I’ve got a nice big post for you. Let’s start with this sign in Atchison, KS. It must have been a stunner at one time with neon and better paint. The store is now a pawn shop and vape store. The storefront below suggest jewelry store but I find no evidence of that online — other than that Rudolph’s was renting musical instruments in the 1950s and selling handguns in the 1970s:

This motel/restaurant in Kansas City, KS has been abandoned for decades. I couldn’t stir up any vintage color photos but there’s this tiny/fuzzy image from the 1960s:

The Crest Motel in Kansas City, KS was built in 1951 and this sign is presumably from then. The remaining bits of neon were removed around 2012:

This shopping center in Kansas City, KS was built in 1961 and the sign must be from then:

This former Safeway in Kansas City, KS has housed a church since at least 2007. I believe there are only two other Safeway spear signs like this left (Independence, MO and Vancouver, BC):

This sign in Kansas City, Kansas appears to be from the 1930s. The “1928” date refers to the business’ downtown location. There was another huge horizontal sign which was removed late last year or earlier this year:

Moving on to Johnny’s Tavern in Lawrence, KS. This cute beer mug sign is likely from the 1960s:

These crude, changeable letters at the Liberty Hall in Lawrence are intriguing. I can’t tell if they are metal or ceramic. Obviously, they have/had backlit glass. The bottom letters appear to have plastic inside. I can confirm from recent photos that the letters are all still lit at night:

This sign at the Ag Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, KS hasn’t changed much since it opened around 1964:

This sign is at the former Tastee-Freez in Olathe, KS. It’s still there despite several other name changes and even though the building with the sawtooth roof is vacant now:

This Crown Drugs projecting sign in Kansas City, KS is now in storage at the Midwest Sign Company in Kansas City, KS. Now that the sign is down, you can see where the “D” and “S” would have been. I suspect that the fascia letters had the “D” and “s” originally and were just moved closer together when the rug business moved in. My photo from 2010:

Midwest Sign has about about two dozen other vintage signs in storage — including this nice Eagles Lodge sign:

The White Haven Motor Lodge in Overland Park, KS was built in 1957 and this sign is from then. It closed in 2010 and the restored sign is now displayed inside the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center in Overland Park:

A very rare McDonald’s sign in Kansas City, KS:

There’s also a beveled letter plastic sign on the building. I’ve never seen such a huge mansard McDonald’s before:

Moving on to some buildings. This one in Leavenworth, KS originally housed the Perry L. Black Oldsmobile Cadillac dealership when it was built in 1940. It now houses a vape store. The original neon sign is supposedly underneath the Herken’s sign.

This former gas station in Fairway, KS was built around 1961, possibly as a Sinclair. The building housed a pizza place recently but is now an ice cream/coffee shop:

Homer’s Drive Inn in Leavenworth, KS started out as a root beer shack with car hops in 1931. It moved to this building in 1938 which was remodeled in 1962:

The Rio Theatre in Overland Park was built in 1946. It closed in 2020 and is now being restored:

Mad Jack’s Fresh Fish in Kansas City, KS is a two-fer with a castle-style building and a fiberglass catfish chef:

This bear statue in Stilwell, KS waves to cars on Highway 69. It was built in 1979 for a realtor and was painted brown originally. It has been in this backyard since at least 2009 and is often dressed in Kansas City Chiefs or Royals jerseys:

This termite and ants are located at this exterminator office in Shawnee, KS:

This former Sirloin Stockade bull was installed in a strip mall in Olathe KS last year. It came from Wichita. More examples of these bulls at my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/critters/bulls2.html

This midcentury modern bank is in Lawrence, KS:

This house in Lenexa, KS was built in 1986 and consists of two giant cubes. The locals call it the “Dice House:”

Lastly, this former gas station in Atchison, KS with this iceberg-like facade was built in 1930. Around 2021, it was painted this horrible gray (previously white):

Even more Kansas soon.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

It’s been a few weeks, I know. I was sidetracked with a trip up to San Francisco for the NeonSpeaks live presentations and then the virtually watching/presenting myself last weekend. If you love signs, you are definitely missing out if you haven’t been part of it. It’s been going on since 2018, so chances are, they will be doing it again next year. Flag your calendar for mid-September.

www.neonspeaks.org

On the way up to SF, I took a couple of days off from work to shoot things in Central California & the Bay Area. Once I catch up with this summer’s trip, I’ll add those photos to my website and post some other shots here.

Now, back to Kansas. Let’s start off with some Salina, KS signs. This pair of directional signs point the way to two motels in town:

Let’s have a look at the two motel pole signs that they direct you to. The Starlite Motel on the left was quite lovely when I shot it in 2010:

But around 2021, the neon was removed and it was repainted — here’s a Google image (couldn’t bear to shoot it myself on this trip):

By the way, this top of the sign in Minneapolis has the same design and lettering. I don’t know if it built by the same sign shop (unlikely) or one of the sign’s was inspired by the other. Note that the Salina sign was not built with the “Swiss cheese” holes below but has a readerboard instead:

The Airliner Motel is still hanging on:

This ghost sign is also in Salina. It’s an odd place for one but at least its protected from the sun now:

This faded beauty is in Belleville, KS:

This bookshelf mural is on the side of the library in Clay Center, KS:

This sign in Sabetha, KS is pretty bland looking at this point with its missing neon, hand-painted letters, and Christmas tree bulbs. The shade from the surrounding trees made the sign look even drearier. The letters originally read “Koch’s.” I can’t find any vintage photos but I assume that was also a pointing arrow at the top:

This rusting temperature clock in Holton, KS hangs on the side of what appears to be a former garage:

The Cedar Court Motel sign in Clay Center, KS is half-covered now:

From a vintage postcard – note that, at some point, the neon on the nicely-painted tree was removed and text panel was replaced with a corrugated plastic panel:

But these two signs on the motel’s restaurant building remain intact:

I believe this towering palm tree sign in Salina was built in 2004. The restaurant has closed so I don’t know what will become of this sign:

This sign is in Clay Center. I can’t find any vintage images or postcards to show whether the “MOTEL” panel was ever neon:

This sign is in Hiawatha. The little “TV PHONE” panel originally had an “AAA” endorsement:

This sign in Mankato is probably from the 1960s:

There was another sign there in the 1950s – I can only find a tiny image of it:

The Post Rock Motel in Lincoln, KS was still quite nice when I shot it in 2010:

Last year the neon was removed and replaced with plastic letters and the middle panel with a graphic display box:

The Porter Hotel in Beloit, KS was built in 1939. By the 1950s, it had an L-shaped sign above, an Art Deco looking canopy sign, and a neon Coffee Shop sign on the side of the building:

In 1989, the building began housing the Porter Apartments. In 2004, the name was changed to the Porter House Apartments. These signs were apparently either built in 1989 and adapted — or built in 2004 when the name changed:

The Ute Theatre in Mankato, KS dates back to 1905. I don’t know what the original sign and marquee looked like but these were there by 1982 when John Margolies took this photo:

By 2009, those had been replaced with the current signs. The older version had a much nicer, painted face. This looks like laser-generated vinyl:

This bowling sign in Belleville, KS was built in 2021:

Let’s wrap up this post with a few buildings. This Art Deco Courthouse is in Mankato, KS:

Some details from another Art Deco stunner: The United Building in Salina, KS:

The Fox Watson Theatre in Salina, KS opened in 1931. It’s now known as the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts. The top two levels of this tower and the spire were damaged by lightning in 1954 and recreated in 2020:

And a couple of former gas stations. This sweet former cottage station in Brookville, KS has rocks and/or petrified wood details — long vacant:

This big canopy station in Marysville, KS must be from the 1920s. It is now used by the Pepsi distribution center across the street:

Be back soon with more Kansas.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Let’s start with a few “rusty crusty” signs that gratefully are still out there. This one is in Dodge, City, KS and the business is still operating:

The Curtis Cafe in Stafford, KS opened in 1946 and this sign might be from then. It closed in 2012 and the building remains vacant:

Carl’s Furniture in Hutchinson, KS is also long-closed:

When this drug store in Anthony, KS moved to its current location, I’m assuming they couldn’t hang this as a projecting sign and had to stick it on the side of the building:

This backlit plastic sign is installed there under the canopy next to the entrance. VERY few of these left around the country:

This one is in Hutchinson, KS and the business is still open:

The Ken’s Pizza chain was established in 1961 in Tulsa, OK. It grew to around 100 locations in the Midwest by the mid-1970s. This location in Hutchinson, KS opened in 1978. This backlit plastic sign with beveled letters is probably from then:

That location also has a neon sign which was built in 1993. It is/was animated:

The Rolla-Rena Skate Center in Pratt, KS opened around 1945. It became Rolla-Rena in 1988. The owner got these two signs from a skating rink in Great Bend, KS. The neon sign was put on two tall poles so that it can be seen from the highway:

This vacuum form plastic sign there was built in the 1980s. It also came from the Great Bend rink:

This bowling alley in McPherson, KS was built in 1961 and this sign is probably from then. There was a readerboard where the graphic display is now until around 2017:

This drug store in Kingman, KS had a much nicer sign with vacuum form panels until around 2018:

They kept the sign frame but those panels look pretty boring now:

This stained glass sign in Anthony, KS hanging above a vacant space which probably housed Marshall Jewelry prior to 2008 (located next door now):

Let’s turn to some statues. These were built by Richard Brown in the early 1990s in front of his home in Hutchinson, KS. He passed away in 2004 and the dozen or so statues are getting pretty funky at this point. Big no trespassing signs which I, of course, ignored:

This cowboy statue in Dodge City, KS was built from 1927-1929 and represents Joe Sughrue. It was created from a plaster casting of Sughrue who nearly died in the process when the straw through which he was breathing collapsed. The statue was restored in 2015:

Let’s wrap up with a few buildings. This facade in Dodge City, KS for the city’s newspaper was added around 1930:

This former faux windmill building is in Hutchinson, KS. It was built in 1939 for the Dutch Mill bar. In the late 1970s or early 1980s, it was moved to its current location. All four windmill blades were still there in 2007. Up until around 2020, there were still three left, albeit in bad shape. Alas, now without any, there’s no indication of the origins of this building. Maybe someday, they can be restored. The building has housed a hair salon since 2011:

This former Sinclair gas station is in Medicine Lodge, KS. Whenever you see a building like this with the little tile details, Art Deco posts, window and door frames, and the diamond and bar relief patterns, you can be sure that the building was a Sinclair. Although not all had the diamonds/bars. There are still hundreds of these stations out there all over the country, usually still with their canopies:

The Sandy’s Hamburgers chain was established in Peoria, IL in 1958. By 1968, there were 100 locations in different states. Only about a dozen of these unique buildings survive, most very remodeled like the one in Salina, KS below. Note the original wood beams, giant glass canted windows, and plaid tiles (Scottish themed). More about the chain and the survivors at my website:

https://www.roadarch.com/eateries/sandys.html

The Salina location is now a Mexican restaurant. There’s hope that behind all that crappy paneling that’s been there for decades are the original and restore-able beams:

I’ll be back soon with even more Kansas. I have about a week’s worth of photos still to crop/tweak and add to my website.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Let’s start off as we usually do with a batch of signs. The Ayr Lanes, now Billy’s Ayr Lanes, is in Liberal, KS.

If bowling signs are your thing, I’ll be doing an article about them for the SCA’s Spring 2024 issue:

https://sca-roadside.org/sca-journal/

and I’ve got 9 packed pages at my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/sca/bowling.html

A former Jack & Jill supermarket in Lakin, KS. There are very few of these cute signs left:

Ruder’s Draperies & Interiors in Liberal, KS has been closed since at least 2008 but this sign remains:

The pheasant on this sign in Sublette, KS apparently had animated wings originally:

The top of this sign in Meade, KS may have been inspired by the classic Burger Chef sign. The building originally housed a Dairy Queen (much modified now):

I can’t find any vintage images of this sign in Hugoton, KS but I’m sure it had neon. There are now raised plastic letters on the top panel:

Also in Hugoton — there are two decent signs at the Jet Drive-in:

This Dillons Food Mart chain sign is in Garden City, KS. Most of the Dillons neon signs have been replaced with backlit plastic letters:

I’m 99% sure that this former gas station in Fowler, KS … :

… was shot by the late, great John Margolies in 1979 and was simply misidentified as Cimarron, KS. The alterations to the bay next to the office suggest so (added door in exact same place):

This building in Garden City, KS was originally a Ku-Ku Hamburgers:

Although the sign is long gone and a box was added to the front of the building, the peaked roof and zig-zags on the side are still there. The only location still open is the Waylan’s Ku Ku in Miami, OK. For photos of that one and others, see my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/eateries/ffood5.html#Waylan

The Frigid Creme in Dighton, KS is a Valentine diner. The business opened in 1961. There are lots of Valentines in Kansas since that’s where they were produced:

https://www.roadarch.com/diners/ks.html

The former Paul’s Funeral Home (now Robson Funeral Home) in Hugoton, KS. Modified but you can’t hide that roofline:

The building’s supporting wooden beam “legs” were unfortunately bricked up:

This former Phillips 66 station in Scott City, KS was restored as a Texaco. The pumps, lights, stars, signs… all added around 2010. The canted windows on the office indicate that this is from the P66 era where there would have been a “batwing” canopy attached originally… :

… like this one in Syracuse, KS:

A former Phillips 66 cottage gas station in Protection, KS. Yes, there are a LOT of these P66 stations and their bigger cottage siblings in Kansas — a couple pages of them at my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/gas/ksp66.html

How about a couple of statues? These two are at the Dorothy’s House and the Land of Oz in Liberal, KS. The Dorothy and Toto are bronze:

The Tin Man was made from air ducts by a local refrigeration class. Lots more tin men statues here:

https://www.roadarch.com/giants/tinmen.html

I don’t normally shoot airplanes but, what the heck, this one was sooooo cute. This LB-5 was built by Wilbur Staib (the LB series stood for “Little Bit”). I can’t find a build date but his LB-4 was built in 1966 so this one was probably built soon after that. It’s now inside the Mid-America Air Museum which has lots of cool stuff in Liberal, KS. The plane was powered with a Volkswagen engine and named after his wife who was nicknamed “Tiny”:

More Kansas soon.

By the way, if you love signs, even just a tiny bit, you will want to sign up for some of the virtual and/or in-person NeonSpeaks events in San Francisco (better yet, get a full passport for everything) taking place September 8-17. I’ll be one the the virtual presenters on the last day and I’ll be there on the 9th for a quickie appearance in a preservation panel:

https://neonspeaks.org/2023-schedule/

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

This is the first full day of Kansas on the trip with many days to come. I don’t normally shoot stained glass details but these were pretty special. This is in WaKeeney, KS:

This one is in Colby, KS:

The Annie Oakley Motel in Oakley, KS was originally named the Oakley Motel The town was not named after her and she never lived there.

This sign is in Hays, KS:

This rooftop bulb sign is in Ellis, KS:

These faded Frigidaire and Maytag signs are in Osborne, KS:

This Carrier sign is in Great Bend, KS:

These backlit Masonic glass globes in Russell, KS would have had different symbols painted on each one originally:

A long vacant storefront with peeling paint in LaCrosse, KS reveals the Pokorny Rexall Drugs sign:

This cafe sign is in Ellsworth, KS:

Let’s move on to some buildings. The Sundowner Lodge and its companion restaurant in WaKeeney, KS was built in 1963 as shown in this postcard:

The motel survives as the Kansas Country Inn. The restaurant also survives and despite many occupants coming and going over the years, the wood-paneled interior remains. It is currently vacant:

This long-vacant, former Sinclair station is in Ellis, KS:

This former Phillips 66 station in Sterling, KS was built around 1933. It now houses the J&B Dairyland ice cream stand. There’s a former station in Hutchinson, KS with the same design:

This former Conoco station in Hays, KS now houses Tiger Station Fish & Chips:

This former Standard Oil station in Ellis, KS was spruced up in 2018 with a replica pump, lights, and plastic letters for a used car dealership. The dealership closed in 2020 and this building remains vacant.

How about some midcentury buildings? This former Russell State Bank from 1967 in Russell, KS remains intact:

This dome in Hays, KS is not so midcentury since it was built in 1983. But it’s still pretty great. It houses multiple offices.

That’s enough for now. More Kansas coming soon.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

I’m combining these two days which were fairly low-volume and pretty grey. This is the last of the Colorado photos as we will now move on to Kansas for about eight days. All of the Colorado photos are now up at my website (roadarch.com).

I probably need not remind you but I have also been uploading some different photos over at Flickr, simultaneously with these blog posts:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Let’s start off with the long-closed Virginia Dale Cafe sign in Virginia Dale, CO:

This sign is in Estes Park CO. I love the little cottage-shaped panel at the bottom. It’s gotta be early 1960s with the corrugated plastic panels and neon combo:

The Humphrey’s Gifts sign in Grand Lake, CO could use (and deserves) some love:

Let’s change gears for a few midcentury modern buildings. The Ideal Cement Company Testing Building is in Laporte, CO:

The former Fort Morgan Times building in Fort Morgan, CO:

Another one from Fort Morgan. This bank building has a curved, flagstone facade and jutting canopy:

From Greeley, CO – a nice stretched out A-frame with legs:

There are some sweet, vintage obstacles at the Tiny Town Mini Golf in Estes Park, CO:

This sign is also in Estes Park:

Another Estes Park sign from 1960 – restored in 2014:

The screentower at the former Sunset Drive-in in Craig, CO:

A very abandoned and gutted former Stuckey’s with its original gas station canopy in Sedgwick, CO:

This motel sign is at the Last Indian Raid Museum in Oberlin, KS:

The Bratton’s Office Equipment store in Greeley, CO is closed but its two signs are still in place (and lit, strangely enough):

Another sign in Greeley – the store is long-closed. I’ve got a very comprehensive page at my website with signs and boot signs here:

https://www.roadarch.com/sca/shoes.html

The Kozy Kort Motel sign in Brush, CO could use some help:

This department store in Holyoke, CO is closed but the sign is still in place:

Let’s close this post with a couple of gas stations. This former Phillips 66 station in Phillipsburg, KS was restored a couple of years ago to its 1963 look:

This station in Cawker City, KS was a closed chicken restaurant until a few years ago. The building was restored, the addition to the left was removed, and some replica pumps installed. It is now a single-unit motel room:

Lots more Kansas to come.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Another gray day but I plodded thru. These signs in Aurora, CO give you an idea of the gloom.

The original pole sign at the Biltmore Motel from the 1950s with a “Cooled by Refrigeration” panel:

This one is probably from the 1960s. There was a white plastic ball on top originally:

This one is a real leaner. I think it’s being held in place by the wood and vegetation:

These letters advertised for the Friend Furniture store. They were later moved to the owner’s office building:

There was different sign originally at the Ranger Motel with a cowboy on horseback – probably from the 1950s:

This one is probably from the late 1950s or early 1960s:

On to Broomfield, CO. When this vet moved, they brought along their sign. The practice first opened in 1957 and this sign might be from then:

A few signs from Loveland, CO. The “Derby Hill” was lit with neon originally. There’s neon behind the plastic faces of “Whiteside’s.” It looks like the bulbs are still lit:

Justine’s opened in 1971 and this signs are even lit during the day:

Their pole sign has a two-phase flashing arrow:

A couple more signs from Loveland, CO:

This sign previously advertised for King Lumber. It was adapted for King Storage around 1992:

This sign and building in Thornton, CO haven’t changed much since 1961. :

A couple of adapted signs from Louisville, CO. This one is pretty heartbreaking. The sign was built in 1955 for the Blue Parrot:

Around 2019, it was changed to look like this:

This sign originally advertised for Colacci’s which opened in 1955:

In 2000, it was altered for Pasquini’s:

In 2008, it began advertising for the Empire Lounge which closed earlier this year. Hopefully, it will remain in place, even if the text is changed:

The Mister Steak chain was founded in 1962 in Colorado Springs. Nearly 300 locations were built nationwide. These plastic signs were installed on the exteriors:

This one is located inside the World Famous Dark Bar in Boulder, CO:

This shopping center in Boulder, CO was built in 1958 and this sign is most likely from then:

Miller Farms in Platteville, CO has a bunch of statues of people, animals, and things. This sneaker and Hercules Beetle are just two examples:

This A&W in Berthoud, CO opened in 1949. It has a classic plastic oval pole sign circa 1960s. The Papa Burger on the canopy was installed around 2018. I don’t know where it came from:

Let’s close with a mid-century modern church. The Methodist Student Center in Boulder, CO was designed in 1957.

A couple more days of Colorado to go before we venture into Kansas.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

It was a big day of shooting around Denver with some crappy cloudy weather. So, this is a nice photo-packed post. Everything below is in Denver unless specified somewhere else.

Let’s start with this painted wood sign La Sierra Carniceria y Taqueria. There are actually two of these signs there and it seems to be the business’ logo:

There’s also this painted wall:

The Lions Lair opened in 1967 and I believe this backlit plastic sign is from then:

This bulb-crazy sign is at Monroe Discount Liquors. The curved arrow projects off the building. I believe the sign is still lit at night:

I assume that this sign had neon originally but those projecting lamps to light the sign at night look pretty old as well. The other side of this sign is even more faded:

This Rio Grande Liquor sign is another faded beauty:

The Olin Hotel was built in 1925 and this sign on the side of the building was probably installed a few years after that. Those (what I call) applied letter signs were commonly built in the 1920s and 1930s:

The Sun Liquors sign is missing the neon and most of the bulbs. I suspect that there were panels attached to the sides of the “LI” which are missing now but the sign has looked like this since at least 2007. As for the significance of the yellow bird, I wish I knew:

Mr. A’s has both neon and backlit plastic signs. The sign was fully lit just a few years ago but the neon is nearly all gone now:

The Horizon Lounge has two of these signs as well as a faded Hamm’s beer sign:

This camo-painted former gas station is across the street:

The Aristocrat’s “Motor Hotel” panel was originally a corrugated plastic panel (I like to call them “corduroy” panels) which I don’t think many/any sign companies are producing anymore. There was also another plastic “ballie” beneath the “vacancy” panel:

The barrel vault canopy is still there:

The Bar 404 sign has been through a lot. I believe the sign was built in 1951 for Feld’s Club 404. My 2012 photo:

By 2014, it had been crudely painted over by Brendan’s Pub:

It was painted entirely white after that until Rory’s Tavern painted it:

In 2021, it got its current look and a return to the original name. I would imagine that the bulbs along the outside were lit sequentially and that the martini’s bulbs were scintillating. Maybe someday, that can be restored — we can dream:

This sign was restored in 2013:

In Commerce City: this place opened in 1945 as the 6&85 Restaurant, named after its location at the intersection of two highways. In 1959, it became Deno’s 6&85 and these signs were installed. My 2012 photo:

Deno’s closed in 2017 and the place has been vacant since then. The big property has tons of prairie dogs and my dogs had a grand time chasing them:

At some point, the neon was replaced with terrible LED rope and this makes the sign even sadder than just broken neon tubing:

Back to Denver. This 20-foot-tall dog was installed in 2011 at the Denver Animal Shelter. “Sun Spot” is covered with 90,000 stainless steel dog tags. After 12 years, many of the tags are missing now:

This sign was built for the Pillar of Fire evangelical AM radio station. It has been there since at least the mid-1940s:

The La Fiesta Restaurant opened in 1964. This sign must be from then unless it was adapted from a previous business:

The Mayan Theatre — much nicer on a sunny day:

The Broadway Plaza was built in 1957. The “MOTEL” letters revolved:

In 2014, the building was renovated for office space and the signs were adapted for The Metlo (note the rearrangement of the “MOTEL” letters):

The Mozart Lounge sign was resurrected from a nasty repaint for the Aqua Lounge around 2014:

It was restored in 2016 back to the original look:

By 2007, the former Pig ‘N Whistle Motel & Restaurant sign had been adapted for a car wash. That was already closed when this photo was taken in 2012:

The sign was built in the mid-1950s and the business closed in 1991. Fortunately, in 2019, the sign was restored for a medical marijuana shop that took on the Pig ‘N Whistle name:

From Aurora: the Stanley Aviation factory was built in 1954 and I believe this sign is from then. The company closed in 2007 but the sign was not removed. Ten years later, the building was adapted for the Stanley Marketplace and the sign remains. The neon was replaced with LED rope:

Back to Denver: this air traffic control tower was built in 1962. It is all that remains of the Stapleton Airport. The building below now houses FlyteCo Tower, a brewery/restaurant and entertainment venue:

This building from 1961 originally housed the Women’s Club. It now houses the Wagstaff Law Firm:

Let’s close with this sweet sign at the Dive Inn:

Back soon with more Colorado.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

This sign in Lakewood, CO was repainted in 2014 but that didn’t last.

This sign in Lakewood was originally installed on the roof:

The Bugs Bunny Motel in Lakewood was built in 1952. Around 1997, Warner Brothers came after them and they changed the name to the Big Bunny Motel. The sign was changed (note the gap between the “B” and the “i” and the remaining neon “s”). The sign was pretty ratty with rust when I took this photo in 2012:

In 2015, the sign was repainted and everyone was shocked with the results. The fonts were changed but more appalling was the new bunny no longer holding a can and a carrot and painted inside the shape of the panels – yikes!

The Celebrity Lanes in Glendale, CO was built in 1960 and it was a really big deal with 80 lanes. This article has all the details:

http://buckfifty.org/2009/02/04/celebrity/

It also had an incredible sign with spinning sputniks:

The sign was adapted two years later for the new name:

Around 1979, it became the Celebrity Fun Center and the sign’s panels were changed again. The place closed in 1994 and was demolished the following year. The sign was destroyed but one of the sputniks was retrieved from a junkyard and is now displayed on the roof of the Lumber Baron Inn in Denver:

The Golden Bowl in Golden, CO was built in 1955 and this sign was most likely installed then. It had neon originally. It closed in 2014 and was demolished. The sign was saved and is now displayed inside the Natural Grocers supermarket that was built on the site:

Let’s move on to some mid-century buildings. One of my favorite chains in the Denver area were these Big Top convenience stores — for details & lots more examples, see my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/modarch/food6.html

The first three locations were built in 1959, with 10 more between 1960-1964. They had big signs projecting from the roof and self-serve gas pumps.

There were at least 15 built with plans to build 100 of them. But the chain folded in the early 1970s and only 10 of these locations survive — all adapted for other purposes. One of these is inexplicably located in Ypsilanti, MI. Here are three that I reshot on this trip.

In Denver – now a meat market:

Another in Denver is now a Snarf’s Sandwiches:

And this one in Golden with a crappy add-on roof but still the original underside continues into the interior of the tattoo studio:

Let’s close with one more sign. The Pagliacci’s Italian restaurant opened in Denver in 1946. It closed in 2012 and the building was demolished. The rooftop sign featured an incredible neon clown extension sign:

This sign was sorta kinda preserved. The clown was (badly) replicated with a white background and stuck way up at the top of the new Lumina Building. Thank you Google StreetView because I’ve never had the stomach to shoot it. I sure hope someone saved that original tubing:

The text panel was turned into a triangulated planter located inside the building. I guess that’s a good thing?:

There are still about 3 more days of Colorado coming before we move on to Kansas. Just a reminder, there are other photos from each day being posted simultaneously over at Flickr here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Day 4 was pretty light with lots of miles between stops. So, I’m combining these two days for a bigger post.

A detail from the Golden Burro Cafe in Leadville, CO – note the two-phase wagging tail:

This one is in Walsenburg, CO – very few of these left:

I made a quick trip over the border to New Mexico. The Mesa Vista Motel in Raton, NM:

I’m sure this sign in Raton, NM had a neon text panel underneath the panel that’s there now:

DiLisio’s department store operated in Raton from 1918-1978. These letters remain on the edge of the building’s roof:

The former Solano Shoe Shop in Raton — for lots more shoe and boot signs, see this page at my website:

https://www.roadarch.com/sca/shoes.html

The gas station below is also in Raton. One of my favorite gas station designs are these streamline Conocos. Most had double canopies, porthole windows, and extensive use of green glazed tile (even in the bathrooms). I’ve got lots of them at my website — most of the survivors are in Texas:

https://www.roadarch.com/gas/txconoco.html

Perhaps my favorite detail is on the backside. These continuous windows allowed natural light in for the mechanics. Most remaining stations have filled in or covered these up but the station in Raton is intact:

When I went digging, I was surprised by how little info there is about these two scaffold signs. They are both prominent landmarks on the highest peaks in both Raton and Trinidad, CO. This one on top of Goat Hill has been there since at least the 1950s and I suspect a lot longer:

This one has been there since at least the 1920s:

On to Colorado. This sign in Alamosa, CO at a still-operating cleaners:

St. George the Dragonslayer in Crested Butte, CO:

The backlit plastic sign at Chong’s Cafe in Pueblo, CO is blown out but the neon top is what matters:

A giant chile in Pueblo:

This rubber duck is located at the Quacker Gift Shop in Manitou Springs, CO:

This sign in Manitou Springs is really getting rusty (business long gone). I always hold my breath that it will still be there whenever I’m in town:

One of two former Tastee-Freez locations in Colorado Springs:

The Fox Theatre in Walsenburg, CO:

I was devastated to see that this sign in Pueblo, CO which I shot last year…:

… had been painted over sometime earlier this year when a sushi place moved into the space. Better than removing it, I guess. Too bad it couldn’t have been moved to the Neon Alley instead.

Let’s close with the many faces of this sign in Canon City, CO. It was built in the 1950s for the El Camino Inn:

Sometime after 1991, it became the Travel Inn Motel and the sign was adapted. My photo below is from last year. Yes, very odd how they made the letter “T” basically unreadable:

Well, earlier this year, they did some repainting. Maybe that ladder indicates that they are still not done?

Moving on to Denver in the next post.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs