These two days were kinda crappy weather-wise. Hardly any sun. So, prepare for some gray photos. Let’s continue with Northwest Florida stuff, starting with this motel in Minneola, FL. The giant orange in front

This vintage postcard shows that the orange had a light on top originally and a little pool below:

This Giant Tooth mailbox is installed in front of the Belleview Dental Center in Belleview, FL:

The Krispy Kreme in Gainesville, FL still has a vintage crown rooftop sign. The oval panels would have revolved originally:

The Lorito’s sign in Ocala, FL has been through a lot. Here’s a photo that I took in 2009 just before it was knocked over by a drunk driver:

The owners had the sign “restored” with vinyl decals. It was not a good look and then they faded. Around 2017, the vinyl decals were painted over. I’m still not a fan of the serif font but… yes, way better than a plastic box:

The Marion Theatre in Ocala, FL:

The Howard Johnson’s in Ocala , FL was built as an Econolodge. HoJo’s moved in in the late 1990s. This weathervane steeple was built in 2016 during renovations. It simulates the original rooftop detail with the Simple Simon & Pieman logo:

Two of these ginormous signs were built in Tampa, FL: one for Britton Plaza and the other for Northgate Plaza:

This former Firestone in Clearwater, FL has been a Tires Plus for many years:

This former Kress department store is in Lakeland, FL:

This Moderne Masonic Temple in St. Petersburg, FL won’t be around much longer. Plans to demolish it and build a high-rise have been approved. The sign will supposedly be donated to a Masonic Lodge:

This pirate sign welcomes you to Treasure Island, FL as you drive across the bridge:

I’m always relieved to see this big guy at this self-serve car wash in Lakeland, FL:

Let’s close this post with the World Liquors sign in St. Petersburg, FL. The sign was supposedly built in 1961. Here’s a photo that I took in 2009:

Although according to many articles, the globe supposedly came from a 1950s World Furniture store. I found nothing about that store in St. Petersburg or Tampa at newspapers.com or anywhere else. This Food World sign in Tampa sure looks like a match to me! However, that chain wasn’t established until 1971 so… the true history still remains a mystery.

In 2018, the liquor store property was sold and the sign was either sold or donated to Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill. They kept the globe and created new sign panels and the sputnik on top.

The old panels are displayed at Zazoo’d, a home furnishings store in St. Petersburg. The store wasn’t open when I was there but I managed to get this shot through the window:

That’s a wrap for now. I expect to have more for you soon since I’m hunkered down for this four-day weekend, Photoshop-ing and adding hundreds of photos to my website.

If you can make it, I’ll be one of the speakers for a little hour-long virtual event that the California Preservation Foundation is putting on Thurs, Sept 9 at noon PST. It’s free and some very interesting folks will be talking. For my eight minutes, I’ll be screensharing with some tips and tricks for navigating my ridiculously huge website and getting the most out of it for your enjoyment and trip-planning. More about the program here:

https://californiapreservation.org/events/plane-train-auto/

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

I’m making good progress in getting things up at my website. So, I have another batch for you.

Let’s start with this long-closed restaurant that’s right across from a lake in Clearview, AL. So much to love here:

There are dozens of themed civic art project statues around the country. Cows, fish, oranges, you name it. But these peanut statues in Dothan AL might be the cutest, in my opinion. If you want to see more, I’ve got a bunch at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/food/nuts.html

These fiberglass pigs, like this one in Foley, AL, were mass-produced. I’ve got more like this and other types at these two pages:
https://www.roadarch.com/critters/pigs.html

When the Pensacola Beach, FL directional sign was replaced in 2019, the old sign was auctioned off in pieces. These pieces are actually from around 2005 since the sign has been banged around by many hurricanes over the years. The sailfish panel went to the Frisky Dolphin, while this panel went to the Pensacola Beach RV Park where it is displayed at their tiki bar:

The sad state of the Giant Skate in Pensacola, FL. It was built from 2004-2007 for the Landmark Skate and Fun Center. Here’s a photo that I took in 2010:

The skating center closed in 2017. The skate was faded but still in decent shape then. In 2019, the skate was moved and was about to be restored by the Pensacola Roller Gurlz. But then the owner wanted the skate back and off to the closed skating center it went. Now, the laces are shot and the tires are gone. Here’s hoping the owner will change his mind. More about this and other giant skates at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/mim/skates.html

Here are my wonderful travelmates at Cape San Blas, FL. It was hot but still a fun pitstop. White sand and good swimming:

This sign is in Lake City, FL — a little faded but it looks like the neon is in good shape:

Two signs from Gainesville, FL. Around 2019, the ice cream panel was repainted to look like a steaming cup of coffee:

Doug’s Dairy Twirl has been closed since at least 2007 but the sign lives on:

A local brewery has produced a line of stouts which pays tribute to the place. Here are three of the flavors:

Here’s a closeup of the leaf at the Leaf Theatre in Quincy, FL:

The Port Theatre in Port St. Joe, FL. I believe it’s been closed since 2018 after hurricane damage:

Here’s a former Royal Castle in Tallahassee, FL. The only other surviving building like this that I know of is in Clearwater, FL:

And lastly…. a detail from a streamline Firestone tire/repair shop in Tallahassee, FL. These neon letters have been removed or replaced with plastic box signs at most locations around the country:

I’ll be back this weekend with more goodies from Florida. There are about 12 days left to cover from that state in these posts.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Let’s double-up a couple of days from this trip for a bigger post, shall we?

The Auto King Muffler Shop chain was founded in Baton Rouge. I think this sign in Plaquemine, LA is the only intact one left, although the shop itself is long closed and this one could disappear any day:

This sign in Plaquemine is also still there although the market has been closed for many years:

The Pharmacy Museum in New Orleans, LA was built around 2013. It is a replica of a 1960s sign:

This former gas station from 1925 in New Orleans has been a work in progress for many years. It was being restored for a Cafe Habana but the neighbors were worried about traffic, crowds, noise…. looks like it’s finally going to open soon:

The Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans has lots of interesting things and a few signs. This one came from a former bakery in town. It opened in 1934 and this sign might be from then or maybe the 1940s. The business was bought out by another bakery in the 2000s and this sign was donated to the museum:

Here’s another sign on display at the museum. This one came from Little Rock, AR and was built in 1950:

I brake for globes (yes, and so many other things). This one is in Roseland at Smitty’s Supply headquarters in Roseland, LA. I think it’s from around 2015 or so.

This former gas station in New Orleans is of similar age. It has been sitting vacant for years but it did get some fresh paint recently:

The Public Library in Gulfport, MS has been lovingly restored. This wonderful staircase and original columns have been preserved:

I believe this sign in Mobile, AL was adapted from Korbet’s Restaurant, which is gone now:

These two signs are at Byrd Drugs in Troy, AL. I had clouds and will have to reshoot someday:

I’ve seen photos of this one lit at night — the bird detail is/was a pretty blue:

One more thing from Troy – 200 terracotta warriors at Troy University:

Let’s close with a few goodies from Columbus, GA. A closed Greyhound station:

A nifty, probably 1920s former gas station:

A massive and wonderful brutal parking garage from 1968:

and lastly… Ruth Ann’s was built in 1959:

Don’t forget that I’m adding other (different!) photos to my Flickr account simultaneously with these blog posts:

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

And loads of other photos from the same days covered here have been going up at the same time at my website: http://roadarch.com.

There’s a four-day weekend coming up. So, I’ll have a lot more posts for you soon.

Happy trails,

dj & the dogs

I had a few stops in Texas on Day 6 before moving on to Louisiana for a couple of days.

Let’s start with this sign in Jena, LA. Talk about mixed media: plastic, wood, neon… and check out that incredible font and colorful burger:

The Longhorn Travel Plaza in Vinton, LA has a broken neon sign on the side of a storage building:

This theatre is in Ruston, LA:

This abandoned giant mailbox is in Vidalia, LA:

This former Ford showroom in Shreveport, LA was built in 1929. This vintage photo was posted inside the building as the building was being restored:

The building had been in bad shape for many years – one of my photos from 2019:

and now fully renovated in June:

The Evangeline Theatre in New Iberia, LA and sign was also restored recently. Here’s a closeup of the sign:

Fertitta’s started out in Shreveport as a grocery store. This sign now has plastic shields to protect the neon. It was probably installed on front of the building originally:

This later sign was installed when the place became a sandwich shop, featuring muffaletta sandwiches:

OK Cleaners in Shreveport has been closed for years. This former pole sign has been leaning against the building since at least 2008:

Garrison’s in Shreveport opened in 1959. This sign might be from then:

This one in Shreveport originally advertising for Glenwood Drug Store. Around 2008, the sign’s neon was removed and the Village Panel slapped over the Drug Store panel:

The Quintin M. Martin Auditorium is located at Panola College in Carthage, TX:

The Burnett Motel is located in Marshall, TX:

This Kelvinator sign is installed in Abbeville, LA although the appliance store is long gone. Kelvinator was a refrigerator brand:

This giant jester is located in Bossier City, LA at the entrance to the Krewe of Gemini Mardi Gras Museum:

This former Cities Service gas station was recently renovated. It is located in an alley in Minden, LA:

This former A&W Root Beer drive-in is located in Minden, LA:

Let’s wrap up with a few more things from Shreveport, LA. This Greyhound station is now closed:

This building originally housed Brocato’s Stopmoor Restaurant. It was built in 1946 and got a lot of press and attention for its modernity then. The building and sign were adapted for many restaurants after its closed around 2005. The building now houses India’s Restaurant:

Around 2019, the Rountree Used Car sign:

was adapted for Car Giant. I miss the corrugated plastic, colorful toy block letters with the funky font but, hey, it could have been much worse:

That’s it for now. I’ll be back in about a week with more from this trip.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Let’s start with this little drive-in in Columbus, TX:

This crude elephant statue is located at the White Elephant Flea Market in Channelview TX. I think it might be from the 1970s:

Here are a bunch of things from Houston, TX. At the Sunbeam Bread production plant:

A modern neon diver inside the Neon Gallery:

This bakery sign is probably from the 1960s. The Art Deco building from 1945 originally housed the Allbritton’s Eats restaurant:

The Mac Haik Chevrolet dealership (former Tom Peacock Chevrolet) billboard next to I-10:

These giant busts of four Presidents were created by David Adickes — more about them (and others) at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/giants/tx2.html#Sam

Earlier in the day, I made time to check out the enormous sign collection at the Hemi Hideout in Brookshire, TX. For neon overload, check out my webpage here:

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

Here’s just a sampling. A dizzying animated bulb sign:

A reflector sign spelling out “Pearl Bear”:

A backlit opal glass sign:

A Howard Johnson’s sign:

And a huge car dealership cowboy sign:

That’s a wrap. Back with another post in a week or so with more goodies from Texas and Louisiana.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

Let’s pick up in Plano, TX with a couple of statues at a Central Market. I’ve shot other giant fruits and vegetables at their supermarkets in Dallas and Austin. There are 10 locations but I don’t know if all of their stores have these pears, apples, peppers, oranges, and eggplants. More photos of these fruits & vegetables (and lots of others) at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/food/fruit3.html

Here are some photos from Dallas, TX. This appears to be modern but it’s still nice:

This former Brinks Coffee Shop from 1964 was a laundromat for a while but it’s found new life as a chicken restaurant:

The Longhorn Ballroom appears to be closed. The readerboard panel is missing. I love the faux wood grain on the frame and poles:

Every time I try to shoot this recently restored sign in Fort Worth, TX it’s either cloudy or the wrong time of day:

Moving on to Austin, TX for a couple of modern, retro-style signs:

This is another modern sign located in Buda, TX. It was created by Evan Voyles of Neon Jungle. It would look so much better in sun:

The Phillips House in Austin, TX was designed by John S. Chase and built in 1966:

The Deep in the Heart Art Foundry in Bastrop, TX has lots of incredible stuff outside. They also have tours and demonstrations of how they create these bronze sculptures. Here’s just a taste:

This giant bowling pin sign in New Braunfels, TX was built in 2017 when Downtown Social opened. It is about 15 feet tall:

Here are a few shots from San Antonio, TX. A modern sign but awfully pretty.

Folks that are really into 1960s chain restaurants will recognize this A-frame rooftop feature. This was standard for Griff’s Burger Bars. More about them at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/eateries/aframegriffs.html

This towering sign advertises for the University Bowl. I doubt the little neon stars are lit anymore. I’m guessing (fantasizing?) that they flashed sequentially somehow. Probably originally had neon letters as well:

That’s a wrap. I’ll be back soon with more Texas stuff.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

I snuck in about 4 days in Texas on our journey to Florida and other southern states.

This building in Abilene originally housed a Buick dealership. Coca-Cola occupied the building from 1950-2003. In 2020, the building and sign were restored.

There is another Coca-Cola sign in Abilene. This one is at the current production plant. I never seem to be there at the right time of day:

This nice breezeblock entrance is at the Serenity Foundation in Abilene:

The Brookhollow Christian Church in Abilene:

Here’s a shot of the long-closed Midway Drive-in screentower in Sweetwater, TX:

and what’s left of the sign:

The kids loved running in the big field there:

This Masonic Temple is in Wichita Falls:

Wood’s Boots is in Colorado City:

Trent High School (in Trent) is the “Home of the Gorillas”. Lots of other examples of this statue and other monkeys and apes at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/critters/apes.html

Woody’s Bar & Grill in Mineral Wells is housed in a quonset hut building. Here’s the sign:

That’s enough for this post. I’ve got lots of other photos to add to my website. I’ll be back here this weekend with Day 3.

Happy trails,

dj & the dogs

Here we go! I’m starting to work on the June/July trip now. As I add the photos to my website, I’ll be posting a few photos from each day here and some different ones over at my Flickr account:

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

Day 1 was spent zooming across the Southwest with some select reshoots and new shoots along the way. The dogs and I were shocked by the temperature change (from 68 at our place at the beach in SoCal to about 100 degrees in the desert). I had to run Gator’s AC all day long for 36 days and she didn’t let us down!

This vintage Taco Bell sign is in Scottsdale, AZ. It would originally have been installed on a pole and the bottom panel would have read “Drive Thru”:

Here are a few shots from Tucson, AZ. The Reilly Funeral Home building is from 1908. These Art Deco details were added in the 1930s. The building now houses Reilly Craft Pizza and Drink:

The former Conoco gas station is now housing the L Station Bar & Cafe:

This former Firestone Tires building now houses a gym:

The Coachlight Inn in Las Cruces, NM was built in 1973. This detail shows the canopy and the matchy-matchy former Terry’s Restaurant next door:

This vintage Reddy Ice sign is in El Paso, TX:

Here’s a closeup of the First Presbyterian Church in El Paso, TX:

At the Rock Hill Shopping Center in Odessa, TX, this is the Pinkie’s Liquor sign and the long abandoned Cloth World sign in the background which was given an LED sculptural feature in 2019:

I’ll be back later today with some things from Day 2.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

I’ve been working hard over the past couple of weeks polishing off this project. I’m putting all the recent losses and transformations in this single post.

Progressing through the alphabet and picking up with Florida, here are a couple of buildings from Orlando that are gone now. This furniture store was remodeled into oblivion earlier this year. This nifty entrance feature was removed as well as the other projecting features along the roofline and in front of the building. All that’s left is the box:

I don’t know what this building was originally. In recent years, it housed a thrift store. It was demolished around 2019:

Moving through the alphabet and no good or bad news to report until I reached Louisiana. This sweet office building in Shreveport was built in 1971:

Earlier this year, the gold features were mostly removed (only one piece on the right that might be gone now). Just another boring black box now:

Moving on to Michigan. This former Michigan National Bank motor bank in Flint, MI is gone now. It was there in 2017 but Google Maps shows a vacant lot by 2019. One of my photos from 2011 when it was housing a Chase Bank:

The former Mount Clemens Federal Savings & Loan building in Mount Clemens, MI has housed several nightclubs since 2008 with gaps of several years between tenants. My photo below is from 2011:

Since 2019, the building has housed Stateum Nightlife, another club. The gold paint is unfortunate:

The Christus Victor Lutheran Church from 1963 in Dearborn Heights, MI was sold and demolished last year. What a tragedy:

The B’nai Moshe Synagogue building from 1959 in Oak Park, MI was demolished in 2019:

The Fairlanes Bowl in Madison Heights, MI was demolished last year:

Moving on to Oklahoma: this building in Oklahoma City from 1957 has really nice screens:

but they were covered up around 2020. The first floor windows were also replaced:

I never got to shoot this one. The new 2019 Google Street View map shows an empty lot where this 1962 addition to the St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton, OR was:

This building in Jackson, TN was originally a funeral parlor. I believe the buff brick and screens were part of the original look:

A heavy-handed paint job occurred recently when this building began housing Jackson’s Empowerment & Enrichment Complex. However, I’m glad the canopies, screens, and the rest are still there. Wait, the screen over the entrance is gone. Why, oh why, is dark grey so popular now?:

This Sears building in Dallas, TX was demolished in 2019:

Wolf’s Department Store in Houston, TX closed in 2019. Here is one of my photos from 2018:

The sign is still there but the letters on the screen have been removed. The screen is now black:

The canopy on this little commercial building in La Porte, TX was removed by earlier this year:

The long-vacant More Hall Annex at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA was demolished in 2016, despite being list on the National Register of Historic Places:

And lastly, the Mountain Lanes in Wausau, WI was built in 1962. It closed in 2017. The building was demolished in 2019 for apartments:

So, that’s a wrap for this depressing but necessary project for another year. Now, I can get started on getting the new photos ready and adding them to the website from the June/July trip. You can look forward to more than 30 blog posts here of interesting and wonderful things that are still around.

Happy trails,

dj & the dogs

I had a fantastic, five-week roadtrip to the South and got back a week ago. I posted a sampling of photos each night at Instagram if you’d like to check it out:
https://www.instagram.com/roadarch_com/

Before I proceed with blog posts about the trip and adding about 4,000 new photos to my website, I’m going to polish off this grueling annual project of updating my website descriptions with all the good news (rare) & bad news (mostly) from the maps and cleaning up any dead external links. This is the only section left but it will probably take several weeks. So, hang in there! Loads of current photos of all the stuff that survives is coming!

The “A” states went unscathed but there are some noteworthy updates to the California pages. This former Fremont Bank (in Fremont) was demolished around 2020:

This San Diego County Courthouse building was demolished in 2020. A new courthouse building had been built earlier:

The Aztec mosaic created by Max Tuttle on this office building (originally, the Barkley Building) in North Hollywood has been painted. Here are a couple of my “before” photos:

Here’s what it looks like at Google Street View as of 2020. It’s now black & white and the panels on the sides of the building have been painted black. I’ll hold off full-on judgement until I see it in person but this looks awful and I much prefer the previous brown:

This wonderful little building in San Jose was demolished in 2020:

These interior light fixtures appeared to be original:

From the car wash mid-century subsection at my website… The Sparkle Car Wash in San Bernardino was repainted around 2019. I think this is actually an improvement. But the remaining, little ballies at the tops of the fins were removed which makes me very sad. The “before”:

The “after”:

The Madison Car Wash in West Hollywood was demolished in 2020. It must have been a Mister Car Wash originally.:

The fins would have had flags like this one in Houston, TX (flags gone now):

and a sign like this with a lantern integrated in the pole at the same Houston location (sign remodeled):

I don’t believe there are any Mister Car Washes that have the scripty text or lanterns. They seem to all have the boring current branding with blue backgrounds. Some of you roadside experts might recognize the company name as the one that, in recent years, bought out most of the Octopus Car Washes and removed the super cute octopus statues:

The Beach-Lin Car Wash in Anaheim was demolished in 2020. At least the same design (originally National Car Wash) survives in North Hollywood, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Mountain View:

No recent losses for Colorado, Delaware, or DC but here’s one for Connecticut (yes, the mcm section is organized in alpha order by state). The former Conty’s Drive-in in Bridgeport was mostly vacant for the last 15 years or so. It was demolished around 2019:

I’ll be picking up with Florida for the next blog post.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs