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:

https://www.roadarch.com/signs/bear.html

This sign is from Winner:

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:

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

I love faux castle buildings. This jewelry store is in Wall. Seven pages of them at my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/mim/castles.html

Closing up this post with some statues and other stuff. This giant mailbox is at the Full Throttle Saloon in Vale:

This rooftop moose is at the Moose Lodge in Rapid City:

This 30-foot-tall Smokey Bear is in Hill City:

That’s enough for now. Back with more photos soon. 14 days to go.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Let’s get back to South Dakota photos. Let’s start with some signs in Sioux Falls:

This sign was put up for sale on eBay in 2015 but I guess the price was too high and so it remains:

This sign is at the Sport Bowl. If you like bowling signs half as much as I do, I’ve got nine very full pages at my website here:

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

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:

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

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.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

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:

More mortar and pestle signs at my website here:

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

Back to South Dakota photos in the next post.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

This towering pole sign is in Aberdeen. I don’t believe LSN Inc. exists anymore but I’m grateful that this fun sign remains:

The Asian Garden in Aberdeen has closed but this nice detail over the entrance survives:

The Cloverleaf Bar & Grill is located on the corner of the Berens Hotel is in Selby:

The chrome, wedge-shaped motel sign panel in Huron was previously painted yellow and the text, obviously, had neon:

This sign is also in Huron:

Pizza King (despite the spelling on the sign) opened in this location in Brookings in 1961. I suspect the sign was adapted from another business at that time:

This sign at the Flame Steakhouse in Aberdeen is installed on top of the readerboard:

This sign is located in Mobridge:

This Zesto location is located in Pierre. The Zesto section at my website is here:

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

On to some statues…. This wolf sculpture was created by John Lopez and is in installed in front of Northern State University in Aberdeen:

These two steer statues in Miller have dominated this downtown corner since the late 1950s:

These bronze sculptures of Weary Wil and Dirty Lil are located on the campus of SDSU in Brookings:

Let’s closed with a couple of buildings. The former College Theatre in Brookings:

This Masonic Temple in Mobridge was built in an Egyptian Revival style. For more buildings in this style, see my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/egyptian/main.html

More South Dakota coming soon.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

This day was spent straddling the borders of three states. The next three or four posts will be focusing on South Dakota.

Let’s start with this place in Milbank, SD. The name and sign were recently changed from Manor Motel. You can see the old tubing holes at the top — no idea why they didn’t patch those. Surely, the sign had all neon originally and the “& Extended Stay” panel was added later.

I doubt that it’s coincidence that the sign’s triangle mimics the office’s 1960s-looking roofline. The adjacent restaurant, known as the Millstone Family Restaurant, has the same style roof and was probably built at the same time. Alas, that building is pretty ugly now with crappy vinyl siding.

This sign is in Canby, MN. It’s been missing the neon and has had “Home Painted” letters for years:

Here are three signs in Wahpeton, ND:

The “Lounge” panel had the same neat dimpled plastic pattern as “Sportsman’s” but it was damaged by the weather and the sign co. told the owner that they didn’t make that material anymore:

There’s a little less paint every time I see this sign. It was moved from the front of the building to the back many years ago:

This bar is gone but this sign was saved and installed in the Community Center in the small town of Hankinson, ND. I was able to shoot it through the window in the early morning:

How about a couple of movie theatre marquees? Both theatres still operating. This one in Britton, SD:

The Canby Theatre in Canby, MN:

And now for a few buildings. This odd little former gas station with a Sinclair pole sign is in Watertown, SD:

This former Tastee-Freez is in Hankinson, ND:

This former Harold’s Camera Shop is in Watertown, SD. I’m sure those panels were vitrolite originally:

Let’s close with a trio of statues. This blocky buffalo is in Fergus Falls, MN:

The giant catfish, aka the “Wahpper,” in Wahpeton, ND:

The “Black Viking” high on Pyramid Hill in Fort Ransom, ND:

Back soon with more photos. In the meantime, don’t forget that there are lots of different photos over at Flickr from this trip posted in daily batches as I write these posts:

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

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Another full day of North Dakota with a little bit of Minnesota border cities.

Let’s start with a couple of signs from Hillsboro, ND. This faded plastic sign at Tap That Bar. The Hamm’s letters would have been red originally and the bar’s name would have been in the white stripe at the bottom:

Reno’s Sports Bar & Grill is closed but this sign remains:

A bunch of signs in Fargo, ND. This one’s gotta be modern but fun:

Another modern (1983) but nice one. The restaurant is closed now so this sign might not be around much longer or it will be refaced:

A vintage sign in the window of Vinyl Giant Records:

I’m sad to report that this sign was adapted earlier this year. Here it was in 2011:

and now:

The groundbreaking at the YMCA in 1961 with the two original signs in the background:

Somehow, this sign below at the same location got approved and listed on the National Register of Historic Places earlier this year as an example of “early 1960s design” but it is clearly later than that and was not the original sign:

A modern sign installed in 2019:

From West Fargo — maybe 1963:

From Grand Forks — the motel’s been demolished but this sign is there, for now:

From Lisbon at a gas station convenience store:

From Portland:

From Mayville:

Moving on to some buildings – a couple from Fargo. The Bison Hotel was built in 1905 as the Viking Hotel. In 1940, it was remodeled as the Northern Hotel. Soon after, it became the Bison Hotel and this blade sign was installed (gone now). The ground floor looks like it had pink tile then:

I don’t know when this black vitrolite tile was installed and the windows were changed. The building now houses apartments and retail space on the ground floor:

The Ford truck assembly plant was built in 1915.

and today (retail, office space, and condos):

A former A&W drive-in in Grafton – now the Westside Drive-in. The give-away that it was an A&W is the triangulated pylon on the left:

A couple of theatres — this one in Larimore:

From East Grand Forks, MN — this one is brand new (from 2007):

Let’s close with a couple of statues. A classic fiberglass Clydesdale in Grand Forks from the 1960s or so. Installed earlier this year at the Rock Bottle Shop with a little Dalmatian pal:

This statue in Fargo from 1982 was restored in 2019. “Sodbuster, San Isidro” depicts a plowing farmer and a pair of oxen:

Back soon with a little more North Dakota and then moving on to South Dakota.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

I still have about 19 more days/blog posts to go for this trip. I’m optimistically hoping that I can get all of the photos up at my website (and these little blog posts) by the end of October.

Let’s start with this sign in Bismarck. I’m sure there were different plastic panels here originally but it’s still cool, especially the snowflakes:

This Gordy’s Bar sign in Cando would look a lot nicer with the plastic covers removed:

This sign is in Devils Lake:

Another sign in Devils Lake. The torch on top is not original to the porcelain enamel panels below. I believe it was for a Standard Oil “As You Travel With Us” sign produced in the 1960s/1970s:

This sign is also in Devils Lake — special enough but….

what is extra special is the original rooftop signs which none of the remaining locations have:

This sign is at the Wonder Lanes in New Rockford:

Moving on to some statues. This concrete turtle is in Belcourt. There a several giant turtles in North Dakota due to their proximity to the Turtle Mountains:

Sandy the Sandhill Crane is in Steele and is 40 feet tall:

This giant buffalo in Jamestown is 26 feet tall:

How about a couple of theatres? This one is in Langdon:

and this one is in New Rockford:

A couple of Art Deco buildings. This courthouse is in Bismarck:

The Towner County Soldiers memorial is in Cando:

And lastly, the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck is from 1945:

One more full day of North Dakota after this before we move on to South Dakota. More photos coming soon since Labor Day is giving me three days of basically uninterrupted time at the computer.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Let’s start this post in New Town where there are one of the very few Jack & Jill Food Center signs left. These and similar signs were once all over Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa, North Dakota, and other states:

In Williston, this I Keating Furniture World store has two of these rooftop scaffold signs on opposite corners of their building:

This I Keating Furniture World in Minot has a globe sign on the corner. The motor box below indicates that it revolved originally. I’ve got globe signs and giant globes from all over the country at my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/mim/globes.html

The Ten Spot Lanes sign is from Mandan. I recently moved all of the bowling signs to their own section at my website in order to have a nice companion section for an upcoming SCA article. You’ll find those pages here:

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

This modern sign is in Minot. There is a similar Vegas Motel sign in Williston but the motel itself has been demolished so the sign may not be around long.

Another sign from Minot:

From Garrison. “Drugs” at the bottom and the original business name on top have been covered up with those panels since at least 2008. This is one of the non-neon Rexall sign lit with lights overhead, presumably a cheaper choice with less maintenance:

A now closed Amoco station in Carson. This sign is probably from the 1970s (the company began using this logo in 1971):

This seemingly simple, rooftop oil derrick sign in Williston, formerly laced with neon (now LED tubing), may not look like much:

But it’s actually what I believe is the sole-surviving example of the mass-produced Mid-Continent Supply Co. signs built for all of their locations in the 1940s & 1950s. From the descriptions I’ve read, the neon gushing oil at the top was animated. Here’s a vintage photo from 1942 in Odessa, TX:

http://www.davickservices.com/oil_well_supply_company_odessa,_tx_1942.htm

Shreveport, LA (from the LOC site):

https://www.loc.gov/resource/mrg.04329/

and Plainville, KS:

https://www.facebook.com/Prairieheritage1001/posts/tbt-this-building-on-the-corner-of-k-18-and-section-line-was-a-real-showplace-in/1971494139629369/?_rdr

Moving on to some statues. This 19-foot-tall statue of Earl Bunyon [sic], Paul Bunyan’s brother, in New Town is being restored. It was built in 1958 and here’s a vintage postcard photo. He originally held a fishing pole and later a branding iron in his left hand:

and today:

These 12-foot-tall steel sculptures of explorers Lewis & Clark and the Mandan Indian Chief were installed in Washburn at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in 2004:

I brake for Statue of Liberty statues, no matter how big, small, or ugly. I like the jumbo streetlight torch on this one in Williston. If you’d like to see the “collection,” they are at my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/giants/women2.html

I also brake for windmills and lighthouses — with preference for the fake ones. This windmill in Minot was previously located in Powers Lake. It was built in 1928 and was used as a real one then. For more windmills, I’ve got five full pages of them here:

https://www.roadarch.com/mim/wind.html

How about a few buildings to close this post? The Thompson Apartments building in Minot was built in 1948:

This Art Deco building in Mohall was built from 1936-1937:

And lastly, one of my fave buildings in North Dakota: the Northern National Life Insurance Building from 1965 in Bismarck. Sorry for the “golden hour” shadows:

Back with more North Dakota photos soon.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

I finally finished up adding all of the Montana photos to my website (roadarch.com) and we’re now moving on to the Dakotas.

Let’s start off in Glendive, MT with this Moose Lodge sign:

Some other signs from Glendive:

The original El Centro Motel sign from the 1950s looked like this:

This update is probably from the 1960s:

This sign is in Circle, MT:

From Bowman, ND:

From Dickinson, ND:

This painted plywood T-Rex sign in Glendive, MT was built in the early 1990s. The city is now fundraising to restore and repaint it, and possibly add LED lights:

Moving on to some non-signs. The tiny town of Regent, ND has become a tourist attraction thanks to the creations of resident Gary Greff who has built dozens of ginormous scrap metal sculptures. Here are just a few. The Tin Family:

Pheasants on the Prairie:

This Knight and Dragon…:

were built to accompany the old high school that Greff turned into the Middle Ages-themed Enchanted Castle Hotel:

This wolf sculpture in Lemmon, SD was created from scrap metal by John Lopez who has some other impressive cowboy sculptures in town (and elsewhere):

This “Waiting on the School Bus” sculpture in Glendive, MT was installed around 2017 in front of the Dawson County High School:

Let’s close with a couple of buildings. This petrified wood covered gas station in Lemmon, SD is located next to the Petrified Wood Park and Museum:

And this former bank in Glendive, MT from 1966 now houses a library:

I’ve got about 3 more days of ND and 4 more days of SD to go. Be back soon with more photos.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

One more full day of Montana before moving on to North Dakota.

Let’s start with a few photos from Shelby. The Oasis Bar & Casino:

The Elks Lodge:

A few signs from Havre. The Hi-Line Motel:

From Chinook:

From the Great Northern Hotel & Casino in Malta:

A few signs from Glasgow:

This one was removed from the facade years ago and moved inside the antiques store which took over the space. There’s now a hair salon there but the sign remains:

This one stands a the corner of Scotties Pride Drive which leads to Glasgow High School. The Scottish Terrier is the school’s mascot. This sign was being repainted as I took this photo:

From Sidney. The JC Penney store closed in 2017 but the sign remains:

From Nashua:

A double-arrow combo in Sidney:

And here are a few non-signs. A hillside of metal sculptures created by Buck Samuelson in Glasgow:

A classic fiberglass bear on the roof at the Blue Bear Car Wash in Havre:

The sign below looks like it was inspired by Bear Manufacturing’s “alignment bear” signs – at my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/signs/bear.html

A former gas station in Havre from 1939, now housing Parker’s BBQ:

A rare double-gable Conoco gas station in Shelby — vacant for at least seven years now:

And, lastly, the Fort Peck Lutheran Church in Fort Peck. Built in 1969 for a Catholic Church:

Back soon enough with more. For different photos, don’t forget about my Flickr stuff here:

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

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs