A cloudy start to the day had me stalling & organizing the van.  Finally some intermittent sun.   And then it was time for today’s big get-together.  So, I never did make it to Orange County.  I’m hoping to get to that part of the list in a few weeks.

This photo was taken pretty much into the sun so it’s not as pretty as it should be.  On Hauser Blvd. in Los Angeles:

 

More from L.A.  A repurposed sign with a top hat and cane (or crop?) at the top:

 

There’s no doubt about what they’re selling here:

 

The former 5th Avenue Theatre in Inglewood.  After being vacant since forever, I’m told that they’re turning this into a church.  No signs of progress here yet.  More about the former theatre here and a photo of the marquee before it was “simplified”:
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2177

 

The Jet Inn Motor Hotel (now Jet Inn Motel) in its heyday:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50496800@N02/4868979619/in/

Neighbors have been pushing for its demolition since at least 2010.  It has survived with some appeasing remodeling and repainting — for now:

 

A pair of buddy signs in Hawthorne:

 

And on to today’s big event.  Just a couple of weeks ago, the former Golfer Muffler Man in Carson got an outfit.  He is now dressed as a racecar driver.  In addition to a fresh repaint, he wears an actual costume with zippers and velcro.  The former golf course will soon be transformed into the Porsche Experience Center.

“When the $28.7 million Porsche Experience Center opens for business by next winter, potential Porsche customers can then test-drive new models on a variety of circuits that allow drivers to safely experience high speeds and dangerous conditions.”

Right now, it’s just a huge dirt lot.  With a bit of networking and pleading, Terry Nelson was able to get Joel Baker and myself onto the property for a close look.  It’s considered a hardhat area even though there’s no construction whatsoever going on yet.  So we dutifully donned the hardhats and safety vests as required by the overzealous security attendant.

Normally, the only way to shoot this guy is to pull over on the highway — which can earn you a traffic ticket.  But you’ll only get a crummy shot for the risk anyway since the sun is usually right behind the statue.  From the exclusive dirt lot, you can get a side shot or a backside shot of him.

Here’s Joel and I with the newly-named Porsche Man.  Some say the statue’s Michelin hat is a jab at the Goodyear advertising directly across the freeway (that’s the blimp in the background on the right):

Joel has been enthusiastically tracking down Muffler Men around the country for a couple of years now.  He’s been interviewing owners and posting videos to his blog about his findings:
http://usagiants.com/

And here’s Joel and Terry.  Terry worked for International Fiberglass in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  He painted countless statues for them and, gratefully, saved lots of photos and records while he was there.  He shared his box of treasures with us yesterday.  We were thrilled to see photos of the statues as they were being produced, catalog materials, letters from happy business owners, paint chips, etc.  The three of us even made a trek to the “sacred ground” in nearby Venice (what is now zoned as Marina del Rey) to the former factory building.

Here is a photo from one of the catalogs of a “Golfer Man” statue.  He stood at a mini golf course, location unknown.  The statue in Carson shown above had the same accessories (giant club and ballcap) originally.  These were the typical, and still fairly plentiful, Paul Bunyan type statues in other respects (right palm up, left palm down), open necked button red shirt, blue pants, and black boots:

RoadsideAmerica.com coined the term “Muffler Man” when they began documenting these giants.  Several businesses had added mufflers to these statues over the years.  And because mufflers fit the hands of these giants so well, it was assumed that this was their original purpose.  At that point, no one even knew what company produced these statues.  The name “Muffler Man” has stuck and is used loosely to describe all the giant men that International Fiberglass produced.  For more info about these statues, see RoadsideAmerica’s website here:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/37422

From one of the catalogs we got to see yesterday —  some of the variations and accessories produced for these Paul Bunyan style statues (by the way, International Fiberglass simply called them “Giants”):

 

In addition to the Paul Bunyan models, the company produced other models including an Indian version.  Some were used at Mohawk gas stations — but there was no exclusive contract so they appeared at other businesses as well.  Here’s the statue as it was originally displayed around 1966 in Buffalo, NY at the Iroquois Brewery.  Note that the Indian’s arm was rotated above the elbow to hold a bottle of beer.  Normally, the Indian statues’ right hand faces the other direction in a wave or “How!” salute:

The very same statue resides now in Irving, NY, sans bottle, at the Big Indian Smoke Smoke on the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation.  The wheels are now missing from the statue’s move-able platform.  This probably happened when the brewery moved him to the roof for many years:

 

Another interesting fact was revealed yesterday about the Alfred E. Neuman style heads that were options for the Bunyan body.  While they’ve been described as “Half Wits” heretofore for the lack of any other known name — they were actually marketed as “Mortimer Snerds”.  Mortimer Snerd, the ventriloquist’s dummy, looks barely similar though:
http://bit.ly/173vbvw

Maybe International Fiberglass was less concerned with a copyright legal battle with Edgar Bergen than they were with MAD magazine?
http://bit.ly/18UAnl6

Since the photo in the catalog is so dark, I’ll include a clearer photo of this style head.  This one is in Jackson, NJ:

 

The company also produced countless animal statues (the classic roosters, bears, Esso tigers, Sinclair dinosaurs, etc.) that are still out there around the country.  But they also made other giant statues of people that have all but disappeared.  These are my favorites.  What I call the “professionals” but what International Fiberglass simply called “ten foot giants”.  Several of the statues had animated, moving arms and heads.  In this photo, that’s Steve Dashew, the President and owner of International Fiberglass, posing with the statues.
[P.S. don’t forget folks, you can click on any photos at my blog or website for larger photos]

This entire group was sold to one company and then a few individual statues like these were sold after that.  Locations and business names all unknown.  There are only two giants that Joel and I know of that still exist of this style.  This guy in Los Angeles stands on the roof of VIP Tire & Auto.  He appears to be an example of the fourth statue in the group shot above.  In one promotional photo, he is labeled as a “Tire Salesman”.  Purchasers had the option of buying a “car top carrier” for him as well.  Note the gap at the elbow indicating that he used to wave.  No one knows where he was located originally:

This guy below is at Magic Forest in Lake George, NY.  He appears to be the same statue as above with maybe a little remodeling over the years:

 

Another thrilling discovery from yesterday.  It’s not known how many were made and none are known to still exist.  Terry had a photo of one statue freshly painted but doesn’t know where it wound up.  This illustration came out better than my photo:

 

And, we have confirmation that International Fiberglass produced the Steak Corral statue(s).  I know there was a location in West Covina, CA that’s gone now.  I don’t know if there were other statues built in addition to the the one at the Whittier, CA location that’s still open.   I can’t pin a date to the statue yet — only that the restaurant in Whittier was built by the early 1970s.  The building in the photo below isn’t a match for the place in Whittier.  Of course, it could have been remodeled:

And here’s the wonderful statue in front of the restaurant in Whittier — still with his lasso — but missing his steak. As far as I know, the character didn’t have a name:

 

I guess you’ve all heard the recent and sad news flash that Hilltop Steak House in Saugus, MA closed last week:
http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/boston-north/hilltop-steakhouse-in-saugus-closes-doors-for-last-time/-/11984708/22533930/-/23tmqmz/-/index.html

Coincidentally, I came across this photo yesterday of the place pre-cactus sign.  The restaurant opened in 1961 — the cactus sign was built in 1964.  The grazing cattle in front of the restaurant were produced by International Fiberglass:

The same view with bigger bushes in 2001:

and from 2009 dressed in Santa hats:

The cows are gone already — donated or sold.  But no one knows what will become of the 80 foot tall cactus sign:

 

And lastly, you have probably not gotten over the frightful Santa that I posted a photo of yesterday.  Well, here he is again — straight from the company promotional materials — with all of his stats.  Evidently then, there was one at the Pottery Barn in Laguna Beach, CA.  Let me know if you come across any of these guys.   A friend called about the one I saw in L.A. yesterday and he’s already been sold.  So, the only other one that I know of on public view is the one at Magic Forest in Lake George, NY:

 

So, that’s enough fiberglass for one sitting for most of you I’m sure!  Thank you Joel & thank you Terry for sharing with me so that I can share with others the secrets of these treasures.

I’ll be back in two or three weeks with more stuff from Orange County.  More signs, less statues, I promise!

dj & the dogs

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the Flickr stuff from this weekend — different photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

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[NOTE:   ALL PHOTOS HERE ARE COPYRIGHTED RoadsideArchitecture.com — and not to be used without permission for any purpose including blogs, Pinterest….. anything!  Thanks.]

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Another eyeball check-up for Nik in Culver City gave me the excuse to pack in some more L.A. area shooting.  We were all over the place — the Valley, West L.A., L.A. itself, and east of it.  Tomorrow, will be more L.A. area & some Orange County.

Nik’s eyeball report is mixed — but nothing terrible.  A new medication for high pressure in his dead eye — and continued optimism that sight might return in the good eye if that darned opaque lens would just detach already.  The boy has been living with about 5% of this sign for years but happy as a clam.  Watching him run & retrieve you’d never know it.  Anyhow, it looks like there’s no end to these eyeball appointments so I’ll just continue maximizing the time and gas money to shoot more L.A. & O.C. stuff every couple of months.

Let’s start with Valley Village and the striking Valley Ambassador Apartments:

with dingbat lighting along the side of the building:

 

Also in Valley Village — a storybook-style post office:

 

Sou’s Shoe Repair in Burbank:

 

And one of today’s highlights — a visit to the San Fernando Valley Relics museum which just opened a few weeks ago.  There’s all sorts of ephemera and vintage photos.  But with a tight schedule, I went straight for the signs.  There are some fun statues, too.  Here’s Alvin from Alvin & the Chipmunks.  Yes, there were statues of Theodore & Simon, as well.  About five feet tall:

A couple of Bob’s Big Boy items.  This Bob looks a little mopey though — not the usual face or grin.  An early model or a knock-off?:

A pre-1990 Pep Boys statue (that’s when they did away with Manny’s cigar):

And now for some signs… There are a few more photos from the museum over at my Flickr account tonight as well:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

The Dimples sign is from Burbank:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25006582@N06/8633213209/

The Outrigger sign from Sun Valley must be a recent acquisition.   I just shot it in November of last year.  I hope Tommy got the other sign, too:

The Tiffany Theatre sign came from West Hollywood:
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2013/08/tiffany_theatre_sign_will.php

One of two Nudie Cadillacs at the museum.  Here’s some info about the cars & the man himself:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/automobiles/04AUTO.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

More about the museum here:
http://www.valleyrelics.org/about.html

 

On to Pomona.  Love the faux curls on the sides of the sign, the big holes in the side of the building, and the recessed facade:

 

This photo was supposed to be posted to tonight’s Flickr batch — but I forgot it.  So here tis — Gomer Jones Studebaker from 1947:

 

 

And on to Hollywood where I ran out of daylight thanks to massive traffic jams for the Day of the Dead celebration at the Forever Cemetery.

This is one of the rarer (and scarier) Santa statues.  I’ve only seen or known of two of them:  one in Pasadena and another in Lynwood — both gone.  I don’t know if this guy is from either place.  And he probably won’t be around long either.  He’s at one of those outdoor junk dealer places.  More Santa statues at my website if you want to get in the mood for the impending season:
http://www.agilitynut.com/giants/santas.html

 

 

A sampling of tomorrow’s photos coming your way in the next blog post on Monday or Tuesday.  In the meantime, more photos for you over at Flickr from today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

 

dj & the dogs

It is very dusty there in Fresno and southward.  The dogs really missed the grassy lawns & hard-packed beach sand.  Poor Nik had mouth fulls of dirt from his compulsive ball-retrieving.  And the other dogs got stickers in their feet.  If dogs could curse…  But we’re back home now.  I managed to get through a huge list of stuff on this trip so I’ll be busy adding stuff to the website for a few weeks.

I’ve been very anxious to update the photos at my website for this one.  Here’s what Mearle’s Drive-in in Visalia looked like in 2008:

It was built in 1940 and then closed in 2006.  It seemed doomed to the wrecking ball.  Finally, in 2011, it was transformed & reopened as a Habit Burger Grill location:

I don’t know if the milk shake sign is the restored original or a replica.  I got a peek at the original “Mearle’s” & “Drive-in” signs from the top of the pylon.  They are currently in storage at the Tulare County Historical Society museum in Visalia.  There are plans to restore the signs — but no timeframe yet.  It’s not known if they will be installed inside or outside the museum.

 

 

Just across the street from Mearle’s is the COS (College of the Sequoias) Giant — carved in the 1950s.  A neat little video about the making of the sculpture is here:
http://www.coscampusonline.com/2012/09/27/a-giant-discovery-of-a-piece-of-cos-history/

 

 

The former Wagon Wheel Steakhouse sign in Visalia.  Not quite as nice as it was before with more neon  and a funkier font:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9243200@N04/6955229736/

 

 

Another sign from Visalia — note the fun flair on the sign pole as well.  Apparently, the “Frank’s” piece revolved since I have seen a photo of it in a different position:

 

Another from Visalia — a mid-century looking metal screen above a Main Street business:

 

This is all that’s left of this drive-in in Visalia.  A big empty lot there now:

 

A wonderfully busy sign from Tulare.  I don’t know what this originally advertised for:

 

Be grateful to Tulare Natural Stone for painting over rather than trashing this one:

Canby’s Air Conditioning & Heating has been here since 1938.  The building was originally a dance hall.  But I think this styling is all Canby’s doing:

 

Also in Tulare.  Not the neon glitz of the Rice Bowl in Lompoc (probably no relation) which I posted about on Saturday — but this is still wonderful in its own right:

 

Grem has been using Nik as her hot water bottle sofa for years.  It seems her new little brother, Griz, has the same tolerance:

If you want more doggie photos, I got a friend to take a bunch of me & the kids last weekend & posted them at the top of this page:
http://www.agilitynut.com/4gdf.html

 

Moving on to Porterville —

 

On to Delano.  The building is long gone —  just another dusty field good for dog running & sniffing.  I guess it’s too much trouble to remove this giant sign:

 

Another rusty crusty — from McFarland:

 

From Wasco:

I showed my support — it might be the last hot roadtrip excuse for ice cream this year.  Strawberry sundae.  It was a little disappointing.  The ice cream was a bit granular/crunchy.  Ice milk I think.  But I gobbled it down & the dogs didn’t complain either:

 

Also from Wasco.  There must have been more text to this sign — and probably lime green not the original color:

 

The last photo for the day — from Bakersfield.  “Sub Bourbon Liquors”?  For a change, this sign has a lot more character than it must have had originally!

 

Alright then — I hope you enjoyed tagging along this weekend.  I’ll be settling in at home for a while.  Contemplating whether do go north or south for the next trip.  But you probably won’t hear from me til November.

Don’t forget, there are more photos from this trip over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Hello there — time for a little weekend getaway.  Today, it was all about Fresno — a treasure trove of neon signs and other stuff.  I left after work on Friday night and got the dogs a good run in at the doggie beach in Santa Barbara.  I managed to get some neon shots en route to Fresno.

[Quick tip or reminder — clicking on the photos gives you a larger view.]

I always wanted to see this one at night in Lompoc.  Unfortunately, the rice bowl sign on top is barely lit:

 

But more unfortunately, there was not a soul in the place on a Friday night.  The owner said there’s a new Applebee’s nearby and everybody’s going there.   I felt compelled to get something just to throw a few dollars their way.  But I’m the only person I know that hates Chinese food.  So, if you’re in Lompoc or anywhere near — do what I didn’t do & give this place some business.  The restaurant opened in 1936… but for how much longer?  Check out the lovely interior:

I’ve got a ton of photos ready for this blog — so I’ll keep the chitchat minimal.  It’s after midnight anyway & tomorrow will be another big sprint from sunup to sundown.  Work on Monday…

Today’s shooting began in Lemoore.  The former A&W Teen Burger at the Forty One Cafe has always had funky feet — but now he is really ominously listing to the side:

 

From Hanford:

 

From Caruthers:

 

From Selma:

 

And now, on to Fresno.  I have no idea how that arrow got crunched like that.  Low flying plane?

 

Sorry about the chain-link.  A real head-scratcher.  Why would someone build their house or office in this shape?

 

A couple from Fowler.  I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that this “Fowler-this-way” sign was restored recently.   That yellow arrow looks new but the blue porcelain enamel has enough dings that I’m convinced it’s old & must have been given a good scrubbing:

 

A lovely rusty crusty:

 

And back to Fresno.  Here’s a vintage postcard of the California Motel with this sign:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29574002@N00/5901965454/

Now the place seems to be operating as some sort of correctional facility — with razor wire on top of the fence & guys playing basketball:

 

A couple from the Ayres Motel:

 

 

So much to love here:

 

I saw two or three of these dancing sign-spinner guys today.  Mynah birds?  It must be unbelievably hot in that costume!

 

The last time I was in Fresno in 2008, this sign looked like this:

 

and today:  (ugh)

 

A pretty one from the Tower District — the store is still open:

 

Originally, the Leilani restaurant — a tiki place.  The building is still there but I’m sure no Polynesian flavor inside.  This palm tree sign had nice detail:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51025643@N00/46256758/
Later, this sign was painted black:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7211280@N04/2394108157/

So, this is actually an improvement:

 

In 2008, this 1940s building was sadly neglected and vacant.  I have read that it was originally the administration building for the shopping center in which it is located — and that it was a women’s clothing store.  I don’t know in which order or which, if either, uses is true:

Anyway, I am glad to see it is now spruced up — and used as a storage facility office:

 

Signs, signs, everywhere there are signs in Fresno.  Wonderfully, redundant arrows:

 

Fun fonts:

 

 

Multi-media:

This one was in Clovis — but there’s a similar sign in Fresno:

Fresno — still a beauty salon:

 

And since I usually end these Saturday night posts with some neon — here are a couple of shots from Fresno.  The Tower Theatre (a close-up of the sputnik at night and in motion over at my Flickr stream tonight:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/10240523443/

 

And the Tokyo Garden:

 

 

I’ll be shooting lots of stuff tomorrow as I inch my way home.  I’ll try to get you the wrap-up blog post on Monday night or Tuesday.

 

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Don’t forget to check out the “good stuff” from today that’s over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Most of the photos I post here at the blog are of rusty signs & funky buildings not “worthy” of my website — but stuff that deserves attention anyway.  What I post to the Flickr stream is the “fancier” highlights from the day.

 

The dogs & I are back home safe now — thoroughly exhausted from the heat, driving, and beach romps.  I still have some stuff from L.A. & Orange Counties to shoot but they’ll have to wait til October.  I’m going to hunker down and work on the website and other projects for a few weeks.  I’d like to catch up on adding the photos (about 500 of them) from all these mini trips.   Then, I’d like to do some central California and a San Diego trip soon.

I forced myself to stop shooting around 3 pm yesterday (Sunday) since I wanted to beat some of the traffic getting home.  So not the usual prolific-ness but I still plenty of things to share with you.

Let’s start with this tent-like building from Costa Mesa.  This was probably always a car dealership since this stretch of Harbor Blvd. is full of them.

 

Another one from Costa Mesa — the Ala Moana Apartments.  Below that soaring A-frame is a little bridge over a little trickle of water from a lava rock fountain.  Then, of course, like most of these mid-century “Poly Pop” buildings, you have the central courtyard pool straight ahead.  With a few tiki totem poles scattered about:

 

From San Clemente in the fog — a well-preserved Denny’s sign:

and its companion boomerang-roof building:

 

Moving on to Corona del Mar:

 

Also in Corona del Mar — this See’s Candies location opened in 1956.  Yesterday was Mary See’s birthday — so the employees were all wearing little paper hats.  Mary observed from her portrait inside on the far right.  And I went ahead and indulged in a small bag of Bridge Mix.  A nice little mix of milk and dark, caramels, nuts & raisins.  OMG, these candies are to DIE for!

 

Some depressing news — this is what’s become of the Port Theatre in Corona Del Mar.  My two photos below from 2008 show it when the building still had some integrity and that nice neon sign with the sailing ship:

 

And today with the tacky slipcover & LED marquee on the building and the hideously recreated backlit plastic sign.  OK, yes, it’s good that it’s still a theatre and not a church (as so many former theatres are now).  And maybe that slipcover can be removed and improved upon someday.

 

Moving on to Newport Beach — this is what this building looked like in 2008:

 

And now — boarded up & vacant:

I’ve never been able to get the history of this building — other than that it was the Bubbles Balboa Club in the mid-1980s.  When that closed, it became the Bubbles Art Gallery.  I don’t know if this was originally a Streamline Moderne probably 1940s building — or if it was just a Disney-like impersonation of one.

 

A couple more photos from Newport Beach before I close out this post.  According to a plaque, this sign was built in 1933 and then restored in 2009.  “Restoration” means different things to different people.  I think in this case, we’re talking recreated or at least repainted panels and new neon.  I have never seen a night photo of the sign so I suspect it’s no longer lit.   I wish I knew more about this sign and what it advertised.  Like, if this was a kiddie ride sort of thing or if it was truly a boat rental business.  Today, the sign is located right next to the ferry to Balboa Island — and just a few steps away from all sorts of rides and food stands:

 

And a nice little rusty crusty just a couple hundred feet away:

 

So, I’ll be pounding on the laptop for a few weeks — working on the website.  Come visit sometime as there’s loads of new California stuff scattered about at various sections:
http://www.RoadsideArchitecture.com

and don’t forget there are also other new photos over at Flickr from this weekend:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

dj & the dogs

Hello!  The dogs and I are taking another weekend trip — this time to finish up the Orange County list that I didn’t get to last time.  I played it safe and stuck to running the dogs where it was legal:  the beach in Huntington Beach.  I got that ticket fine in the mail from a few weeks ago — Santa Monica wants $561 from me for that 10 minutes I had my dogs off leash in a park.  I will try to fight it with a court appearance in a couple weeks.  No signs, I’m not a resident so didn’t know, will never do it again, blah blah.  Ugh.

It’s 1:15 already so let’s just segue into the photos.  Shooting neon at night ran me very late — and then I couldn’t find coffee anywhere.  All the Starbucks had closed and all the gas stations were out!  So, more time wasted & I finally went to a Norm’s to get a cup to go.  Pretty mediocre-tasting but necessary.  No way I could make it thru this post without it.

From Manhattan Beach — a real jaunty sign and great a-frame.  I don’t know what was here originally:

 

 

From Huntington Beach — topiary hearts in someone’s front yard:

 

An hour-long run at the beach always works wonders (tuckering the dogs out).  Grem snuggling into Nik.  Note you can really see her freaking rear dewclaws in the sun here.  The other two dogs were dozing in the back:

 

How about a couple of tiki-style buildings from Torrance.  The Eli Kai Apartments:

and the Iris Apartments:

 

From Stanton — the Mad Greek Restaurant.  This looks like it might have been a bank originally:

 

A neat Teamsters sign in Long Beach:

 

Loads more Long Beach today — including the V Room — I’ll give you night and day shots here:

 

Everything to come in this post is from Long Beach unless I mention it.

Obviously an older sign that’s been slightly adapted.  I suspect it might be a city landmark.  Might be 1930s.  Anyone know what this sign advertised for originally?  I’m perplexed by the double sign cabinets:

 

Another oldie with affixed neon letters.  I saw a neon shot of this on Flickr — but when I went by tonight, it was dark:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ocean_rick/7189672577/

 

From Anaheim — Bauman’s Market (now vacant):

 

Let’s wrap-up with some night-time shots — this one from Whittier:

 

From Lakewood:

 

And lastly — back in Long Beach.  The Ambassador Liquor store with some missing neon:

 

Back to the beach in the morning — and then on to Newport Beach and some more inland Orange County stuff.  Then back on the freeway for home.  I’ll probably get the wrapup blog post to you by Monday night.

Well, this three-day weekend turned into only two days of traveling for me.  When I got to Santa Cruz Sunday afternoon, I started noticing that Sparkle’s idle at a stop was a tad bit rough.  Probably something that most people wouldn’t even notice — just a slight stutter once in awhile.  I did the sensible thing, which I rarely do, and headed for home.  The traffic was unbearable as it was — both in cities and on the highways.   And the Monday holiday would only have been worse.  The next destinations were to be inland — in scorching heat.  So I thought it best to cut our losses (time) and not face a possible breakdown.  Sparkle ran fine all the way home at highway speed.  Hopefully, it’s just an adjustment and not more money!

Got home 10:30 pm, exhausted, but am rejuvenated now after a good night’s sleep.  The dogs are still thrashed from all their adventures.  I have a nice batch of photos for ya.

 

One disappointment was that I didn’t get to meet John Cerney on this trip.  We had tentative plans for Saturday but I didn’t make it there in time.  He was “booked” for Sunday so… another time.  I’m one his biggest fans.  He makes these incredible, realistic plywood signs of farmers & ordinary people.  He lives in Salinas so there’s lots of his stuff in the area.  But his stuff is found in other parts of the country as well.

His website shows samples of some of his other projects:
http://www.johncerney.com/

But better than that maybe is this video with him — almost as good as meeting him for now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-Ixvt7l8Kw

Some photos from yesterday south of Salinas — an enormous single panel sign:

This piece has several gigantic panels — this detail shows a closeup of two of the panels (one of man cutting grapes in the foreground with larger rectangular panel behind it):

This one is two panels — the handsome dog (Rat Terrier?) is separate:

and in Salinas:

 

I did manage to meet someone else for the first time.  I forced myself to put the camera down for awhile and head over to a USDAA agility trial in Prunedale.  This paragraph isn’t really roadside-related — but I know some of you are here for my doggie stuff & know me from my agility days.  So anyway.  I’ve been a big fan of this woman’s blog which covers mostly the adventures of Laura and her three small dogs.  Not just agility but other stuff.  I think even non-agility, non-doggie people would be amused & hooked.

http://blog.teamsmalldog.com/

Sorry I didn’t get any photos of her or her dogs — but there’s plenty there at her blog.  And next time when the trial isn’t going on, we’ll get the seven of our dogs & us to some beach for some photos.

 

Back to the roadside stuff — some Salinas stuff:

 

The last time I saw this Wagon Wheel Motel sign in 2008 — it had neon:

Well, the neon’s gone now which is pretty sad.  But at least at least it wasn’t replaced with some cheap plastic box sign:

 

An even sadder situation with this former movie “palace” in Salinas from the 1930s — the former El Rey Theatre.

Info about the place here:
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2072

A vintage photo of the place in its prime:
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2072/photos/1958

A closeup showing the glazed, polychrome terracotta tile — and terrazzo — and the spot on the ground where the ticket booth was:

 

Midway thru the Santa Cruz stuff, I reluctantly turned tail for home.  At least I grabbed a little neon during the five hour drive.  Here are some goodies from Pismo Beach.

The Pismo Beach Hotel:

 

This place has been around since 1942.  The signs might be 1940s or 1950s:

 

I don’t think this one is vintage — unless it’s been repainted & updated — still lovely day & night:

 

This sign might be modern or super refurbished as well:

 

And don’t forget — more photos from this weekend over at Flickr & Ipernity:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

 

No traveling next weekend — but I will probably be doing some shooting in L.A. and Orange County Sept. 14 & 15.  Then I’ll give Sparkle a break and focus on getting all these photos (you’ve only seen a sampling) into the website.

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend and are getting a little “chill” time today like we are.

dj & the dogs

This trip almost didn’t happen.  Sparkle sat for most of the week gathering dust at a horrible garage while I puttered back & forth to work in a rental car.  The dogs and I were miserable in that little Toyota Yaris.  I’ll spare you the details — but this garage was a nightmare.  Three days and they had replaced one spark plug!  I wound up towing Sparkle to another repair shop.   All she needed was a tune-up.  $700 and she was ready to roll at closing time on Friday night.  Whew!  She’s running beautifully now.

During the week, I had to run an errand for my boss.  While I was there in the Valley I ran into this little gem in North Hollywood and fortunately had my camera with me.  The car wash is a big empty lot now so I expect this sign will disappear any day now:

 

On to this weekend’s trip.  One of the stops was in Buellton at Mark Mendenhall’s Museum — which is loaded with petroliana (gas station related stuff), all kinds of signs, and a handful of vintage cars.  More about the place at his website:
http://www.mendenhallmuseum.com/

Normally, you need to be part of a group and have an appointment.  But Mark and his wife were gracious enough to let me have a quickie private tour.  Here’s just a sampling of his stuff — loads of porcelain enamel signs — with some non-gas stuff here and there:

 

This one’s a reproduction — but still awfully nice:

 

This one’s vintage — and the blades still turn:

 

Lots of indoor rooms jammed packed with pumps & globes, signs, etc.:

A Richfield Oil weathervane:

 

OK — back on the road.  A couple from Lompoc — sorry, no way to get the rest of this arrow in the shot:

 

Too bad both the bulbs & neon are gone.  I bet this was a stunner at night:

 

On to Santa Maria.  This building for the Santa Maria Times looks 1960s to me.  Neat corrugated concrete look:

 

I can’t find any old photos or postcards of this Valley Motel sign in Santa Maria.  You’ll have to use your imagination:

 

On to Pismo Beach:

 

You can drive on the beach in Grover Beach for 5 bucks.   I, myself, never miss the chance to drive on the beach when I can.  It makes the dogs bonkers though because they just ASSUME we will be getting out momentarily.  Most drive-on-the-beach places don’t allow dogs to get out PERIOD.  This one does if you keep them on-leash.  No point in walking around like that for us.  I don’t know why none of them are hanging their heads out the windows here.  Sparkle’s looking and feeling good!  Purring like a kitten with her new plugs & wires & all that — and with her recent front bumper paint job (some of you may recall a very unfortunate incident in New Mexico last year):

 

One more from Pismo Beach.  A neon martini from Alex Bar-B-Q:

 

From San Miguel:

 

And on to Salinas where we shall resume tomorrow.  The Valley Center Bowl sign needs some repairs — but still great.  A close-up of the sign on the right and a video are over at Flickr and Ipernity tonight — pick yer preferred format for more photos from today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/
http://www.ipernity.com/doc/roadsidearchitecture

 

Too bad that I didn’t find more neon to shoot in Salinas.  Sadly, the Fox Theatre sign was dark despite a huge crowd of people in line to get in.  This one’s pretty nice though:

 

Two more days to play!  Tomorrow, plans are for Salinas, Santa Cruz and more.