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

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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

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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

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Back to the Movie Theatre section. Gosh, I was just in New Rockford, ND last year:

But here’s what’s left at StreetView as of August. The roof collapsed in December. Fortunately, not while anyone was inside. Just five minutes beforehand, they were clearing snow off the roof. They are hoping to restore the theatre but I am skeptical unless someone with a ton of money comes through:

The Ashland Theatre in Ashland, VA from 1948 was restored in 2018 and is still showing movies. Unlike so many theatres, they kept the neon and the readerboards. This StreetView photo from July showing the guy changing the letters makes me so happy:

This theatre in Woodburn, OR had been vacant for many years. It is gone now:

There’s a painted wall in the parking lot where the theatre was:

The Chehalis Theatre in Chehalis, WA has opened and closed many times since my 2015 photos:

Last year, it reopened as the McFiler’s Chehalis Theatre with an adapted marquee:

The long-vacant Franroy Theatre sign in Snyder, OK got some new paint recently:

****************************

We now move on to the Eateries section. Just four sections to go but they are the biggest — more than 1100 pages of them all together. After Eateries there will be Gas Stations, Signs, and Midcentury Modern Buildings.

The former Heap Big Beef in Greensboro, NC housed Ghassan’s restaurant from 1975-2020. It reopened as Mike’s Vegan Grill in April and the building has been given a vegan-appropriate paint job:

Even the modern Whataburgers like this one in Tyler, TX…:

… are not spared from closing and being adapted:

This old Whataburger in Waco, TX was built in. By 2020, the building was demolished but the canopy remained:

Last year, a new building was built behind it but they kept the canopy:

This wonderfully intact A&W in Visalia, CA has closed:

It now houses Doc’s Chicken Spot but at least the pilgrim hat, canopy, and oval sign frame remain:

This former Burger Chef in Montgomery, AL is gone now:

The Biff-Burger in St. Petersburg, FL closed a couple of years ago and it is gone now. A really big vacant lot. The sign was sold at auction but I don’t know where it went:

The former Sno-White Drive-in neon sign in Morgan Hill, CA…:

was reworked with backlit plastic letters and the arrow is gone:

This former Carvel ice cream in Milwaukee, WI…:

… is now housing El Toro Mexican food:

That’s enough for one post. Lots more Eateries pages to go through. Be back very soon.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

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After combing more than 150 pages from the Deco/Streamline section, I only have one bit of news. This cute little building in Hibbing, MN is gone now:

Moving on to the Theatres section. Lots of changes out there: I’m only showing some of the most dramatic of them. So many neon sign converted to LED rope and manually-changed letter readerboards replaced with electronic display boards. And so many vacant buildings in worsening shape but also many fixed up, gutted, and turned into community events centers or other retail uses.

The Strand Theatre in Atmore, AL looked like this in my 2020 photo:

Well, I guess you could say it was “restored” earlier this year but the plastic signs are so cheesy. But it’s a good thing for the community and all since it had been closed since 2013:

The Hook Theatre in Eutaw, AL in 2020…:

… has also been rehabbed. It’s now known as the Renaissance Theatre Multiplex Center and it sounds like it’s more of a performance/community space than a movie theatre:

The Crest Theatre in Los Banos, CA housed a church for many years…:

… has been repainted and will soon be reopening as a sports bar:

The Royal Theatre in Hogansville, GA closed in the late 1960s and housed City Hall for decades. Last year, restoration as a theatre began:

The neon on the marquee at the Clarion Theatre in Clarion, IA…

… has been replaced with LED rope:

The Princess Theatre in Beardstown, IL had been closed since around 1966. It was demolished in 2020:

The Hub Theatre in Rochelle, IL:

now houses Kennay Farms Distilling (the plastic sign shows a guy holding a barrel):

The Huntington Theatre in Huntington, IN…:

… is getting a major overhaul. The sign and marquee were removed and I think they are converting the building to a live performance venue. I tried my best to find any images of what it will look like when done or if the sign and marquee will return but I couldn’t find anything:

The Capitol Theatre in Princeton, KY is also being restored:

This theatre in Royal Oak, MI was demolished last year:

From Kasson, MN — this is pretty much what’s going on all over the country: bye-bye classy neon letters and readerboards:

…. hello plastic letters and electronic display boards. Well, at least in this case, they kept the glass blocks, ticket booth, etc.:

The Falls Theatre in Little Falls, MN closed in 2020 (as with so many theatres, closing for COVID was very often the last gasp):

Not so for this one! After some restoration and repainting the marquee, it reopened a couple of months ago:

Some more good news! The Rodgers Theatre in Poplar Bluff, MO had been in bad shape for many years, although it remains open. Here’s a photo that I took in 2010:

The projecting marquee has been hit by trucks many times. Google StreetView from October shows the new tower and repaired marquee. To protect it, there are signs prohibiting trucks from making right turns at that intersection:

The Trail Theatre in St. Joseph, MO had been closed since 2001. Restoration began back in 2011. And, miracle of miracles, after the signs were removed in July, it reopened. Here’s a photo from their FB page. Yes, that seafoam-colored facade is all original vitrolite:

Let’s end on that happy note. I still have about 60 more pages of theatres to go through. I’m sure there will be another mix of good and bad news in the next post.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

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From the A&W Burger Family statue section. The A&W in Spring Valley, MN is gone:

A car wash has been built on the property:

Uh-oh. Just a few months after I took new photos of this Miner in Idaho Springs, CO…:

… he had fallen forward. This can’t be good. It looks like shards of his hat on the ground, too. I have a feeling he won’t be around much longer unless someone has mercy on him, stands him back up and maybe makes some repairs. Unlikely, I know:

This wonderfully crude cowboy in Checotah, OK is apparently gone now:

This Big Tex-inspired cowboy in Bienville, LA appears to be gone now:

This cowboy and horse in Logansport, LA appear to be gone now. I emailed the city and they said that the pole which supported the statue was hit and broke the horse’s front legs. They may restore the statue. I passed along info for Mark Cline and American Giants, the two best fiberglass statue restorers in the country. Fingers crossed!:

These Knights in Port Charlotte, FL are gone:

The James Dean statue in Fairmount, IN seems to be gone now:

The Hiawatha statue in La Crosse, WI was removed when it was decided that it was politically incorrect. It is now in storage:

The Indian in Charlemont, MA was also removed recently for the same reason. Fortunately, that statue found a new home in November at the Hy-Wafe Cafe in Vinita, OK. Google doesn’t have it up yet but here’s a photo from the cafe’s FB account:

This wood-carved, cigar-holding Indian statue in Beaver, UT is gone now:

The latest version of the golfer from Chesterfield, MI is up at Street View now. Here are a couple of earlier photos that I took when he was at the golf range:

He’s now in China Township, MI at the Red Barn Vintage Market:

This was a fun one in Niagara Falls, ON above the entrance to Ripley’s Moving Theatre:

Well, it’s much less exciting now as Ripley’s Selfie Studios:

The Pep Boys statue in McAllen, TX is missing at the most recent StreetView map. So, I gave the store a call and was told that it had come unscrewed from the base and fell over. They are now going to keep it permanently inside the store:

How about some happy news. The Tin Man Family in Faribault, MN at this sheet metal place which closed in 2018. By 2020, they had been moved to the Rice County Historical Society in town:

The new Google Street View from June shows the dog, baby carriage and some other pieces displayed in front of the museum:

Better yet, the museum has this photo from a couple of days ago of the whole group, even lit up at night:

The Pie Woman and Child in Frackville, PA that stood in front of the Pot-O-Gold Diner in Hamburg, PA and was later moved to Granny’s Restaurant was sold in 2022:

The statue now stands next to a thrift store and has been repainted. The owner is looking to find a local, permanent location for the statue:

Let’s end with some good news. The American Giants Museum in Atlanta, IL is officially open! I’m looking forward to visiting it in June. The most recent Google Street View has a photo from July:

Here’s a photo from a WGLT article of the interior (a work in progress… more stuff and more statues being added inside and outside the museum):

Another photo from the Atlanta Illinois Tourism FB account:

For those of you familiar with Atlanta, IL, the museum is just a 1/2 block from the giant hot-dog holding man. Those of you familiar or not with Joel Baker… he’s the guy behind collecting the statues, items, and info for years (and for the museum). We’ve been pals for about 15 years now and, since that time, he’s been involved in saving, finding, documenting, and restoring many giant fiberglass statues, especially those built by International Fiberglass in the 1960s. You might want to tag along at his IG account:

https://www.instagram.com/americangiants/

The museum also has a website:

https://www.americangiantsmuseum.com/

I’ll be picking up next time with Art Deco & Streamline Moderne Buildings section.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

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From the Diners section. This Mountain View diner in Indianapolis, IN housed a Subway from at least 2007-2022:

The latest Google StreetView from June shows it vacant with a sign saying it would soon house Roi Taco:

The Spud Boy Diner in Lanesboro, MN is missing at StreetView now. I combed the internet for info but found nothing. I’m assuming that it’s in storage:

The Paramount diner in Greensboro, NC a the La Bamba restaurant …:

… is still there but it’s been painted over – why?????

This Valentine diner in Lufkin, TX was housing a bakery focusing on decorated sugar cookies until around 2022:

The diner is now housing the Downtown Scoop ice cream shop:

Oh dear. The two mid-1950s diners in Wichita Falls, TX that were moved there in 2005 for the Pumpjack Diner are now part of a packing & shipping place. One was a Mountain View from Wilmington, DE. The other an O’Mahony from Dayton, OH. Both had been completely restored, inside and out, by Steve Harwin of Diversified Diners. The Pumpjack only lasted a year. The Pioneer Diner which followed lasted about 3 years. For a few months in 2017, the diners operated as the Sidecar Brewery. In 2019, one opened as a Mexican restaurant. And now… I shudder to think of what the interiors look like now, if anything is left:

Here are a couple of photos that I took of them in 2011:

Moving on to the Animal Statues section. This bear in Cook, MN is gone now:

This polar bear in Houston, TX is gone now:

This fiberglass rooster in New Harmony, IN is gone now:

This eagle in Hot Springs, AR is gone now:

The mallard duck statue in Mallard, IA was taken down for restoration in 2022. Here’s a photo that I took in 2006:

From the city website during the project:

The statue was reinstalled in 2023 but I don’t know why it still looks so wrinkled:

The rooster and turkey in Lincoln, AR are gone now:

This buffalo statue in El Dorado, AR is gone now:

The giant bull that was installed on the roof of Anthony’s Steakhouse in Omaha, NE. The restaurant opened in 1967. I don’t know if this statue was there then but it had been there for decades. When Anthony’s closed last year, the statue was auctioned off and…

… it now resides at the T-Bone Truck Stop in Columbus, NE:

This bull has been installed on the roof of the Golden Bull restaurant in Adelphi, MD for decades:

Around 2021, it was removed for repainting. It will be going back on the roof but, for now, it’s standing in the parking lot:

This Husky statue in Levis, QC is gone now:

These Husky statues in York, NE are also gone:

The walleye statue in Rush City, MN…:

… was recently repainted:

This bass statue in Manitowish Waters, WI is gone now:

This store in Prescott, AZ has closed and the horses are gone:

This statue was at the Cheese Maker in Plain, WI. The store closed in 2021 and the mouse is gone now:

This leaping deer in Defiance, OH is gone now:

This killer whale in Sarasota, FL is gone now:

This pet store in Toronto, ON closed earlier this year and the iguana, aka Lizzy, is gone now:

Let’s end on a positive note. This mouse in Luxemburg, WI:

… has been repainted recently and now wears a little vest and a cheesehead!

I’m about 1/3 of the way through this project with about 2,000 pages to go. The 7 biggest sections with more than 100 pages each remain. The two biggest sections will be last (signs: about 350 pages; midcentury modern buildings about 500 pages).

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

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No news is good news for the most part when it comes to combing these sections at my website. There’s only one thing worth mentioning in the entire Dinosaur Statues section and it is good news for a change. This dinosaur in DeBary, FL was found at a junkyard and moved to an auto parts business in 2011. He was dressed up for different holidays and was much loved by the community:

In 2022, he was donated to the city and moved to the Splash Pad. Google StreetView has him up now and he looks great. The city will supposedly continue the costume tradition:

I hope you have the Kleenex handy for the rest of this post. Moving on to the Department Stores section. Oh dear, this Kress building in Helena, AR had been vacant for many years and now has apparently collapsed:

The Kress in Brunswick, GA looked like this since around 1958:

Major work has been going on since around 2019 — my photo from 2021:

Here’s what it will look like when they are done. I dunno — pretty dull, if you ask me:

The Ben Franklin store in Chariton, IA has closed and this sign is gone:

The Ben Franklin sign in Dalhart, TX is gone now. By my count, there are only about 17 of the 2500 Ben Franklin stores or their remaining signs left nationwide:

The former Woolworth in Hackensack, NJ was gutted around 2018:

and now StreetView has the finished product of the “remodeling” — I mean, why bother?! Just a tiny strip of the Art Deco details — and even those were neutered. And, of course, no attempt to preserve the terrazzo shown above:

Moving on to the Car Dealerships section. Earlier this year, the “Buick” letters were removed from this sign at Wilcoxson Buick-Cadillac-GMC Truck in Pueblo, CO. The dealership is now known as Wilcoxson GMC Truck:

This former Munroe-Zeder Chrysler-Plymouth dealership building from 1947 in Miami, FL was demolished earlier this year:

This former Ford dealership in Du Quoin, IL…:

… has been remodeled (neutered) into this:

Let’s end this post with the Mini Golf section. The Happy Golf in Elwood, IN is officially gone. It was built in 2009 and had closed by 2018. In 2022, the obstacles were gone and now there are only some rough patches in the grass where this used to be. Here is some of the cuteness that once was:

Mason’s Mini Golf in Leominster, MA is also gone now. It was located next door to Mason’s Bowling Center which was built in 1960. Both businesses closed last year and new development is underway. More handmade cuteness gone forever:

The North Pole Putt N Play in Wilmington, NY is also, you guessed it, gone.

That’s quite enough for one post. Picking up next time with the Diners and Animal Statues sections.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

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This nice little mid-century modern Firestone store in Selma, AL was hit by a tornado earlier this year. Here’s a photo I took in 2010:

From StreetView in March – note the mangled plastic letters (which were surely neon originally):

And in October — I don’t know if this will be a Firestone again but the plastic pole sign is still there:

I never got to shoot this mcm Firestone in Arlington Heights, IL — and now it’s been replaced with a boring modern boxy bank.

This sign, giant tire, and even the poles in Spokane, WA are gone now:

They are building a huge skyrise on top of this Art Deco Firestone building in Seattle, WA:

Moving on to the Giant Things section. This tooth in Vienna, VA is gone now:

This dentist office in Marshall, MI had 2 teeth in the display windows and two others in the window above. They are all gone now:

From the Castle Buildings subsection – this building in Akron, OH has been remodeled:

It still houses the Castle Auto Group used car lot but with boring brick and less roofline crenellations:

From the Giant Globes subsection… I knew they were restoring the Savannah, GA globe last year — a miracle really. And now StreetView has the finished product. Here’s how it looked in 2021:

and now:

From the Giant Guns subsection, this BBQ place in Duncan, OK closed and the smoker gun is gone now.

From the Giant Hats subsection… this cowboy hat building in Tyler, TX has been through a lot. Originally, it was a Kickerz Coffee. There were at least two other buildings like this. The one in Whitehouse, TX is gone now. Another also in Tyler is now housing a taco place. This one from my photos in 2011:

and in 2018:

From StreetView in 2021:

and since earlier this year — a convenience store:

From the Iceberg & Igloo & Caves subsection – The Igloo ice cream stand in Toledo, OH has been closed since around 2017 and was getting pretty ugly. Maybe this fresh coat of white paint will make it more appealing to a buyer that will reopen it:

This cute igloo building in Brice, OH was built in 1970 as an ice cream stand.

After being vacant for many years, in 2016, it began housing Bowser’s Hot Dog stand. Unfortunately, you can barely see it now behind all the junk:

From the Giant Things subsection – this giant arrow in Joshua Tree, CA was removed earlier this year:

This giant cigar in Chicago, IL is gone now. The store looks closed:

The Giant Gavel (and store) in Springville, UT are gone now:

These giant glasses and the store in Garden City, MI are gone now:

And these giant glasses and the store in Pensacola, FL are also gone now:

From the Giant Paint Cans subsection – this store in Austin, MN had closed by 2016 and the sign is gone now:

From the Windmill Buildings subsection – the Windmill Travel Center in Dexter, MN had been closed since at least 2008. It consisted of a restaurant, gas station, and motel. This was the restaurant building, originally built as a Nickerson Farms. The cute shutters were removed by 2015:

and now, the windmill is gone and the property is used for storage or some such:

This little guy in Clarkston, WA from 1999 is gone now:

That’s it for now. I’ll be back soon with Dinosaur statues, Department stores, and maybe more in the next post. I’m only 15% of the way thru this winter project – so many more posts to come.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

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From my SCA Donut Signs section — this lovely pole sign in Tyler, TX and the sign on the roof…

… have been redone with the new name of “Same Good…” sans neon — ugh:

The Paul’s Bakery sign in Van Buren, AR…

…has new panels — but it’s not that bad. The cake now has candles and the coffee has steam. But I miss the pointy shoes and funky chef’s hat:

This former Dawn Donuts building in Saginaw, MI has been demolished. There was another Dawn “pointy roof” building like this year ago that was also demolished. This one closed in 2008 and the classic Dawn Donuts sign with the boy holding a plate of donuts was removed. The building never found another tenant — and now it’s just a paved area next to a BP gas station. Of the approximately 20 of these built from 1960-1966, there are now only about 8 left (7 in Michigan and 1 in Ohio):

From the Neon Extensions Signs section. The neon truck coupling of this sign in San Leandro, CA is gone now:

From the Opal Glass Signs section — a bit of good news! This sign in Bay City, MI...:

has apparently been restored (or maybe replicated)! Although the opal letters on top are not lit, they replaced the neon — from their FB page:

On to the Pancake Signs section. This sign in Anaheim, CA hadn’t had neon tubing since at least the 1980s:

Earlier this year, it was “updated” with backlit plastic letters:

From the Pizza Chef Signs section. This sign in Egg Harbor Township, NJ….:

… was repainted earlier this year and is now outlined with LED rope. The restaurant sells Indian food and pizza:

This painted plywood sign at Bear’s Den Pizzeria in Grayling, MI is gone now. The pizza place is still open but they now have boring text signs:

This sign at Bradlee’s Pizza in Wayne, NJ is gone now:

From the Sputnik Signs section. This sign in Welch, OK is gone now:

From the Scaffold Signs section. I never got a chance to shoot this one in Palmer, MA. The business closed in 2019 and the sign is gone now:

I never got this neon scaffold sign in North Wildwood, NJ either:

and now they have replaced it with this plastic sign:

This sign in Fort Worth, TX was removed earlier this year:

From the Shoe and Boot Signs section. Uh-oh – this sign in Perryton, TX:

is now crunched and laying on the ground on the left. The pole where it hung is on the right — apparently the result of a tornado in June. I’m skeptical that the sign will be fixed:

From the Skating Signs section. I never got a chance to shoot this one in Marion, IN and it’s gone now. A crappy, plastic rectangular sign replaced it recently:

That’s it for the signs for a while since I’m done with the SCA sections. There will lots of signs towards the end of this project as I work my way towards the biggest sections.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

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