Today was mostly about Boise and thereabouts.  I made a long haul up to the mountains to shoot a few signs.  Unfortunately, dark grey clouds rolled in for that.  Natural beauty and death-defying kayakers made all the driving and gas money almost worth it.  Back again someday to shoot those signs again in the sun.

Let’s get started with some Boise signs.  This is a modern sign.  It replaced a drab text only, buffalo-less wooden sign sometime after 2011:

Even nicer at night:

 

A real-deal, vintage drive-in with double drive-up windows.  It was lit in 2013 — but not for me on this trip.  It might be one of those time-of-year things.  A lot of signs are turned off when the places are not open — and this time of year, in this part of the country, the sun doesn’t go down til after 9 pm:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/phydeaux460/8477466617/

 

A rusty crusty.  A repainting would probably drab-ify this sign.  Looks like someone is taking care of the pointing arrowhead — but not the rest of the sign.  Why’s that?

A great neon detail on this sign:

 

A fun modern sign which is lit at night in yellow and red:

 

More is more.  The wheel is lit with red neon — sequentially to create a spinning effect:

 

Moving on to nearby Meridian.  McFadden’s Market is long gone:

This banner on the gutted building on which the sign hangs concerns me.  Are they going to “update” the sign with new text or grapes or what?  Sure hope not:

 

Also in Meridian.  I soooo wanted to shoot this one at night — esp. since it’s lit during the day.  But shortly after dark, they were closed and the sign was off.  I found out the next day that they had closed early for an annual meeting.  Argh!

 

From way up in McCall — where (as described at the beginning of this post) there was no sun at all:

 

Back in Boise — where the sun was hit and miss.  There were little windows of sun but you had to wait for them.  Like spearfishing.  Watching the shadows on the ground, raise the camera & bang.  Then move on to the next stop… and wait.

 

Surely, Jim’s Appliance & Furniture must have had neon letters originally:

 

On to Homedale for more cloud challenges.  What’s worse though are these manmade obstacles.  Some city worker followed the rules and planted this light pole within inches of the sign.  “Reshoot in AM” has been added to my notes for next time:

 

Also in Homedale.  I posted the giant bowling ball & pin at my Flickr account.  If you’re new around here, you might not know that I post an equal amount of different photos during these trips over there — the “higher quality” subjects:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

I hope these white background plastic signs are growing on you like they are on me.  I have never been able to find a name for them.  What shall we call them?  White corrugated?  White corduroy?  Certainly, they were cheaper than neon panel signs — but they still each have a unique style.  The two font styles on this one are classy, if you ask me:

More posts later tonight —

dj

 

 

Well, something happened midway through this trip.  Nothing bad.  I just got absolutely exhausted and unable to fulfill my pledge to post photos and journalize the days’ events.  So, now, the dogs and I are safely home and a tiny bit rested.  And I’m going to spend this weekend catching up with blogging, Flickring and getting the rest of my life together.

So, we were in Idaho when my on-line energy ran out.  Let’s pick up in Shoshone:

 

Two fun signs from this place:

The neon gone and who knows what it used to say — but bright and cheery:

 

From Burley.  Remember — or if you’re a newbie to my blog — all these photos open to larger versions when clicked:

 

Also in Burley — lots of crazy angled poles on this trip:

 

One more from Burley:

 

This abandoned gas station canopy is in Heyburn.  I’ve seen lots of double and triple speared canopies — but never a single one like this.  I have no idea of the brand:

 

From Rupert:

 

A sampling of signs from Twin Falls:

 

 

 

Also in Twin Falls — The Cove — a sweet looking tiki lounge.  I couldn’t find any info about it after searching just now other than this:
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=15866&forum=1

 

Moving on to Mountain Home which is a must stop for sign and mid-century modern lovers.  Note the pole holes on this one:

 

These fitness center sculptures must be modern but still very fun:

 

One of the nicest sign & building combos in town.  This postcard shows how little it has changed:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hollywoodplace/4303799727/
Unfortunately the “Towne Center” neon was removed fairly recently.  Here’s what the sign previously looked like at night:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/phydeaux460/2815965429/

 

On to Boise where I met up with Vangie Osborn who for years has been stashing away local signs that have been removed.  She recently got the go-ahead and funding to display the signs at a museum downtown.  The signs will be restored and displayed on an outside wall — viewable to the public 24/7.  More about the project here:
http://www.signsofourtimes.org/project.html

Currently, these signs are scattered in storage at different spots around town.  Here are just a couple of photos from one of the places.  More photos to come at my website eventually:

 

Last stop for this post — this giant ring sign is in Boise:

 

One down — six more days to blog about.  If I buckle down, I should be able to get them all out to you today.  Right now, must go shopping and other mundane things.  The dogs have fully recovered just 24 hours after arriving home are demanding entertainment and exercise.

dj

I’m afraid, my dutiful readers, that I’ve fallen further behind.  I took the night off from blogging & Flickr-ing last night to visit a Flickr friend in Nampa.  But I WILL catch up eventually.  It’s now Day 9 here in reality and the dogs and I have landed in West Wendover, NV for the night.  I wrapped up the shooting in Idaho today.  I had crappy weather from start to finish — so it’s refreshing working on this batch of photos with all the gorgeous skies and lighting.

Let’s start this post with another Sweet’s Chocolate ghost sign — this one in Pocatello:

 

Here are several signs from Blackfoot:

 

Those bulbs around the side of the sign seem more concentrated than most.  I’m betting that they were lit sequentially — which must have been mesmerizing:

 

I’ve shot lots of these angled sign poles in the past few days — this one is extreme.  Love the flags, too:

 

From Shelley:

 

Moving on to Idaho Falls which has lots of great signs and buildings.  I don’t know what motel this advertised for originally:

 

I believe this stove sign is modern.  It’s at Rocky Mountain Supply:

Wonderful:

 

A former Woolworth department store and Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge:

 

A blasphemous treatment of this Art Deco beauty.  I’ll spare you what the ground floor looks like:

A detail of the building:

 

We’re still in Idaho Falls.  I’ve never seen criss-crossy neon like this before:

 

This sign advertised for Blue Glaze Coal:

 

I’m assuming this sign was placed just down the road by the owner of the Stinker gas station which has a vintage skunk sign:

The other side of the sign:

 

From St. Anthony:

 

From Ashton:

 

A Masonic sign from Atomic City:

 

Another painted ghost sign — this one from Mackay:

Two more photos from Mackay:

 

The last shot from today is from the Y-Inn Cafe in Challis:

I’m hoping for sun tomorrow here in Nevada — but if not, I’ll hunker down and bang out some overdue posts.

Take care,

dj & the dogs

Let me crank out just one more blog post while the sun is still dozing below the horizon.  I got three hours sleep — that’s enough!!  I started this day (it’s really now the morning of Day 8) in Ogden, UT.  This rooftop sign is at the Wonder Bread (Hostess) factory.  It looks like the cherry pie piece at the top used to revolve:

 

Still in Utah — from Brigham City.  This covered wagon sign topper is at the J&D Family Restaurant:

 

Also Brigham City — the Galaxie Motel.  An interesting sign pole solution that perforates the roof and comes down into the building’s attached flower bed.  Weary travelers always need arrows at night just to find the office.  A freestanding building in front of the rooms is never enough:

 

A rusty beer mug from Garland, UT:

 

This painted advert for Sweet’s is also in Garland:

From Logan:

This nifty skeleton sign in the window is also at Superior Cleaners:

Another one from Logan:

 

It’s time for a diversion from sugary sweet sign overload.  One of the highlights of the day was our trip to Garden City, UT.  It was a long drive through the mountains — very pretty — and then you arrive at this vista overlooking Bear Lake.  Blue water color that outrivals all other blues.  That’s Grem’s ear on the left.  She was enjoying the view and water smell as we got closer.  Water equals romping good times to my dogs:

And I did not disappoint them.  Here’s the fun little boardwalk that leads to the beach.  The drop to the marshy belowness is about a foot and a half.  The dogs enjoying snootering around down there, sometimes munching on god-knows-what:

After the boardwalk — a path to the water:

The water was wide and shallow — or at least just at the part that we went too.  And no dead fish at this place thank god:

Nik says splashing around after balls is just as much fun as swimming after them:

Fixie prefers the ankle deep depth — she’s not into strenuousness at her age (14+):

Griz believes that all lakes and oceans should be less than 12 inches deep.  He’s a weenie about swimming (and lots of other things):

Tandem ball retrieving:

 

The silly (but important to me!) reason that I went to Garden City.  Yes, I’m very much into giant things as much as signs.  This is a giant shake cup.  And although every snack bar in town brags about “Famous Raspberry Shakes”, I gave my money to these guys with the sign.  It was very good — seeds and all — and got my back over those mountains what seemed like faster than the way there:

 

From Smithfield — lots of shaved ice stands all through Utah — but I’ve never seen one like this:

 

This gigantic boot sign is also in Smithfield:

 

It’s attached to this building.  A nice paint job (and sun!) makes an otherwise pretty mundane building magnificent.  Makes me want to buy some “implements.”

 

Crossing over the border — we are now in Idaho for Part 2 of the trip.  Way ahead of schedule thanks to good weather and Sparkle’s sturdiness (375,000 miles on her).   This multi-layered midcentury accented grocery store is in Soda Springs:

 

This sign topper is at the Stockman’s Bar in Soda Springs.  I’ve never seen one of those cylinder lights by itself and outlined with neon before.  It might have flashed — I don’t know:

 

Two more signs from Soda Springs — the Brigham Young Motel:

and this wagon wheel on top of the otherwise plastic Trail Motel sign:

 

From Lava Hot Springs:

 

Moving on to Pocatello for the rest of this blog post.  This former Rexall drug store sign has been carefully repurposed for this antiques store with affixed wooden panels screwed in around the border.  The orange and navy porcelain panels are safely protected underneath.  I have loads of examples of these signs at my website here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/signs/rex.html

Inside this former drug store is this also well-preserved soda fountain:

 

This Chinese food restaurant was most recently a Mexican place but it’s now vacant.  Long live the sign!

 

A whimsical roller skating sign.  Love her Marlo Thomas “That Girl” flip and stripie pants:

 

The cement pouring from the truck is a 3-D sculptural add-on.  Yeah!  Old holes for the neon:

 

Two more shots before I get back on the road.  There was not as much lit neon as I’d hoped for in Pocatello.   But I know they’re working on it (the Relight the Night project).  Neon and plastic is a good combination.  It’s time us neon snobs started giving it the credit it deserves:

 

A pretty little bar sign in the Old Town historic district:

 

I’m off to gather more photos.  I may even finish up Idaho today.  Not too worry.  I “packed heavy” and brought lists for Nevada (Elko, Reno) and California (Lake Tahoe and onwards towards Sacramento).  But wait — what happened to the sun?  Looks like clouds to me.  I might just start working on more Flickr & blog photos for a bit.  I’m only 2 posts behind “reality” right now.

More later tonight,

dj & the dogs

 

I started the day out on the outskirts of Salt Lake City.  One of my roadtrip techniques is to use early morning hours for a haul out to remote places.  Best to use the time that you can’t shoot (when the sun’s not up yet) for the agonizing driving portions of the trip.  That way you only waste time behind the wheel in one direction.  Does that make sense?  (after midnight here).

Anyhow, let’s start with the Holiday Lanes in Heber City.  This was the last I’d see of the sun for a few hours:

 

Still in Heber City — but those dark clouds had rolled in.  Note the little atomic neon thingie on the upper left:

I’ll spare you more ugly photos with grey skies and move on to Coalville.  This laundromat has closed and the panel on the other side of this sign is gone.  I doubt this panel will be around much longer.  More examples of these signs and “Norge Balls” at my website here:
http://www.agilitynut.com/signs/norge.html

 

From Morgan.  I don’t know if this sign is just simply a modern retro creation or if it was based on a previous sign.  That “Est. 1963” leads me to think there was an earlier sign here like this:

 

Working my way back to SLC — here’s one from Roy:

This is installed on the roof of the Hi Hat Diner in Clearfield:

 

This “Seat Covers” sign is also in Clearfield:

 

One more from Clearfield.  This is now a used car lot.  I don’t know what the sign advertised originally:

 

From Layton:

 

Back in Salt Lake City — the most wonderful curved arrow leading you to the entrance.  I’ve never seen another one like this:

 

On to Ogden for the remainder of this blog post.  The Stimson Market sign.  Most recently Maria’s Market but the building is now vacant:

 

Fear not — despite those missing tiles on the upper left, Topper’s is still in business:

 

I love this one — note the missing somethings on those horizontal poles on the left.  Oh, and the mountains in the background.  Have I said lately how gorgeous Utah is?

 

A detail from the Ben Lomond Printing sign:

 

I believe this place has been around since at least the 1950s.  But I’m not sure how old the sign is.  By day, it’s pretty plain jigsaw cut letters with the neon laying on top:

 

The glorious wide & wonderful welcome arch which spans Washington Blvd:

 

That’s a wrap for this post.  I’ll start working on Day 5 photos now.  Maybe if I get two posts up each night, I’ll eventually catch up during this trip.

Til next time,

dj & the dogs

I’m ridiculously behind in my blog and Flickr homework at this point.  I just finished the shooting for on Day 7 and the dogs and I are in Boise, ID for the night.  We’re way ahead of schedule and I’m almost hoping for a crappy weather day so I can get some sleep and catch up with things.  But the forecast for tomorrow is more wonderful sun.

Let me see what I can accomplish tonight then.  I just had a Starbucks Grande and that should keep me up til 2am.  Coffee is my wonder drug — reserved for special and dire occasions.

Back in Utah — seems like ages already.  This was in Elberta — way off the beaten track.  I think it was probably a Sinclair gas station but I wouldn’t bet a week’s pay on it.  It could have been someone’s nostalgic project with replica pumps, etc.  — maybe even done in the 1980s and then faded into believability by now:

 

From Orem — mid-century quonset hut?  Does anyone know what was here originally?

 

From Lehi — the Broadbent’s Quilt Shop — still in biz:

 

This sign is at Ace Vacuum World in Midvale.  I had a long chat with the owner and hopefully persuaded him to keep the sign and not to sell it:

 

From Magna — another painted advert alley sign.  Pretty sure it’s vintage — not a recreation:

 

On to Salt Lake City for the rest of this blog post. This strange dome is attached to a normal looking building which now houses Ditta Caffe at 1560 East 3300 South.   Possible greenhouse but from the tube-like tunnel connecting it at the left to the restaurant, I doubt it:

 

A former House of Pies — see the bottom of my page here for info & photos:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/ca8.html

 

A rare “spinner sign” (as far as I know, there’s no official name).  The two arms spun in opposite directions.  Here’s a video of one that I shot in New Jersey:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/5541804390/

 

Dirk’s opened in 1966 — this giant rooftop sign must be from then:

 

I have no idea what business was here originally — but I’m glad to see this sign still dramatically in use:

 

I can’t think of any other sign anywhere that combines a faux wooden fence and an amoeba shape:

 

This has got to be one of the oldest signs in SLC.  The place opened in 1929 and I believe the sign is from then.

There’s a sign shop tag on the side of sign cabinet for YESCO which is still one of the biggest companies out West (Utah, Idaho, Nevada, etc.)  Most of these tags have been painted over:

The panels are made from ripple tin — which held paint better, rusted less, and enabled the sign shop to use a thinner & lighter material than the standard solid steel panels:

I don’t know why the “Cleaners” text apparently never had neon.  There are also two “skeleton” signs in the windows:

 

One more night shot for you to close out this batch:

 

Off to work on Day 4’s post now — stay tuned.

 

It seems I’m impossibly behind with the blog & Flickr.  But I will try to do a little catching up here and there.  If it rains or I get sucky weather, I’ll dig in at the computer to get out of this rut.  Tonight, I’m in Ogden — on the night of day 4.   Things are going very well and I should start the Idaho portion of the trip tomorrow.  But right now — let’s get back to the very recent past.

Let’s start out with this batch from Beaver:

I’m thinking that star or snowflake was probably a later add-on — and who know what color the sign was originally:

 

Another one from Beaver — multi-media with multi details:  flag, fonts, plastic and neon:

 

This painted wooden sign hangs in front of Beaver Sport & Pawn:

 

Like so many theatres in small town America, the Beaver Theatre has been closed for a while with ever-changing businesses in the wings:

 

Moving on to Milford:

Next door to the hotel:

 

A really interesting faded double layer of paint.  It appears the green was first:

 

Some signs from Cedar City:

I’m betting the lights on top flashed — maybe even the bulbs around the sign panels as well:

 

On to Fillmore — nice painted wood pair of pizza chefs flippin’ pizzas:

 

There was neon and better graphics originally — but this is still cute, nevertheless.  The character was probably meant to be yawning and stretching but it looks more like he’s about to box with someone:

 

From Salina.  I actually bought two slices of pie — one for then and one for the next day.  But Nik got the chocolate cream and left me with the cherry pie.  Long story but a cop had parked behind me to complain that I wasn’t all the way over inside the white line.  I explained that I only was taking a photo but then on impulse, ran inside to get the pie.  Anyhow, the cop let me go after many long minutes on his cruiser radio — but I paid a heavy price!  Nik had chocolate all over his face so it was clear who the culprit was.  For a nearly blind dog, his sense of smell has been escalated.  He normally rides in the very back of the van — but he’s been up front most of the day now waiting for me to screw up again.

 

From Gunnison:

 

From Mount Pleasant.  I assume this is “real” (vintage not reconstructed or fantasy) — way up high on the top of a building:

 

A trifecta from downtown Helper:

Another corner in Helper:

A strange mix of tile and cinderblock:

 

From Price — a cheap overlay on the face of the silver dollar has mostly peeled away:

 

Last one for the night — the Commercial Club from Duchesne.  The bottom reads “Sportsman’s Hdqtrs”:

 

After Duchesne, it was a long, long mountainous drive back to civilization (Richfield for the night).  I think I answered a few emails and cropped a few photos before passing out.

I’ll try to get another post out tomorrow night.
Take care,

dj

Hot.  Hot. Hot.  Besides the stunning scenery, that was the theme of the day.  At 9am in Vegas, it was already 90 degrees.  I think I saw 105 later on someplace in SW Utah.   I saw plenty of locals out running and playing football in this heat.

I’ve been debating about whether to blog or not to blog during trips.  But for tonight anyway, I have the stamina.  So, let’s have at it and start the photo marathon in Baker with this photo from Baker, CA.  The building on the right has a Stuckey’s-like roof — matched in the sign itself.  Closed since forever:

 

On to New York City, er, I mean Las Vegas.  I was just here a couple of weeks ago but had a few things on my list that I wasn’t able to get to.

 

I stumbled upon a stash of signs just south of Cashman Center.  The Neon Museum has lots of stuff in storage in “undisclosed locations” — so this must be one of them:

 

I don’t know when this was built — but it looks 1970s to me.  It’s hard to believe it hasn’t been demo-ed & replaced by now.  Vegas is all about that.  The steakhouse inside it was evidently used for the movie “Casino” starring DeNiro, Pacino, etc.

 

A few more photos from Nevada — this one is in Overton:

 

From Mesquite — I love the radiator part.  That’s a faded Ford sign at the top:

 

This one is right next door.   The teddy bear or fat mouse holding the ice cream must indicate this was a restaurant or ice cream stand — but the place is all storage-y now.

 

One more from Mesquite:

 

On to Utah now!  This one is in St. George:

 

This photo is from Ivins.  I was there to shoot the horse statues for my website’s “Giant Animals” section.  But I left some landscape in this shot for ya.  It looks totally fake, doesn’t it?  Like a mini diorama.  It might be a good time to mention that all the photos in my blog are “clickable” (clicking on them opens them to a larger photo):

 

This is just across the Utah border in Fredonia, AZ:

 

There are lots of sign “treasures” in Kanab — including this one with the neat light bulb thing.  Scary clouds in the distance but they didn’t come our way:

 

Another one from Kanab:  a well-protected (plastic over the neon) sign:

 

From Mount Carmel:

 

From Hatch.  I’d love to find a vintage postcard to see what the original colors were:

 

A strangely adapted Best Western sign in Hatch.  Is that a mountain and a bridge?

 

Two unusual scaffold type signs from the Purple Sage Motel in Panguitch.  The main sign (not shown) was a boring plastic sign — so maybe it’s not even the original name.  Here’s a nice sign on the office roof:

And on the roof of the motel building itself:

 

Tucked away in an alley in Panguitch so the sun hasn’t faded it all that much — or they did a very nice understated job of restoring it.  Usually these painted wall signs are garishly overpainted and then… what’s the point?  No history or character left (in my opinion).

 

Two more from Panguitch:

 

Did they really have to tacky-fy this sign with those plastic “crusing” and “Rte 66” add-ons?  Gawd…

 

Last two for this post from Bicknell where I ran out of daylight.  Way up on top of the otherwise boring Aquarius Motel sign.  I’ve never seen one of these light thingies in action.  I believe they didn’t spin but the lights were lit sequentially.  Sure to catch the attention of passing motorists and low flying planes!

 

These plastic stick-on-letters signs are really growing on me.  Does anyone remember Colorforms?  They were stick-on vinyl people or parts of people that you could stick on a board, move the pieces around.  I had a bunch of those sets as a kid — including alphabets — which is what these signs are reminding me of now.  I’m thinking probably same era of development.  I also love the random, remaining bulbs on this sign:

 

I can’t promise a post tomorrow night — but I’ll try!

dj

Alright — here’s the final post from this trip.

The Normandie Motel was demolished more than 10 years ago.  This sign was saved and restored by The Sign Museum.  Here’s a shot of the sign at the “Boneyard” before they restored it:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/79761301@N00/5803488114

The sign is now in the median north of the Fremont Experience — as part of the National Scenic Byways Program:

 

This guy is on Fremont St. at the Downtown Container Park.  He’s pretty impressive at night which I didn’t get to see.  He throws flames from his antennae:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pidCNqcO1ss

This mantis is 35 feet long and is installed on the roof of a car.  It came from the Burning Man Festival:

 

Two great signs from the Western Hotel:

 

Sad but magnificent:

 

The Peter Pan Motel is long closed but the sign was restored a few years ago.  There was a sign there this weekend saying that the motel is being converted into senior apartments:

 

This sign is reportedly 123 feet tall:

Mesmerizing at night:

 

One of my fave signs in town:

 

Last photo for this post.  The Ambassador Motel is long gone and this sign was pretty skanky and endangered.  Luckily, it was restored & adapted for the Life is Beautiful festival last year:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/jun/21/joe-downtown-motel-long-gone-ambassador-sign-being/

 

The dogs and I will be back on the road real soon.  June 7 – 22.  Two weeks!  We’ll be heading to Utah.  If things go well, we’ll be making some stops in Idaho as well.  I’m not sure how much I’ll be blogging & Flickring during the trip.  Maybe I’ll hang on to everything until I get back & fire off daily posts & Flickr uploads like I did for this trip.

Don’t forget — lots of photos from this trip over at Flickr where I post the “purty-er” stuff:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

dj

 

Ready for Round Two of this Vegas trip?  Let’s skip the chat & get right to it.  You can assume all these beauties are from Vegas unless I say otherwise:

 

 

 

 

I’m not sure this one is vintage.  The design seems a little off to me:

 

This one’s a killer.  Those little neon stars on the right take my breath away.  Surely, they were lit sequentially once upon a time:

 

I hit this water kiosk and many others on this trip.  The dogs could only run for about 10 minutes in this heat.  Then, I’d have to douse them with the water jugs.  Lots of irritating stickers in their feet, too.  Nice to come home to fog on Monday afternoon!

 

This one would have had neon originally:

 

Another wondrous sign with stars.  Sparkle says “hi” — peeking in at the bottom of this photo.  372,700 miles and running just fine despite the abuse of this trip:

 

This sign was originally at the Silver Slipper Hotel & Casino in Vegas — moved about 100 miles away here to Beatty:

 

Back in Vegas — the light was not right but here it is:

 

I believe this is the last of these vintage signs:

 

And last stop for this post — at the Gold Strike Casino in Jean.  This is one of two statues that were originally part of the Lucky Strike Club sign in Vegas:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54177448@N00/179456104/

 

I’ll get the final day’s post off to you tonight or tomorrow.

dj & the dogs