the sign remained until earlier this year:

The former Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Belleville, MI had been adapted decades ago for the China King Express restaurant:

It’s still there now but the original HoJo’s tiles and the Chinese temple tower are gone. At least the entrance remains:

The former Chicken Coop in Elkhart, IN is gone now:

The former Lodge Coffee Shop in Lompoc, CA was demolished last month:

This former Little Tavern in Washington, DC has housed many different businesses in recent years. Earlier this year, it began housing District Doughnut:

That’s enough for one post. Still many pages to go in the Eateries section. Be back soon…

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram