This blog documents the photo-gathering roadtrips for RoadsideArchitecture.com (aka roadarch.com). That gigantic website covers buildings, signs & statues from the 1920s-1970s. The posts here offer about a dozen photos from each day of shooting. In winter, there are "news" posts about demolitions, removals, remodeling, restorations, etc.
It’s me again already. I’m barreling through this annual website link & map checking. I’ve got a bunch of mostly bad news from the Drive-in Movie Theatres section. A storm in Joliet, IL in July destroyed much of the long-closed Hill-Top Drive-in. I’m betting they will knock down what’s left of the screentower. Here’s the before from my website:
the after from Google Maps:
There’s not much left now of the Paoli Drive-in screentower in Paoli, IN which closed around 2001. My photo from 2009:
and the latest Street View from earlier this year:
The cool ticket booth at the Starway Drive-in in Frankfurt, KY was demolished around last year:
The sign is still there but the property is for sale:
The Redland Drive-in in Lufkin, TX was demolished last year. A big pile of dirt where the screen and sign were:
The Sky Vue Drive-in in Tyler, TX opened in 2007 and this sign was built then. It closed in 2017 and this sign disappeared sometime after 2019:
The long-closed Skyline Drive-in in Clarksburg, WV…
… got a new arrow recently:
Moving on to the Tire Stores section. This mid-century Firestone in Los Angeles, CA on Highland closed around 2019 and the signs were removed. There was a big neon bowtie sign as well as the freestanding neon letters. The building was demolished last year:
The neon letters on this Firestone store in Wichita, KS were replaced with plastic signs around 2019. The neon bowtie sign remains:
The Firestone in Brooklyn, NY was built in 1936. It closed in 2020. I actually went here a few times for repairs. Here’s a photo that I took just a couple of months before I moved to California in 2012:
And here’s a photo from the latest Street View. A demolition permit has been filed so this one seems doomed. There are very few of these Firestone buildings with the jumbo canopies left:
This midcentury modern Firestone in Millcreek, UT closed around 2019:
The building now houses Marissa’s Book Store:
These Goodyear panels and letters in Holyoke, MA were removed last year:
For those of you that have been waiting for Signs, there will be some coming in the next post. The next section will be the SCA section, the companion pages to the SCA articles that I’ve written about signs for more than 15 years. Hopefully, there won’t be too many losses and there will be some good news there somewhere.
I’ve got this summer’s trip maps and lists all plotted out. Now, I just have to wait for June! I’ll take some warm-up California trips in the Spring. In the meantime, it’s time to pound away at the website, checking all the links and maps and updating descriptions. I’m starting off with the smaller sections moving on to the giant ones. This annual project usually takes about six months.
There were no changes to the Paul Bunyan statues, Egyptian Revival, or the Fairy Tale Park sections. But here’s one loss from the Collections statues section. The four sculptures in Pomeroy, WA are gone now. Here are just a couple of them:
Moving on to the Tiki Buildings & Statues section. The former Kelbo’s Hawaiian BBQ restaurant and sign in Los Angeles, CA were demolished in 2019. Boring apartments will be going up in their place.
On to the faux TeePees section. This one in Kanab, UT has been transformed from this:
to this — I guess a rock formation?
From the Giant Containers section… some good news. The Barrel House Liquors facade in Washington, DC had been covered up since 2016 when the liquor store moved to a smaller space next door. Here’s a photo I took in 2004:
There were plans to make it the entrance to a big apartment complex above but that fell through. In October, it was announced that a Foxtrot gourmet convenience store was going to move into the space. The facade has finally been uncovered and it’s such a relief to see the neon sign and barrel from 1945 again! They are landmarked, so, Foxtrot will have to preserve the features:
The Giant Six-Pack of Beer in Laredo, TX has been repainted many times over the years. Here’s what it looked like when it was vacant in 2018:
In 2019:
and last month:
From the Giant Food section… the giant garlic at the Quarter Bistro and the building itself in Ann Arbor, MI are gone:
This giant burger at Burger Urge in San Francisco, CA is gone. A Middle Eastern restaurant is there now:
The Giant Ice Cream in Ardmore, OK is gone now. The Cloverleaf was a great, eclectic store which closed in 2018. Just about everything is gone now as per Google Street View’s 2021 map.
From the Bus Station section…. the downtown Denver, CO Greyhound station was demolished a few months ago:
From the Beverage Bottling Plants section… the former Coca-Cola bottling plant in Gastonia, NC…
… as The Dillinger office and retail space, restaurants, and apartments:
This former Coca-Cola bottling plant in Asbury Park, NJ was demolished last year:
This former Canada Dry bottling plant in Seattle, WA was demolished last year. There are only about three of these buildings left:
The Pepsi-Cola bottling plant in Portland, OR was built in 1962. The building on the left is being adapted for retail space. However the barrel roof building on the right will not be saved…. why??!!! It sure seems just as significant to me:
That’s enough news for one post. Back with more soon.
I’m tying together the last three days of this summer’s trip into one mega post. Two of the days were light anyway since I was scurrying home in time for work. Before we move on to the photos, let’s do the standard factual summary that I do for the final post from all these trips. 36 days 16,007miles with $2,992 spent on gas (I don’t keep track of the food/motel $$) – which means that Gator averaged 18.7mpg; [last year’s summer trip was 14,798 miles] additional expenses: a redlight ticket in Florida $161, a speeding ticket in Louisiana ($220 but a $40 online course keeps my driving record clean) approximately 4,200 photos (which are all up at the website now!!)
Dairy Boy was an Oklahoma chain, established in 1957. There were more than 165 locations by the early 1960s but there are now only two left operating. This one is in Okemah, OK:
When the Lexington, OK location closed in 2013, it was repainted and moved to Okemah. This is the last of the “running boy” signs known to exist:
This sign in Jackson, TN. It was probably installed in 1973 when the business opened:
These signs in Fort Smith, AR are probably from the 1950s:
This former Phillips 66 in Fort Smith, AR had been a skanky car wash in recent years. In 2019, it was given this artistic treatment:
I believe there were only three of these Pizza Parlour locations built. This sign in Van Buren, AR was badly damaged recently (weather?). The clown panels revolved originally:
The one in Fort Smith is gone but, fortunately, the one in Alma is still in good shape – my photo from 2019:
This sign in Little Rock, AR originally advertised for Tedford Drugs. You can see the “Drugs” showing thru in the bottom panel. The building has been vacant since at least 2007 so I don’t know how much longer this sign will be around. Apparently, this sign revolved — that looks like a motor box below:
This sign is in Okahoma City. It’s not clear if this place is still open. The only other signs on the building are for pagers from the 1980s. Still no name or info after much digging at Google. Maybe shorthand for “Knight Market”?
This sign in Oklahoma City is probably from the late 1960s. That’s when this business relocated to their current location:
This sign in Oklahoma City went up in 2011. The pizza is animated:
This sign in Thomas, OK is adorable and wonderful in so many ways. The letters are/were all backlit plastic:
and so is the owl himself:
The flashing bulb arrow was one of probably thousands produced by Superior Outdoor Display in Long Beach, CA and sold all over the country:
This building in Oklahoma City was originally a gas station, built in the early 1930s. It was part of the Owl Courts motel and cafe complex. It was vacant for years. Last year, the building began housing a coffee shop. At the same time, the motel rooms behind the former station were either rebuilt or adapted for retail space:
The Pecos Theatre in Santa Rosa, NM had been vacant for many years. The County purchased the building in 2016. In 2019, these new signs were installed and the movie theatre reopened:
There were thousands of these Shell gas station signs around the country in the 1960s. There are just a few left on public display now. This one in Elk City, OK is pretty faded. Tletters and background were red originally. There’s no sign of a gas station so it was probably just moved here by someone that saved it:
The porcelain enamel panels on this Rexall sign in Shamrock, TX has held up incredibly well. Many of these orange & navy Rexall signs had neon. But these guys were cheaper and less maintenance since they were lit by overhead tubes:
The Westland Theatre in Elk City, OK housed an office supply store for many years. The building appears to be vacant now. The building is still in good shape and there’s a neon blade sign. The tubing holes on this marquee sign indicates how nice it must have been:
I’m crazy about phony castle buildings and have dozens of them at my website. Here’s one in Albuquerque, NM that I believe was built as a storage place in 1985:
Nearly home! Here are a couple of signs from Needles, CA:
Want more?
I just put up another 40 photos today from these last three days of the trip over at Flickr (different photos from those above):
My next big project: initial planning next year’s June trip which will focus on Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas with some other states to/from. Some Canada might happen (depending on what happens with COVID travel restrictions).
After I get those lists and maps put together, I will move on to the gruesomely tedious annual task of checking every single map link and external links at my website to see what’s changed since last winter (buildings/signs/statues — demolished/repainted/restored) and update descriptions accordingly. I’ll also be simultaneously posting those typically depressing posts here with the “news”. Usually, I just get this huge project done (or nearly done) in time for the next big summer trip. But there will also be some small California trips in the spring for welcome relief from the keyboard.
Best wishes to everyone for 2022!
Happy trails, dj & the dogs
One of our fave local beaches (Bates Beach in Carpinteria):
My dogs’ fave hobby (chasing and abusing their racecar which does about 40mph on the grass):
This was one of the last big shooting days at the end of the trip. I had decided to skip Northern Alabama for now and get a wee bit of Tennessee in instead. Retirement is about six years away and I’m so looking forward to not having to make these tough decisions in order to frantically drop what I’m doing and hustle the interstates back in time for work-on-Monday.
This sign in Dalton, GA previously advertised for the Downtown Motor Inn. It may have been used for something else before that. I’m glad that they kept the rocks and the Swiss or German guy with the lantern. I’m imagining more of a chalet text panel on top. There was a readerboard where the digital display is now.
The Big V Restaurant is in Chatsworth, GA:
I’m sure this Best Jewelers sign in Rossville, GA was a beauty originally with neon and possible bulbs on the arrow:
The display cases are still very nice:
This sign in Chattanooga, TN was originally built for a Jiffy Drive-in. There would have been a neon chef on top of the oval panel. The Jiffy Drive-in name would have been on the oval with the word “HAMBURGERS” on the rectangular panel:
This barn in Flintstone, GA advertises for the nearby Rock City tourist attraction. This barn advertising campaign started in 1935 and nearly 1000 barns were painted. However, I think this is a modern version since I don’t see it at the barns map at this website:
This sign in Chattanooga, TN has definitely fallen on hard times. I can’t find any vintage photos or postcards of this one but I’m sure the neon and bulbs were pretty:
Sam’s Burger Deli in Rome, GA featured two Gulfstream jet dining rooms…
and a vintage VW Microbus with wings, tail and propeller wheels:
The Adco Motel is in Chatsworth, GA. There was originally a readerboard panel and a longer arrow originally. It looks like an AAA seal-of-approval neon logo also:
This Norge Ball in Dalton, GA was restored after the owner found my webpages about these signs. When he learned that only one of these was still lit and spinning, he decided to get his going again. However, just months after that, there was a major water heater fire inside the building. The place was closed from that event when I took photos there this summer. However, it has reopened and I’m hoping that the sign is back working again:
The Ellis Restaurant in Chattanooga, TN has been closed around 1979 and the sign has mostly been neglected since then. An ambitious owner decided to at least restore the frogs in 2017:
The letters at the KK’s Pawn Shop in Manchester, TN came from Big K department stores. For more about the chain — see this website:
The Oakwood Cafe in Dalton, GA opened at this location in the 1940s. This looks to be a replica sign:
This Masonic Lodge sign is in Ringgold, GA:
How about a couple of gas stations? This one in Chattanooga, TN was originally a Pan-Am station — easily recognizable by the horizontal bands around the building:
This Starbucks was built as a Cities Service station across the street from the Rock City tourist attraction at Lookout Mountain, GA. At some point, it was castled-up a bit and the rooftop sign was removed:
Roy’s Grill in Rossville, GA has opened and closed countless times in recent years. It opened in 1934 as a Krystal hamburger place. I don’t know when it became Roy’s but this building was constructed during road-widening in 1949. It was looking great this summer — both inside and out:
These vacuum form, backlit plastic signs were mass-produced and I can’t get enough of them. I’m guessing there were hundreds, if not thousands, but there are only maybe a dozen left on public display. This one is in Signal Mountain, GA:
I have never been able to figure the original tenant out for this sign in Chattanooga, TN despite all my Google and Newspapers.com searches. This was Soup’s On when I first shot it in the early 2000s. I love the ribbon shape and I assume there was some neon on this guy originally. And then later lit with that light up on top:
This beauty in Chattanooga was originally an American National Bank & Trust Co. branch, built in 1953:
The Town & Country Center shopping center in Chattanooga was built in the late 1950s, I think. The “CENTER” letters originally had neon and the top panels were corrugated plastic with plastic letters on top reading “T’C”. But, I gotta say, the sign is sure looking better after it was restored sometime after 2018:
Most of these double-drive-thru Central Park restaurants are now occupied by other businesses. This one in Chattanooga is pretty intact. The sign panels at the top would have been taller with flags on the corners:
The wrong time of day to shoot this one (pole shadows) in Chattanooga but at least you can see the rust and raised letters. I’m betting this was always a painted sign, maybe 1940s?:
And, lastly: the WDEF-TV sign in Chattanooga from 1958. I posted the full body shot (building plus sign) at Flickr earlier today. In case you didn’t know or haven’t had time, I post different photos to Flickr right before I do these blog posts:
I’ve got three more days from this trip to Photoshop, insert into my website, and post to Flickr and this blog. I’m hoping to get that all done by the New Year but it’ll more likely be all done slightly after that.
Judging from the holes, this sign in Newnan must have had neon over the Tourist Hotel text. It looks like its probably from the 1930s or 1940s and has probably been repainted at least a few times:
This remodeled sign in Atlanta caught my attention:
I was able to find out a little bit about it when I got home. It was built for the Stewart-Lakewood Center mall, which later became the Crossroads Mall. The mall opened in 1952 but expanded over the years. This sign might be from then or the 1960s:
This beautiful green vitrolite storefront in Cedartown originally housed Woodward & Son Jewelers:
The original terrazzo floor is still there as well:
These vacuum form Gulf gas signs are super rare now. This one is in Rome. The station was skanky so I didn’t shoot/not including that:
The Candyland restaurant and gift shop chain had at least four locations in Georgia and Florida that had these cool pyramid-ish roofs:
The Lake Park building was demolished around 2020:
I got a few photos in 2010:
The restaurant building in McDonough was demolished just a few months before I got there in July but the smaller motel office building is still there (formerly Red Carpet Inn, now Howard Johnson):
The Zesto Drive-in chain was established in Jefferson City, MO in 1945. By the early 1950s, there were dozens of locations all over the country. I’ve documented all of the surviving buildings and signs at my website here:
There are about four locations still operating in the Atlanta area. These two signs are from the Forest Park location. I think they are from the early 1970s:
This Piedmont Rd. location in Atlanta was built in 1953. I’m not sure how much is original but it has a fun look anyway. I find that retro super shiny chrome stuff along the roof irritatingly faux-diner-ish but most people probably love it. I couldn’t find any 1950s photos to show if the slanty wedge roof was there in the 1950s:
I like the confetti style tile – abstracted icicles?
And the sputnik and spaceship light fixtures inside might be vintage:
This motel and sign are in Bremen. They have been there since at least the 1960, probably since the 1950s:
The Groover Shoe Repair shop is in Rome. This sign used to be part of a pole sign near the road. It’s now relegated to the side of the building. The store opened in 1940 and this sign might be from then:
There’s also a skeleton sign in the window:
This triangulated, marquee-like sign is also in Rome. There was actually a movie theatre here originally, the Gordon Theatre, from 1940-1954. The Partridge Restaurant moved here in 1962. The building’s facade has been covered with siding for decades. The restaurant closed in 2017 and the building is still vacant.
The S&S Cafeteria opened here in Atlanta in 1968. There were at least seven other locations and six are still operating in Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. This location closed in 2018 but the signs are still there while the restaurant remains vacant:
Lastly, this little place in Griffin is known as the Griffin Dog House. It has a giant hot dog over the entrance and the split Coke bottle is installed on both sides of the building:
I’ll be back soon with a little more Georgia and some shots from Tennessee.
Happy trails, dj & the dogs
Bonus shot of me and the kids after a racecar session:
Moving on to a mostly Atlanta post. Let’s start with the giant Coca-Cola sign in Atlanta which has been around in a few different iterations since 1932. Here’s what the sign looked like in 1954, photo credit to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — note that 44-foot-tall thermometer on the left:
That sign was removed in 1981 and a recreation was built in 2003. The current sign is a replacement from last year when the neon was swapped out for LED tubing. The Coca-Cola letters have always been sequentially lit bulbs. This sign is five feet wider than the sign shown above:
There’s also another giant Coke sign in Atlanta alongside I-85. I’ve done my best digging around and can’t find out how long it’s been there:
This giant piano sign is also visible from I-85 and has towered over Cooper Piano in Atlanta since 1983. That LED tubing might be original. There are a couple of similar giant pianos in Texas (and lots of other giant musical instruments) at my website here:
The Blue Bird Service Center in Atlanta was built in 1939. There were three giant bluebird signs then: one on the front of the building and two on the roof with two triangulated panels reading “Truck Stop” from the backside. Nick Fisher shot it in 1990 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/10386678@N02/955798540
John Margolies shot one of the rooftop signs in 1984:
Today, the bird on the front of the building is still there, although the paint is pretty blah and that LED stuff is sad:
One of the rooftop birds was saved and leans up against the back of the building:
The Bootery signs in Atlanta may have been moved here from a previous location. They have been here since at least 1951. The upper, projecting sign was removed in 2011 — here’s a photo I got in 2006. Note that it had a parrot as well (for Poll Parrot Shoes):
Today, at least the script sign and the parrot below are still there. The store has been closed since around 2019. I doubt that these signs are protected, although they really should be. I’d love to think that they would be carefully repainted and lit again. Here’s hoping…
This little porcelain, pagoda roof building in Atlanta has made me crazy for decades. Normally, you’d think Chinese restaurant but it’s way too small. Its position (set back on the lot) and the current gas station in front suggest it may have been a gas station office. But I have never dug up anything about it:
I believe this building in Atlanta is from 1968. European Cleaners has been here since 1984. It may have been another cleaners before that.
This sign is in Tucker, GA. The panels are ripple tin indicating that it’s a true oldie and was always a painted sign:
The Majestic Shoe Repair store opened here in Atlanta in 1951. This sign is probably from then. The store is long gone but there’s a restaurant below (Brickstone Cafe) that must be footing the bill to keep the neon working:
I’m crazy for Martinizing One-Hour Cleaners buildings and signs. They built there gullwing-roofed buildings all over the country and there’s still at least a dozen in North Carolina, Virginia, and elsewhere — some still cleaners, some entirely different businesses now. This one in Tucker, GA is the only one that I know of that still has the Martinizing clock:
The Pipe Corner sign in Atlanta is another ripple tin sign. It’s been there since at least 1952. The ghosted bottom reads “Royal Cigar Co.” In 2015, there was a scare that the building was going to be demolished and the sign’s fate was unknown. But the building is still there and the sign is safe for now:
This sign in Atlanta was installed in 1956. It was restored in 2002 and although the letters could use some paint, the neon looks intact:
Last photo for this post. The Vortex Bar & Grill in Atlanta opened in 1996 with this skull entrance. The eyes are lit red at night.
A few more blog posts to come since I’ve got five more days of shooting from this trip left to PhotoShop and add to my website. I’d love to wrap it all up by the end of December but we’ll see how it goes.
I’ve got these two days up at my website now. So, it’s time for another double-post!
This gas station building in Watkinsville is pretty convincing. However, I believe it was built from scratch. There was nothing on the property but trees in 2008. The randomly but regularly-placed exposed brick and weird roof that hangs over the entire building are clues:
This former gas station in Athens is “real”. It would have been a Standard Oil station originally (the canopy support is the giveaway). It’s now a pizza place:
This giant milk carton is also in Athens. Usually, these were installed at dairy plants. This one was actually installed at a milk carton manufacturer. The company is gone now but they named the road after the plant (Dairy Pak Rd.) and I’m so glad they have kept the carton. Lots more of these at my website here:
Blue Ridge is considered the trout fishing capital of Georgia. When a tree died in the downtown park, the City hired a chainsaw guy to carve, what else, a jumping rainbow trout:
Fiberglass statues abound at Atlantis Plumbing in Dallas. The owner got bitten with the bug and acquired a lot statues from Magic Forest in Lake George, NY when the new owner changed themes. This is an opportunity to really see the size and style differences between what I call the “smooth” chicken and the “classic” rooster. International Fiberglass made the classic statues in the 1960s and there are still dozens of them all over the country. They are now replicated in aluminum (easy to spot since they have a lot more feathery detail). I don’t know what company made the smooth variety but there are only a handful of them out there on public display. I’ve got five pages of chickens alone in my Animal Statue section:
Big D’s BBQ is located in Dawsonville. This guy was on the roof for years. I guess they decided to retire him. I found him behind the building. I was relieved to see him but I am worried about him:
The giant grill-revolver is still out front and from the look of the tires, it won’t be moved around anytime soon:
While on the subject of guns.. how about this sign topper at Appalachian Gun, Pawn, Range & Training in Jasper:
Just down the highway is this place with both fiberglass boots (Tony Lama and Justin). Lots of giant boots at my website here:
This building in Chamblee was actually the very first Dari-Delite building that I ever saw. It’s been a flower shop since at least 2008. I didn’t know what it was back in 2009 and I googled like mad when I got home to figure it out. Since then, I’ve shot them all over the country:
This is what the original buildings looked like. Note the weathervane at the top. The Chamblee location still has the pole and the thing on top of it:
None of the locations are still operating but this location in Napa, CA still has the original Dee and Dee-Dee signs in the gables:
The Chamblee location still has the original pole sign although the panels have been changed:
Moving on to this cute little dome church in Marietta:
This globe sculpture entitled “Spaceship Earth” at Kennesaw State University (in Kennesaw) has really fallen on hard times. It was installed in 2006 and it has fallen apart at least a couple of times. The earth was a very pretty blue originally. Lots more globes at my website here:
Note that the sign was just being installed and they hadn’t put the neon tubing on it yet.
If you haven’t visited my Flickr page in a while, keep in mind that I’m posting different photos there simultaneously with these blog posts. In general, these blog posts are meant for the less photogenic stuff that often never appears at my website. The Flickr uploads are a little more like highlights from each day:
Here comes another big double-post. Day 27 was pretty grey and disappointing light-wise. Fortunately, things got a little better the following day.
Let’s start with this former Coca-Cola bottling plant in Swainsboro. I think there are more of these Coke buildings left in Georgia than any other state. If you’d like to see more, here’s the soft drinks bottling buildings section at my website:
This midcentury modern building in Savannah may have housed a pest control company originally. In addition to the metal-ring screens next to the entrance, there’s a nifty glass structure on the roof:
The Central Park fast food chain was established in Chattanooga in 1982. Here’s an example in Goldsboro, NC (now gone) of their early design from my website:
Over the years their buildings got a little bigger and double canopies were added. This building in Savannah has housed the Green Tea Drive-in since at least 2008:
Hundreds of these (what I call) “Left Leg Forward” cows were built by Sculptured Advertising (FAST’s predecessor) in Wisconsin in the late 1950s and 1960s.
There are about 37 still on display around the country including this one in Savannah at Keller’s Flea Market. In addition to her hat and earrings, she has a watch on her front left leg and a ring on her tail:
This car dealership sign in Savannah has been around since at least 1972 but was probably built earlier. I’ve been told that it originally advertised for the Plantation Club but I’ve never seen photos of the sign from that time. Here’s what it looked like when I shot it in 2007:
And this is what it’s looked like since around 2014:
The Streamliner Diner in Savannah was built by Worcester in 1938. It was originally located in New Hampshire but was moved here in 1990 by SCAD (the Savannah College of Art and Design). It housed the Sandfly Bar-B-Q restaurant from 2015-2020. It’s vacant now but I was able to shoot the interior from the entrance door window:
This funky sign with a giant key is located in Savannah:
This place is located in Augusta:
Also in Augusta:
Another one from Augusta. The peanut brittle and chips signs are reverse-painted glass:
The Chateau Restaurant in Augusta is closed but this facade sign remains:
The Lamar Building in Augusta was built in 1918. The crazy rooftop, penthouse addition was designed by I.M. Pei and built in 1976. It is sometimes referred to as “The Toaster”:
The Karpf Building in Savannah was built in 1935. The original tenant was “B. Karpf”, Benjamin Karpf’s hat store:
This sign in Savannah has been through a lot. It was originally built in 1947 for Mathew’s Fish Market restaurant. Mark Denton shot the sign in the early 1980s:
Later, the lettering was adapted for an Italian restaurant. It was adapted again for Sorry Charlie’s seafood restaurant around 2003. Here’s a photo that I took in 2007. I think these were the original panels, just repainted:
The building was declared unsafe in 2007 and the restaurant closed. After repairs, it reopened around 2014. This sign was replicated and reinstalled around 2015. The text layout is a little different and the water beneath the fish is a little simpler, but overall the design is pretty faithful to the original Mathews sign:
The Paradise Restaurant sign in Sylvania opened with this sign in the 1950s:
There was a companion sign with birds at the adjacent Paradise Motel:
There restaurant sign already looked a bit different by the 1960s:
It was replaced with this sign sometime later in the 1960s. The star on top originally revolved. My photo from 2009:
The restaurant closed in 1999. Just before it was demolished in 2016, the owners of the nearby Cooperville Caboose saved the sign and moved it to their property. They planned to restore it or at least erect it. But that never happened. The Caboose closed and the sign was moved to a nearby field. The “Paradise” panel lays in the grass and the star is nowhere to be found:
Last photo for this post. The Williams Seafood restaurant in Savannah burned down in 2004 but this sign remains, being swallowed up the trees more and more each year:
A four-day weekend — woo-hoo! So, don’t be surprised if you hear from me a time or two again very soon.
I’m lumping these two days together for a nice big post. Lots of crusty signs in here for you sign fans! Day 25 was pretty crappy with cloudy weather but I didn’t have a day to give up to wait around. So, I powered through, took my shots, and will be back one day for better, sunny photos.
The Hotel Alma in Alma, GA could use some new paint. It looks like the neon might be intact:
This ICE sign in Bainbridge, GA is probably modern but it’s still pretty in the (momentary) sun. It points at the very big self-serve Bainbridge Ice House machine:
This Hall Drug Co. sign is in Blakely, GA:
This sign is in Dawson, GA. Kinda crude hand-painted and neon-less but still wonderful:
This sign in Albany, GA is at the Albany Strikers Bowling Center:
This Colyer’s Jewelers sign is in Valdosta, GA. It’s hard to shoot with the trees:
This Maryland Fried Chicken in Albany, GA has one of the nicest preserved buildings left, with original plastic signs. That rooftop thingie over the entrance was a big weathervane:
This Phillips 66 in Ashburn, GA has been remodeled a little but it’s still nice to see vintage (non-functioning?) pumps and the P66 sign. It’s not the original sign but still vintage enough. The original would have been shield-shaped:
This mid-century modern bank is in Adel, GA:
This sign in Tifton, GA is looking pretty rough. Go-Fund-Me, anybody? Imagine this thing with neon, fresh paint, and flashing bulbs:
This sign is in Quitman, GA. I’ve never seen such a strange pitted material. The letters and mortar/pestle look like wood:
A little paint and this sign in Quitman, GA would be gorgeous:
This marvelous three-fer (corrugated plastic, neon, bulbs) WITH readerboard bonus is in Tifton, GA:
This Krispy Kreme in Albany, GA still has the 1960s-era gabled roof building with this rooftop crown sign. It originally had corrugated plastic panels but at least it has this painted panel now. The other side has the icky modern logo in neon (or could be LED). I don’t think it revolves anymore or at least it wasn’t this summer:
This cleaners in Albany, GA is still operating:
This Southern Motel sign in Cordele, GA has been swallowed up the trees (and this is the more visible side!). You would never see it if you weren’t deliberately looking for it:
This sign in Macon, GA may no longer have the neon but a least they are keeping up with the paint. I wonder if that middle panel was a readerboard or if it had neon letters as well:
This Coca-Cola sign is located in Buena Vista, GA at the former Marion Drugs:
This pest control sign is in Macon, GA. I’ve got a bunch of other pest control signs at my website here:
This scary bear is located at Mercer University in Macon, GA:
This BBQ joint is in Gray, GA:
And lastly, one more sign from Macon, GA. This one was supposedly built in 1937. The restaurant was destroyed in a fire in 2015 and later demolished. But this projecting sign went unscathed. It is now installed inside the Montpelier Ave. location:
Six more days of Georgia to come. With a holiday weekend coming up, I hope to get a ton of photos photoshopped and up at the website. You can expect at least a blog post or two from me then.
Happy trails, dj & the dogs
Bonus shot of the crew from last weekend in the “fall foliage” (iceplant at the beach) here in SoCal:
All of the Florida stuff is now up at my website (far, far more than was included in these blog posts or other photos posted over at Flickr). So, if you have favorite topics (signs, mid-century modern, gas stations, Art Deco, etc.), you might want to go check out all that there (roadarch.com). Don’t forget about the search box near the top left of any page below the yellow bar if you want to search by city, business name, and/or theme.
Before we move on to the Georgia photos, let’s sneak one more photo in for Jacksonville, FL. This former car dealership was built in 1969. It last housed Coggin GMC-Pontiac but I don’t know if that was the original tenant. The building’s been vacant since around 2008 but it won’t be around much longer. There are plans to demolish it and replaced with a Circle K gas station and convenience store:
This BBQ place in Baxley, GA now houses a florist shop. I’m glad they have kept the modern pig sign:
These modern Coke & Pepsi signs in Baxley are installed on the convenience store at a Valero station. They have been there since at least 2008 when there was a Citgo station there.
This neon arrow sign in Waycross, GA points at Yarbrough’s Office Products & Printing which has been around since 1932. The sign looks maybe 1960s or 1970s?:
These civic pride mosaic murals in Waycross, GA were built for the SunTrust Bank (or whatever bank was there originally). The bank is gone now but the building is housing the county elections office. Sorry about the shadows – it was very late in the day:
This 19-foot-long gator sculpture in Folkston, GA was built in New York in 2004 and brought here at some point. For lots more gators, I’ve got two pages worth at my website here:
This former Coca-Cola bottling plant in Hinesville, GA is about to be repurposed for a brewery/restaurant. If you like Coca-Cola buildings, tons of them from all over the country here:
This bank with a projecting lighthouse is located in St. Simons Island, GA:
Steffens Restaurant in Kingsland, GA has had a few different signs over the years. These are probably what they opened with in 1948:
And then later (mid-1950s?) with a new building:
The sign that’s there today was pretty faded until it was restored around 2018:
This Maryland Fried Chicken chain was established with the first location in Orlando in 1961. This Waycross, GA location opened in 1969. The building has been remodeled a bit:
And the sign has new plastic panels. But the original pulsating neon disk on top remains:
Last photo for this post if from Midway, GA. It’s a bit of a mystery as to where it came from since it’s installed at an auto shop that has been there for many years.
Another week’s worth of Georgia coming up. Be back soon.
RoadArch.com companion 