The dogs and I survived our second day in a row with no AC in the 100 plus heat.  I was busy shooting away although I might have been walking a little slower than normal.  I soaked the dogs in creeks here and there.  And dumped jugs of water on all of it from time to time.   We made the most of it before the next day’s big “date” at the Pep Boys.

Some points south of Abilene to start the day.  This super nice storefront is at Nathan’s Jewelers in Brownwood:

Moving on to Abilene — an Italian restaurant with a nice gondola sign:

Some other nice signs in Abilene:

Note the clever sign pole shaped like a horn:

Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to shoot this rooftop sign at the right time of day:

A nifty downtown building faced with rocks:

I shot this one years ago when it was still operating.  Sad to see it vacant now.  The cream and green on the building are vitrolite tiles:

Two great signs at this place:

Equally great, in a different way:

I’m guessing the sign is 1960s or 1970s.  Note that the “Crier” has an animated arm:

Moving south for a bit.  YES!  I can highly recommend the cherry limeade at this place.  According to the folks inside, this has always been a Hatahoe restaurant in Anson.  The sign had neon originally:

I don’t know if the cup was inspired by Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets but it’s titled pretty much the same way.  Too skinny to be an adapted KFC bucket.  But I suppose one could be easily cut & altered to this shape:

This sign is also in Anson:

This painted brick advertising is in Stamford.  These signs look so nice when they aren’t repainted.  Too many of these Coke signs are bright red now and they details have been lost.  It looks like the first “C” in Coca-Cola has been painted.  But I doubt that’s recent:

Let’s close out with another (former) neon boot in Eastland:

More later,

dj

Well, so much for the “four days” that the Roswell mechanic promised.  By late morning, I cranked on the AC.  Blowing hot air.  Again.  I stuck to my route despite the fact that the nearest Pep Boys was in Abilene.  I set up an appointment with them and  loaded up the water jugs for two days of misery and all-day driving/shooting.  I suppose a saner person would have just holed up in a motel until then.  But, hey, the sun’s out and vacation time is short.

Let’s start out with some signs in Midland with this Holiday Inn sign copycat:

And this “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign copycat.  The Vegas sign was designed by Betty Willis who never had the design copyrighted and it has been lifted for many modern signs lately.  Here’s the Vegas sign:

and the one in Midland:

This truck & rooster are at Big Sky Towing in Odessa:

Manuel’s Restaurant in Odessa has a number of signs:

I would assume that the hot Texas sun has turned the Mexican kid green:

Southern Maid Donuts.  This just might be the best donut I’ve had in my life.  And I’ve had a lot.  Orange glaze with coconut on a puffy, lovely light cake donut.  Gawd.  I could eat six of them in one sitting if I had them.  They have a huge variety.  You must stop if you are driving between El Paso and Dallas on I-20.

The Ector Theatre in Odessa…

… will soon be getting a makeover as evidenced by this development poster in the “Coming Soon” movie poster case:

No such promise for the Scott Theatre in town which I like better:

Fun painting at the Western Drug Package Store:

One more from Odessa.  This funky welding sign.  The chain link fencing prevented me shooting the sunny side.  I’ll try to translate.  A hand in a welding glove on the right and some sparks on an abstract object.  I think.

A couple of signs from Fort Stockton:

This wonderousness is being consumed by trees and pointing at nothing that’s open:

Let’s end with one of my (many) favorite themes:  boot signs.  This one in Big Spring:

And this one at Wood’s Boots in Colorado City:

I’m off to photoshop like a demon for the rest of the night.  I’m hoping to get the rest of these blog and Flickr posts up this weekend.  Then, I can settle down into the groove of working on the website.  I figure it’ll take me maybe six months to get the nearly 2,000 photos inserted there.

Don’t forget, I’m simultaneously uploading a sampling of each day’s photos from this trip over at Flickr (different photos than this blog):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

dj & the still recuperating dogs

I finished up my Roswell, NM shooting in the morning and was all eager to wrap up the Southern New Mexico stuff and get over to the big chunk of stuff in Texas.  It was around 10:30am and I decided to turn on the AC since it was in the 80s already and climbing quickly.  No dice.   Blowing hot air.  Evidently, it took four days for the freon to leak out again since Day 1’s long pitstop at the Pep Boys in Yuma.  Crap.    I wanted to hit another Pep Boys since the job was under warranty.  But it turns out there aren’t any Pep Boys in Southern NM — not even in Albuquerque.  The closest was Santa Fe, NM which was WAY north and a huge break from my planned route.  It was a Saturday and the mechanic at the Goodyear was nice enough to drop what he was doing to look things over.  He couldn’t find any leaks anywhere despite his fairly high tech machine and decades of expertise.   He suspected the rattling compressor or the seal leading to the line behind it.  But he told me not to worry since AC systems are very predictable.  If I’d gotten four days, I’d get another four with the refill.  (Not so it would turn out.)

I’d always wanted to know more about that Goodyear anyway but I didn’t get very far.  One guy said it was a car dealership (Cadillac).  But another guy insisted it was always a GE appliance dealer.

And so, after about a two hour delay, we were on our way.  Here’s a nicely aged sign in Roswell.  Let’s hope they never repainted it since that would ruin it:

A couple of signs from Artesia, NM:

This one may have bright paint but the rust and holes on the can indicate this sign is super old.  Bennie’s Western Wear opened here in 1947 and I’m inclined to believe the sign is from then:

On the way west end of Hobbs, NM, at a closed restaurant-ish looking place, was this C-152 Lectra sign.  There are about a dozen of these left scattered around the country.  The arms were studded with bulbs originally.  This video gives you an idea of what these signs would have looked like at night:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8492055@N08/4794881045/

 

That’s the end of New Mexico for awhile.  We now move on to Texas for awhile.  This funky panel mish-mash is in Big Spring on the east end of town:

More coming right up.

dj

 

Since El Paso is right up against the southern New Mexico border, it made sense to grab that city at this point rather than with the rest of Texas.  Let’s start there.

Apparently, a building was just knocked down on this lot revealing some nicely preserved “ghost dogs” (vintage painted advertising signs):

This sign has been painted, badly.  From 2012:

and now with the name painted over and the tires and grill crudely painted:

The Sunbeam sign is also missing the girl now.  My photo from 2008:

Google Maps Street View shows she was still there in 2015 so this change must be recent:

The Barrel House Liquor sign:

Right behind it is the Cappetto’s Italian Restaurant sign:

The bulb piece on top must have been amazing.  I assume it some sort of flashy thing.  I’ve seen poles with bulbs on them attached to poles.  But nothing with THIS many bulbs:

An older panel below the main panel of the Montana Motel sign.  With these vacancy signs, these “Sorry No” letters could be turned on as needed with a separate switch:

This operating Coca-Cola plant sign is most likely modern.  It reads Dr. Pepper on the other side.  It apparently revolved originally but not on this trip:

This one’s definitely vintage.  It’s inside the High Altitude bike shop in Cloudcroft, NM:

On to Roswell, NM.  I didn’t shoot any alien stuff — not my thing.  This Roswell Motor Supply sign was installed at a local business.  It has been installed inside this Farley’s restaurant/bar since around 2004.  The bellhop? mechanic? has an animated saluting arm.  Although the sign is usually lit, there was a problem and the manager couldn’t get it to come on.  Bummer:

11 more days to come…

dj

 

For those of you who are curious about the route of this trip…. From SoCal, I headed through southern Arizona and New Mexico and into Texas.  The eastward most point was the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  On to some northern Texas and then northern New Mexico and Arizona.  I dropped back down to I-10 for the trip home.  That was the hottest day which was at least 118 degrees.

Yes, all of my roadtrips are very planned out (see the “How to Plan a Roadtrip” page here at my blog) for the details.  I have been to these states about four times now and combed them pretty thoroughly.  But there are always new things that I didn’t know about or things that have changed (repainted, remodeled, or fallen on harder times) that merit reshooting.  I’d say I only stumble upon 1% of the stuff that I shoot by accident.  I only post a few of the “lesser” subjects here at the blog.  A handful of nicer subjects over at Flickr.  Then, the bulk of the photos (roughly 2,000 photos on this trip) are gradually inserted at the website over the next six months or so.

I wrapped up Tucson in the morning.  Here’s one of my favorite storefronts:

The only photos of my three dogs that I took on this trip were these at the abandoned Spanish Trail Motel.  As I have mentioned more than a few times already, the heat was brutal on this trip.  So, the dogs only left the van to pee during the day.  Their running was only around sunup (5:30am) at public parks and schools which have grassy areas.  Nothing interesting to shoot for you there.  Although this place has pavement, it wasn’t warm yet and there were no stickers, fire ants, or cactus.  We had the displeasure of all three of those on this trip. Here are a couple shots — left to right — Gremmie (Gremlin, ~10), Grizzie (Griswold, ~5), and Sparkle (my legendary van, ~14).

Nik (Sputnik) prefers his giant ballie on pavement.  Since he’s blind, he can hear it bounce when I throw it.  He likes to hover over it and bark at it; push it around with his nose and bark at it.  He can smell the plastic that its made of and I can also help direct him to the ball (“right”, “left”, “back”, “come”).  For water romps (I was always on the lookout on this trip and scored more than a few times), he likes more normal-sized toys.  He can approximate where they land when I throw them and then fine-tunes with his nose.  He’s in good shape for a 14-year-old.

The Silver Saddle sign is located just across the highway from the Spanish Trail Motel:

Family shot — temps going up, let’s get outta here:

Moving on to New Mexico.  One of the highlights of the day was finally meeting Teaku Nunn who has transformed Hatch into a whole lotta fun small town.  He has lots of fiberglass statues & other cool stuff along the main drag.  His “Sparky’s” restaurant is the epicenter of the statuary.  The interior also has loads of signs & other stuff.  He showed me some of the things that are not on public display.  This mystery statue appears to be a bunny but with a globe-shaped head.  I don’t recognize this character (and neither does Teaku):

He also has a couple of fiberglass A&W (Root Beer Drive-in) Family mugs.  Many of these statues are missing these so maybe these will be snatched up soon.  Note the mugs are different sizes depending on whether they are for Mama, Papa, Baby or Teen Burger statues.
http://www.roadarch.com/giants/aw.html

Inside Sparky’s — a rare Harbie statue:
http://www.roadarch.com/critters/sea2.html

In the background is this sign — which I recognized immediately as missing from El Paso.  This two part sign was originally installed at Sanitary Plumbing & Heating.  Here’s what it looked like in place:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/52676908@N02/5043701804/

One more from Sparky’s.  I’m not sure if this is vintage or a repro.  But I think it’s vintage:

More tomorrow night,

dj

Moving on now from the Phoenix area — heading east.  Here’s the Copper Mountain Motel in Superior, AZ:

A former Sprouse Reitz store in Superior.  I’ve got a couple of others in better shape at my webpage here:
http://www.roadarch.com/dept/other3.html

 

This sign in Globe, AZ, has been repainted and some of the text changed.  Here’s my photo from 2012:

and from this trip:

 

This one in Coolidge, AZ.  Remember when Mastercard was Master Charge?:

This sign in Casa Grande has been painted over but the neon detail on top is still amazing.  I love the little loops on the ends.  It must have been wonderful at night:

Moving on to Tucson.  This sign was restored in 2013:

I’ve shot the “Muffler Man” at Leo’s many times but I don’t think I’ve ever shot the sign:

The Ye Olde Lantern sign, now in pieces, is displayed in Dirk Arnold’s yard:
http://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-oddity-lantern-sign-now-brightens-yard/article_cbbdde63-1cda-5fac-906f-dbc66f2f4529.amp.html

Here’s what the sign looked like when it was intact:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mwaters/111677515/

I’ve never seen pinatas in progress before — very fun!

A quite famous sign in Tucson.  I’m always relieved that it’s still there.  Here’s what the Mayflower moving truck on top looked like originally:
http://www.roadsidepeek.com/roadusa/southwest/arizona/azsign/azothersign/tucsonwarehouse.jpg

The skeptic in me believed this was a retro (new made to look old) sort of place.  But, no, it’s the real deal.  The Shelter was built in 1961:

The building was redeveloped as apartments but they left the sign alone.  The trees are consuming it now though:

The Buffet Bar sign is protected with clear plastic panels.  An ugly trade-off for keeping it lit at night:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/army_arch/33209314805/

The building next door but a little higher up and safer from vandals:

The T&T Market:

Too late in the day to shoot the other side properly.  I had to find a gap in the tree branches to get even this:

A miraculous survivor in Southwest Tucson on the Benson Highway:

Recently restored but the “San” was out on both sides of the sign:

At least the wonderful and warm opal glass letters at the bottom are lit.  I think the backlit opal letters are even sexier and more romantic than neon.  Very few are still lit at night:
http://www.roadarch.com/sca/opal.html

Lots more coming.

dj

Whew!  It is SO good to be home in the fog and cool breezes.  17 days of 100+ degree days in the Southwest was not pleasant BUT I got loads of photos so it was definitely worth the pain.  Several days were spent driving 12 hrs. plus without A/C so the dogs and I really got to feel what the desert is all about.  I had plenty of water to douse the dogs and my head and we got though it alive.  Ice cream was a near daily staple.

Day 2 got off to a slow start since the first half of it was spent at the Pep Boys in Yuma getting the A/C fixed — or so I thought.  It only lasted 4 days.   A lot of boring highway miles on Day 3 before we arrived in the Phoenix area.  Let’s start with some photos from there.

I don’t know what business this pawn shop sign advertised for originally:

Google Street View from 2007 gives a clue — the dollar sign panels look like they were originally “H”s:

I believe this was a liquor store originally.  There are apparently identical buildings in the California desert (e.g., Needles, Yucca Valley).  So, it might have been a chain:

The last time I visited the Christown Lanes in 2012, the building was greyish & white:

By 2015, the building had flashier red paint.  The paitn was getting a touch up when I was here on this trip:

I doubt the rock wall was three-tone like this originally:

This gigantic sign visible from I-17 was a Goodyear sign originally:

This vintage photo is from this website:
http://www.historyadventuring.com/2015/07/the-importance-of-goodyear-to-history.html

There are very few of these Travelodge signs left so I’ve started shooting them even when they’ve been hideously adapted.  I don’t believe there are any that still advertise for Travelodge:

This postcard shows there original look:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/4661477278/

I don’t know the original business for this one but I like the shapes.  I assume the disk on top revolved:

Much to admire here at this mid-century modern building in Mesa.  The screen, the columns with ballies, the brick planters, the raised letters….

Also in Mesa.  Gotta be 1970s, right?  Yes, this is a big one.  The top panel still revolves:

In Chandler.  Originally a Chrysler sign.  That’s the “Flookerang” (Forward Look) logo in neon on top:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_Look

 

A former KFC bucket sign in Chandler was adapted last year for a Bosa Donuts.  This would have had the more modern bucket Colonel graphic originally.  I believe the vintage buckets were a tad narrower.

One more from Chandler.  Maybe this was always the Wingfoot Mini-Mart.  Much to love — the spear, the ballie, the shish-kebab panels below:

So much more to come…

Don’t forget that I do these blog/Flickr posts in separate, simultaneous batches.  Other nicer-looking signs, buildings & other stuff over here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

dj & the dogs

Here we go!  Three weeks all carefully planned out to maximize my precious vacation time.  Only about half of it is paid but I’ll deal with the debt later.  If you want to contribute to gas, I won’t stop you.  Donations to Sparkle’s tank can be made through my email address at Paypal.com (roadarch@outlook.com).  Thanks!!

First stop was in Corona, CA for this sign which was restored a couple of years ago.  I’m a little obsessed with Happy Bear signs right now since I just finished writing an article for the SCA Journal about them.  This is the only Bear sign still lit so it deserves three photos here.  By the way, for more examples & info about these signs, my webpage is here:
http://www.roadarch.com/signs/bear.html

Headed eastward into the desert in the morning.  Here are a couple of signs from Hemet, CA:

Five Corner Liquors in San Jacinto, CA:

From Desert Hot Springs, CA:

The Broadview Lodge in Desert Hot Springs is no more but this single sided panel has been placed at the back of the property.

Colt’s Lodge in Palm Springs has two modern diver signs next to the pool (thanks Heather David for the tip!):

 

This motel in Peyton Shores (near the Salton Sea) is long gone but this sign remains:

Around 11am, I decided to crank up the A/C.  Nothing.  And it was already 93 degrees.  So, the dogs and I toughed it out since we were in the middle of nowhere and there were no reputable repair shops that I saw.  There were signs for miles advertising the date shakes in Westmorland.  I was so ready for this and it was sheer nirvana:

A few signs in Brawley.  Garcia’s Market:

Long abandoned sign without a building:

At the Mexican border in Calexico.  I don’t know what business this sign advertised for originally:

And then across the border into Arizona — woo hoo!  In Yuma where I spent the night.

Pep Boys to the rescue — an appt at 9am to get the A/C repaired.  Sounds like it was just the freon.  Bone dry.  Since I never use it where I live in SoCal (right on the beach where it rarely gets above 70).  It sounds like another 30 mins and we will be on our way.  I hadn’t planned on posting to the blog until I got home but this was a good way to kill the time.  More photos over at Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

I’ll get posting the rest of the vacation when I get home at the end of the month.

Happy trails,

dj & the dogs

I took a couple of little quickie L.A. area trips in the past few weeks.  Crappy weather but I took some photos anyway.

A towering sign with plastic ballies at the State Farm Insurance office in Inglewood:

Lace-like concrete screen at Pilgrim Fence in Huntington Park:

The Shamrock Lounge in Huntington Park:

Martin’s TV & Radio Center in South Gate:

At the vacant Artesia Drive In Dairy:

A sibling of the Auto Chek Smog Center from the early 1980s which I posted here at this blog recently.  This one is in Stanton and is now known as Super Smog:

This past weekend, I made a little trip up to the Sacramento area to give Sparkle another road test before my vacation.  All systems are go!  Here are some sign photos for you.  The City Motel in Fresno, CA.  This one is hidden away behind the building:

Index Printing is in Newman, CA.  The business is gone and the neon is broken but the porcelain panels are still shiny:

From Patterson — this spear-like sign pierces the canopy.  Hard to see in the shade but there’s concrete block over there on the left:

This pretty sign is in Twain Harte at the El Dorado Motel:

From Mi-Wuk Village at Diamond Jim’s — this heart-shaped sign is mounted sideways to point at the restaurant:

From Sacramento:

Also Sacramento — always in the shade when I try to shoot it.  Some info about the place here:
http://of-nothing.blogspot.com/2008/01/poseys-cottage.html

Heading for the freeway in Martinez, I stumbled upon this clown sign in a residential neighborhood.  I have no idea where it was originally installed:

More photos from this weekend over at Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Lots and lots of photos coming up in July.  My 3-week roadtrip starts in early June — Arizona, New Mexico & some Western Texas.

Until then, Happy Trails,

dj & the dogs

I made a little trip down to the L.A. area on Saturday to grab some photos.  Some reshoots, some things that have been on my list for awhile, and some unexpected discoveries.

Here’s a nice ripple tin oldie from Echo Park (Los Angeles):

Here’s a batch of stuff from Covina:

I have no idea how old this one is.  Certainly, the text is new or if this place has always been Baskin-Robbins.  If it has always been a B-R, the text was updated as the company updated the logo.  It’s not often you see a B-R neon sign.  I’m assuming it’s lit at night and fantasizing that it’s pink and blue neon:

I’d love to know what this big monster advertised for originally:

A cutie-patootie from Glendora:

Equally or more cute in Covina.  I’m assuming there was a different biz here originally with different letters — but I can live with this transformation:

A close-up of Mr. Cinderblock (my name):

Some signs from San Bernardino:

I wonder how many layers of paint are there:

One more from San Bernardino.  I believe this has always been backlit plastic (not neon) but I could be wrong.  The place opened in 1961 but, unfortunately, it closed last year:

Moving on to some buildings — a repurposed Fotomat in Covina:

This place in Covina blew me away — love the angled sign and the decapitated pyramid.  I’m guessing 1970s:

How about this shredded brick corner?  Does anyone remember the BEST Product Showrooms?
http://www.archdaily.com/778003/the-intersection-of-art-and-architecture-the-best-products-showrooms-by-site-sculpture-in-the-environment

It turns out, there are FIVE other locations similar to this.  You can bet, I’ll be shooting them all!
http://www.autochekcenters.com/locations–hours.html

 

Moving on to one of my obsessions:  Bear Alignment signs.  They’ll be the subject of my feature for the the Winter SCA Journal issue — what’s the SCA Journal?  If you’re not a member, and you like signs and buildings and Americana, you wanta become a member so you’re not missing out.  Or you can buy a few Journals just to get a taste here:

http://sca-roadside.org/sca-publications/

I’ve been adding to this little page for awhile which explains a bit about these signs and shows examples from around the country:
http://www.roadarch.com/signs/bear.html

This weekend, I bumped into this little funky sign in Covina with the happy Bear:

One of the priorities of this trip was shooting this Bear Alignment shop Glendora, CA.  I believe this is the only wheel alignment shop in-the-round.  One of the things that makes Bear shops unique is the equipment and the pit.  Not having lifts makes servicing faster.  You pull forward, and the mechanics get right to work:

Note that little bridge stairway in the photo above?  Upstairs, the owner shared with the this framed vintage aerial photo:

and this one:

The upstairs office is original (1960s)!

The Bear sign in Corona was restored last year.  I shot it last year but had a shadow from that palm tree.  This time, the light was right!

The shop is very proud of its Bear-ness.  Painted bears in the front window – and even the workers have embroidered bears on their shirts.  Here’s the manager, Paul, who told me he’s considering adding some animation or flashing to the sign.  I explained to him that the Vodie’s Bear shop in Garden Grove recently restored their giant bear sign and added back the original moving mouth.  Paul seemed enthusiastic about doing that.  I mentioned that most cities have strict laws about moving signs.  He seemed to think it wouldn’t be a problem since the city was very happy about the restoration of this sign.

This former Helm’s Bakery building in San Bernardino was a surprise.  Yeah, it’s pretty junked up now but the Art Deco details are still nice:

The incredible library is in Covina:

One more sign for you.  Maybe not all that special but I’m very sentimental about it.  My apartment is on a hill and when I take the dogs out for their final pee break before bed, I always look down the street to see the top few letters of the sign lit up at the bottom of the hill.  Green’s my favorite color as well.   And since you never know when one of these neon signs will disappear, I treasure it nightly.   I know there’s supposed to be black-out tape between the letters but I like it better this way.  There’s another, nearly identical “LIQUOR” sign just up the block with red neon.  I’d better get off my butt and shoot that one soon.  So, here’s the Avenue Liquor Store in Ventura:

I’ll be back soon with more stuff soon since  I need to give Sparkle some stress tests before the 3-week June trip.

More stuff from Saturday at my Flickr stream here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs