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.
I’ve got about a week’s worth of photos from this trip to add to my website (so, another 7 or so companion blog posts here). My goal is to finish up this project by Thanksgiving.
On with the show! This Masonic Lodge sign is in Fairbury has backlit reverse painted glass panels:
This Masonic Lodge sign is in Falls City:
This one is also in Falls City:
This sign is in Tecumseh:
This one is in Beatrice. It’s been repainted a number of times and I don’t know what business it originally advertised for:
This one is in Lincoln at Castle Drive-in Beer & Liquors. The top panel which reads “Spirits” may have had the original business name:
A few more signs from Lincoln. Note the neon at the bottom alternates between “Beer” and “Liquor”:
Ace Rent to Own was established around 1982. I assume that this sign was adapted, but maybe not. The boxy part on top with the playing cards appears to have revolved:
The photo studio is long gone but the sign remains:
This one in Fairmont used to read “Food” on front and back. Whatever the business was, it’s long gone:
This one is in Fairbury. It’s now K&D Liquor although it still reads “Rick’s Still”:
This one in Geneva had been in storage for years and was finally refurbished & installed:
One more sign — this one in Friend:
Some non-signs. This praying mantis and grasshopper are made from car bumpers and installed in Lincoln:
The former A&W Papa Burger at the Dairy Sweet in Auburn:
A vacant motor bank in Falls City. The drive-thru is under that cool canopy:
An Art Deco fraternity building in Lincoln:
The Joyo Theatre in Lincoln:
Back soon with the last Nebraska installment before we move on to Colorado.
This was a very productive day — loads of Omaha and other cities.
This former Champlin gas station sign in Columbus was painted over for Geno’s Bait:
The pump canopy is also still there:
This Royal Inn sign is also in Columbus:
This sign is in Fremont. It was originally a Max I. Walker Cleaners:
It originally looked like this one in Omaha:
This shabby sign in Omaha…:
… was originally a Ford A-1 used car neon sign:
I have no idea where this sign was installed originally but it is now displayed inside Billy Frogg’s Grill & Bar in Omaha:
I love the signs and statues at the King Kong locations in Omaha:
This modern version of the famous La Casa Pizzaria sign on Leavenworth was built in 2019 for the S. 168th St. location in Omaha:
This sign is at Key Cleaners in Omaha:
This sign at Johnny Sortino’s Pizza Parlor in Omaha is a modern version of the original sign…:
… from 1965:
Some more Omaha signs:
This sign:
was originally installed in Villisca, IA at the Marsh Motel, later the Circle J Motel. The tattoo studio owner found the sign at a junkyard and had it adapted for his business in 2013.
The State Theatre sign is in Auburn:
Many of you in California may be familiar with Salinas-based John Cerney super realistic mural signs. This one in Fremont is the only Cerney sign in Nebraska:
This sign is also in Fremont. The store which opened in 1925 closed last year but the sign is still there for now:
This Fraternal Oder of Eagles in Fremont was built from 1949-1950:
The original sign has ripple tin panels:
This multi-dome building in Columbus appears to be mid-century:
This Fire Station in Omaha was built from 1965-1968:
The incredible former Union Station in Omaha (now the Durham Museum):
This windmill in Fremont was built in 1929 as part of a gas station/motor court in Silver Creek, NE:
It was moved to Fremont in 1982 for the Wooden Windmill Restaurant which closed earlier this year:
Let’s close with a few statues. This three-dimensional version of Peppi, based on the original La Casa Pizzaria sign, was built for the Grover St. location in Omaha around 2014:
This 33-foot-tall “Looking Up” sculpture is located in Council Bluffs, IA:
Omar the Troll is located under the Kerry Pedestrian Bridge in Omaha:
I’ve got about nine more days of shooting to add to my website. So, about 9 more blog posts as well before I move on to the grueling but important winter project: checking every single link and map at my website for updates. There will be lots of depressing blog posts here simultaneously with that effort. But for now, let’s focus on things that are still out there rather than removed or demolished.
Let’s start with this sign in Thedford. There used to be an arrow-shaped sign on the building next door to the motel for the Arrow Cafe but that sign is gone now:
This sign is in Neligh:
This one is also in Neligh. I guess the canopy which has been there for years protects the neon:
This faded beauty is in Norfolk:
The Benson Hotel sign is in Oakland. For more opal glass signs, see my website here:
This sign is in Hartington. Although the remaining neon has been removed, it was repainted recently and looks pretty nice. The hotel is owned and used by the local vets that appear on the show “Heartland Docs”:
This modern sign is in Butte:
This sign is in Pender. It originally just read “HOTEL” when it was installed for the Palace Hotel. The wording was changed when the building was renovated and adapted for apartments:
Moving on to some buildings. This is located in Oakland:
This former gas station is in Bristow:
This former dealership is in Springview:
This former gas station is in Humphrey:
One more — another gas station in Bassett. This was built in 1931 as a Phillips 66 station:
We’ll be moving on to Omaha and other cities in the next post.
Here comes the reminder: lots more photos — and different ones from this blog over at Flickr:
I’ve got just a few photos to share from the morning in Cheyenne, WY before we move on.
Unforturnately, the neon on this Fraternal Order of Eagles Lodge sign has been “updated” with crappy LED tubing. By night, the tubing sequences between different colors:
The Lariat Motel sign has been missing its neon forever. The word “Motel” was painted over recently as the rooms are being converted into apartments. The owner says that he wants to restore this sign. We shall see:
This sign looks better than it has in many years. The faded & peeling paint has been removed:
This sign must certainly have had neon letters originally.
From the end of the day in Martin, SD:
Moving on now to signs signs from Nebraska. This sign in Crawford previously advertised for the Frontier Bar:
This sign is in Chadron. Those squares look like dice to me with backlit pips for 3 and 4 but I can find no evidence of that:
The Western Trails Sports Post moved to this building in Scottsbluff in 1988. I can’t figure out what the sign looked like before that. This store has closed:
This neon bowling sign in Gering has been updated with plastic letters and LED rope:
This Dairy Sweet location is in Crawford. The chain had over 200 franchises by 1959, with most of them in Iowa but a few were in Nebraska and Iowa. These “kit” walk-up stands were produced in Ankeny, IA. This one has been expanded on both sides. These plastic signs were also mass-produced for the locations, including the boy licking a soft-serve ice cream cone:
On to some buildings. The slipcover on this theatre in Chadron was added in 1967 when it changed its name from the Pace Theatre:
I have not yet figured out the previous occupant for this building in Cheyenne, WY and the reason for the castle paint job. The tower on the corner in the center of this photo used to be taller.
This building in Scottsbluff, NE previously housed the L.B. Murphy department store:
This former Sinclair station is in Sidney, NE. The building is vacant right now:
There are not many of these left is such intact shape. Here’s a vintage photo (no idea where this one was) to show the original look:
The last full day of Wyoming. Here come the signs. This one is in Torrington — the neon has been gone for many years:
Another sign from Torrington. This was originally the Blue Lantern Court:
This cute, funky one is in Laramie:
Another sign from Laramie. The neon was removed and the sign was repainted recently:
This one is in Casper:
Another few more signs from Casper. This one advertised for the Western Grill until recently:
Note the “Futurmatic” text painted beneath “Wardrobe” and the rocket fins. This place is closed and up for sale so this sign might be gone any day now:
This sign is in Douglas:
Another sign from Douglas. This one is at the back entrance of the Double D Liquors bar. Funky wooden panels and I can’t help but wonder with the construction and bolts if his arms ever moved:
From Wheatland. Painted wooden panels tacked over what might have been a different name:
Enough signs for now. I don’t cover these clocks at my website but I’m still fascinated with them. These Brown Street Clock Company cast-iron clocks were the most prolific in the country and a number of them are still around. This one in Laramie was made around 1920 for Midwest Truck and Sporting Goods. It still has the backlit drop glass globes. The clock is owned by the city and was restored in 2014. It still operates and is lit at night.
Moving on to some buildings. This former Texaco is in Wheatland. That yellow car hasn’t moved since I took photos of it in 2012:
This building in Casper housed the Mountain Bell Telephone Company when it was built in 1972:
This former Imperial 400 Motel in Casper was built in 1962. I’ve got a whole bunch of these motels at this section of my website:
This former Red Barn restaurant in Casper was built in 1965:
Lastly, this former Tastee-Freez in Casper still has the original sign and you can just see the rounded lip of the building’s canopy beneath that despite the dining room addition:
There are about 2 1/2 days of photos for this portion of Wyoming before we move on to Nebraska.
The day actually started in Hot Springs, SD. So, here is one more from there. This oldie at the Braun Hotel started as a bulb sign and was later updated with neon:
In the 1950s, the Hotel Antlers in Newcastle, WY had different signs:
In 2008, the current sign still had some neon and the arrow had bulbs:
Another sign from Lovell — at the Horseshoe Bend Motel:
This modern sign is probably from 1994 (when the store opened) in Cody:
Wayne’s Boot Shop in Cody has been there since 1959. This sign is probably from later on but still looks relatively old:
This sign in Cody has been there since at least 1961 and may have been there since the 1950s:
This cowboy and bulbs sign is in Dayton:
Another cowboy sign — this one is in Meeteetse:
This arrow sign is located at the Rock Trim Motel in Sheridan:
A couple of other signs from Sheridan:
If you are into signs (gas globes, vintage cars), then The Frontier Auto Museum in Gillette needs to go on your bucket list. Here are just a few photos:
This motel was originally in Gillette. This sign was in bad shade, no neon, crappy paint but restored for the museum:
I have seen a half-dozen or so of the square-ish Buster Brown Shoes neon signs but I have never seen one this early with bulbs:
Moving on to a couple of buildings. The Alamo Inn & Suites in Gillette was built in 1963 as the Sands Motor Lodge. Here are a couple of postcards from around then (the sign is long gone):
and from June (and the pool is still there!):
This building at Hammer Chevrolet in Sheridan was built in 1950 when the place was also selling Oldsmobile:
The building was remodeled in 2004 but some of the features were kept or recreated:
Let’s close with a couple of statue-y things. This 30-foot-long rifle is in Cody:
This happy guy was made from metal and is located in Upton:
I’ve got a hefty batch of photos for this post before we move on to Wyoming. Let’s start with some signs from Rapid City. This rooftop sign:
may have started out as a bulb sign:
and then it looked like this later:
In the mid-1950s, the sign got its current shape for the Hotel “Sheraton” Johnson:
In 1968, Sheraton was dropped and the hotel went back to the original name — hence the widely spaced “ALEX” letters there now. If you look closely, you’ll see that the neon was swapped for LED strips in 2016.
More signs from Rapid City:
A rare vacuum-form, plastic sign at a former dealership:
Three signs from Chamberlain:
A couple of signs from Bell Fourche:
More about these “alignment bear” aka “happy bear” signs at my website here:
Two signs from the Full Throttle Saloon in Vale. This one was originally located in Anna, IL. I don’t know how it found its way here:
This sign was originally installed in Sturgis:
There’s not much paint left on the Gem Hotel in Murdo:
This one is also in Murdo:
This sign is in Kadoka:
From the end of the day in Hot Springs:
Time for some buildings. This house is in Gregory. I don’t know what company produced these prefabricated, modular structures or exactly when/how long they were made but I’ve shot maybe a dozen of them around the country:
This midcentury microwave tower is on the roof of the former Northwestern Bell Building in Rapid City:
A former A&W “pilgrim hat” in Winner (now a Chinese restaurant). I’ve got nine pages of A&W buildings and signs at my website here:
This business moved in 2012 and the sign disappeared for a while. I’m glad to see it’s back up at the new location:
This company is moving but supposedly both of their scaffold signs will be integrated into the new development. Fingers crossed:
This sign is in Yankton:
This incredible Pontiac dealership sign is/was located at Spomer Classics in Worthington, MN. The owner had decided to close the museum and sell off most of the signs when I was there in June:
This sign is also in Worthington, MN:
Back to South Dakota. These two signs are on the Beseda Hall building (a Czech community center) in Tabor:
This sign hangs in downtown Colton despite the business being closed. These Deere signs are very popular with collectors and I can’t think of any like this one still on public display:
Let’s move on to a couple of statues. This Mr. Bendo is in Sioux Falls. If International Fiberglass statues are your thing, you’ll LOVE this section at my website:
This Jackalope in Mitchell was missing his antlers for a while and there were signs not to sit on him. But he’s been restored and now they even have little steps so that you can pose for those photo-ops:
Very sad to see this canopy station in Tripp like this. I was told that a truck hit it a couple of weeks before I was there. I’m hoping they can repair it:
Let’s close with a couple of midcentury modern buildings in Sioux Falls. This Minnehaha County Administration Building was originally a courthouse:
I couldn’t find any info about this beauty but it’s apparently always housed medical offices:
Be back soon with yet more South Dakota. I’ve got about two more days worth of photos for that state to photoshop and add to my website.
I took a little break from the South Dakota photos and went down to the L.A. area last weekend. I wanted to attend the NeonSpeaks Curiosity Lounge event at MONA (the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale) and grab some photos of other things.
The Curiosity Lounge was fun. Lots of neon-loving friends from all over the country came. Chris Raley came down from Fresno with a collection of his miniature sign replicas. Dydia DeLyser & Paul Greenstein brought some new and old things — including this neon salesman’s suitcase:
Will Durham from Reno brought his Vegas Vic replica (yes, the winking eye and cigarette are animated):
In addition to the sign stuff, as promised, there was pie — tiny pies and donuts in the sign garden. That’s Randall Ann Homan on the left, one of the NeonSpeaks organizers who came down from San Francisco with hubby Al Barna:
On to some other things. I believe this sign in Van Nuys was installed around 2014 for a preschool. The panels have been missing since around 2019:
The wrong time of day for this one — but this Thrifty Drug terrazzo is in downtown L.A.:
This Giant RV sign in Downey originally advertised for a GEMCO department store:
This sign in Studio City originally advertised for Joe Kirkwood Lanes which opened in 1958. The business is now the PINZ Entertainment Center:
This mid-century car wash in L.A. looks like it’s being demolished. The sign is still there. Shoot it while you can since it might not be around much longer:
MONA recently acquired a few signs which had been languishing for decades in Anaheim’s city storage. The Sandman Motel sign is now at the museum’s storage facility in Pomona:
This sign is on the side of a building in West Hollywood. A true oldie with add-on letters, a beaded tin border, and opal glass letters at the bottom:
This new replica sign is in downtown L.A. I’ll spare you the long, sketchy story… and where the original is now, no one is saying. While painted aluminum is no substitute for porcelain enamel, sure, it’s better than a plastic box sign. Fingers crossed that the sign mounted on the building is really being restored and won’t also turn up just as a “reasonable facsimile”:
Here’s a cutie sign at Master Auto Repair in Pomona. At first, I thought it might be a “Happy Bear” (alignment bear) sign but the panels are not right. For example, those always have the bear’s but sticking out to one side:
This Masonic Lodge sign is in Redlands:
Let’s move on to some statues. This elephant is installed behind the Blue Room in Burbank. The gun is a reference to mass-shootings and the ring represents the Circle of Life:
This rooftop rabbit is at the Bunny Museum in Altadena:
This bronze sculpture of Cesar Chavez and farmworkers is in Riverside:
This bas relief, Art Deco detail is at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in Pasadena:
Let’s move on to some buildings. This prefabricated, metal gas station in Eagle Rock is from 1919. It seems doomed right now behind the tarped fence. A demo permit has been issued, however, local preservationists are still fighting the good fight:
This building in Santa Ana looked like this in 1931:
The building had been covered with this crappy siding since 1967:
Recently, during redevelopment of the building to the right, the original Art Deco details were revealed when the siding was removed. Supposedly, the facade will be restored to the original look although I think there will be a megastructure above and behind it:
Here’s a nice mid-century detail from the First Presbyterian Church in Redlands:
An Art Deco detail from the former Aero Industries Technical Institute in Glendale:
And lastly — this building from Lake Elsinore looks older but it’s only from 2014. The cute mortar on the roof, symbolizing a drug store mortar and pestle, nearly didn’t get built. The planning commission hated it and thought it was garish and goofy “like a giant donut.” But it did get built with a clause that if the pharmacy leaves, it has to be removed:
RoadArch.com companion 