I finished up St. Louis around noon, some stops along I-44 / Route 66, and then managed to get into Arkansas for the night.  Two people with collections of stuff along the route that I couldn’t coordinate schedules with — maybe on the way home.  The weather was just gorgeous again – quite a streak now!  And it was hot — felt like 90 by 11am.  So I headed for an award-winning dog park in Wentzville that I hadn’t been to before — with a LAKE.  The dogs all got cooled off and nicely worn out.  Here’s the scoop on the park if you’re interested:
http://www.doggoes.com/parks/missouri/st-louis/broemmelsiek-dog-park

Doggoes.com is my new fave site for finding dog park.  I even have the application for my iPhone.  But I rarely use it since usually I do pretty well just stumbling upon places for the kids to swim and run.

Got set-up very late here — internet trouble — already 12:45am.  So let’s roll with the photos.

Starting with St. Louis.  Once upon a time this sign was unobstructed.  Neon glowing on both sides by day:

There used to be a lot of Congress Inn signs nationwide — now very few and most of them messed with quite a bit (plastic box replacements).  Here’s what the original sign looked like:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/illtakeyourphoto/3564073792/

Other than the nicer one in Nashville:
http://www.agilitynut.com/07/3/congress.jpg

and this one in St. Louis, I don’t think there are any relatively intact examples:

I don’t know what’s sadder:  a closed mini golf or a closed bowling alley.  This is the former AMF Strike ‘N Spare Lanes.  I hope it can be saved but it seems so unlikely.  More about the place and its closing:
http://www.beltstl.com/2011/12/goodbye-to-strike-n-spare-bowling-lanes/

More mid-century doom and gloom.  The former Macy’s at the demo-ready Northwest Plaza:
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2011/07/northwest_plaza_to_be_auctioned_off.php

On a more positive note.  Pete’s Drive-in in Wentzville is a former A&W Drive-in.  And, how about that, our new friend (see yesterday’s post) Greg Rhomberg even has a page about the place:
http://www.antiquewhs.com/2007/Inside_STL/petes.htm

Yup, there’s the original fireplace:

And since it was HOT and I was saving the A/C for the Southwest… I broke down and got a root beer float.  Here’s to you Sparkle — and the American interstate system!

This stop at the Indian Harvest Trading Post was not as pleasant.  I do love faux teepees and have a section over there at the website for them.  I don’t think I’ve shot these guys before.  So I pulled in to the bottom of the driveway and walked up to shoot.  Just as I did, a woman popped out and greeted me with one of those pushy “can I help you”s.  I said that I just liked teepees and stuff.  And she lashed into me with “We don’t appreciate people coming here and taking photos”.  And I innocently said “why not”?  She ranted that they spend thousands of dollars every year fixing the rock driveway every year because of people like me coming and taking photos and not buying anything.  I said that I was at the bottom of the driveway and barely on her rocks.  She kept ranting at me and I just calmly and quietly left.  So folks, you might not want to stop here — or make it super quick.  Or go into her little gift shop and pretend that you’re actually shopping.

I just googled the place and it seems she’s been screaming an lecturing and scaring people off for years!  Now I’m highly amused and feel that I’ve experienced a unique part of Route 66!
http://legends.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=2777241

Back to cheerier — far less strange things.  From Lebanon.  I don’t know if this sign ever had neon.  It’s huge — and hugely fun.  That’s Sparkle’s ass — for scale:

Here’s a new and fun little Route 66 welcome center west of Conway.  In case you’re not familiar with the Munger Moss sign, I posted it at Flickr tonight.  These welcome signs (both east and westbound on I-44) were obviously modeled after the motel sign.  I assume they’re lit at night:

Both east and westbound centers have cute little false-front picnic shelters modeled after buildings.  My fave is on the westbound side — a Phillips 66 gas station:

On to Springfield:

The Best Western in Springfield kept their original sign with the bulb crown and have it on display:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrskpax/5002946470/

There’s also this oddball little sign tucked away there which looks old to me:

When I was in Springfield a couple years ago, the coffee cup still looked pretty much like an ice cream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidenut/4909698465/
This new paintjob helps.  Kinda.  Anyone know what ice cream stand was here originally?

Last photo for the night — also Springfield.  I assume this was an adapted sign, god bless ’em for keeping the wild arrow:

Many interruptions — 2am here.   Tomorrow — a short list for this corner of Arkansas and then on to Oklahoma.  I’m about two days behind schedule.  Not good.  But the plan is — if I don’t finish Arizona stuff, I can attach that chunk onto the Colorado trip this summer.

Oh, in case some of you just joined us, I post simultaneously every night to Flickr — different photos — so you might want to bounce over there:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Sun all day long — just a wee bit of haziness at the end of the day.  Weather delightfully cool.  I’ve got nothing to complain about.  Finally wrapped up PA & made a good dent in the Ohio list.  This will be a whirlwind tour of Ohio — some Columbus tomorrow and bearing south and west.  Indiana & Illinois will be very brief.  Missouri even briefer.  I’m a day behind schedule already.

I’m late in getting settled tonight & have tons of photos.  A nice big batch to Flickr tonight — so don’t forget about that parallel universe as well:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Let’s start with this sign in Delmont, PA that I’ve been shooting and admiring for years.  I assume the sign was once much nicer.  But I’m just glad they kept the ballies on top:

From Butler, PA.  These Humpty Dumpty statues usually appear at mini golf courses.  But here he is on top of the roof of the Country Kitchen:

A super nice Art Deco building in Youngstown, OH:

From Akron, OH — a giant pizza at Luigi’s Restaurant.  I think it’s about five or six feet in diameter:

This sign in Canton, OH had neon and secondary signs originally — but at least they kept it.  Here’s what it used to look like:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joannemariol/2719561844/

Also from Canton — a pretty cheery repurposed Fotomat booth:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/fotomat/pool/

Sadly unexpected — this former Tastee-Freez was still swinging as the Whipple Dari Drive-in when I shot it in 2007:
http://www.agilitynut.com/07/7/whippie.jpg

Now the sign’s painted over and looking pretty grim.  Just as I was climbing back into the van after taking this shot — some guy came running — I mean RUNNING and yelling — so I just played deaf — and then I had to play blind as he nearly through himself in front of the van as I drove off.  Sheesh!  I guess it was the owner — either wanting to sell me the place — or wanting to scream at me for taking a photo.  Crazy.

Whenever I’m in Canton, I stop to check on Willie the Whale.  It’s a good distance from the road but I feel compelled to see what’s happened next.  Not good.  Willie was built in the late 1950s and is all that’s left of Mother Gooseland.  Why can’t the city move him someplace where he will get the respect he deserves?  Right now, it’s a standoff between vandals, homeless people and the City.  The City bricked up the mouth to keep people from sleeping inside — and the homeless people just tore down the cinderblocks.

From Massillon, OH — the perfect combination:  bowling and booze:

And let’s wind up with sundown in Dalton, OH.  I’ll even let some people come into my photos for a change:

I hope you’re enjoying the ride so far.  Many, many more days and nights to come.   Just to spare you the disappointment, I might be taking a night off from blogging & Flickring soon.  But I’ll make up for it with a double batch the night after.  I will probably have to do a mad scurry westward at some point to get on schedule — like a 10 hour drive after shooting all day.   If / when I do, I won’t have the steam left to be cropping & writing & all that.  This could be tomorrow night — but more likely the night after that.

By “trey”, I mean three — as in tri-state (WV, PA and OH — although we were only in the latter for a tiny bit) — and also day three.  And, grey, well — another tediously, solidly cloudy day.  When it wasn’t raining, then it was just a darker grey.  I’m bummed.  But it’s raining in Albuquerque right now as well — so maybe it’s good I’m still here.   But I’m giving impatient thought to just flooring it tomorrow, driving west til the sun comes out, somewhere.   Although the forecast looks good for right here tomorrow.

No embarrassing mishaps to report.  Mom is getting a bit testy with all the barking.  Nik has gotten a little spoiled early in this trip and expects that he’s getting out every stop where there’s grass visible.  He ate a lot of goose poop today which gave me even more to yell about.   Grip starts barking around 4pm now demanding dinner (which should be more like 6pm).  I think with her loss of sight, she’s lost her sense of time.  Grem barks just about all day.  And Fix is the good girl — who only barks when the other ones do (“they started it!”).

So let’s begin with some intentional monochrome — a black and white building — to get you in the mood for today’s photos.  An Art Deco building in the Elm Grove section of Wheeling, WV.   Looks like a former bank to me.  There appear to be holes below the Board of Ed letters where a previous sign would have been:

I shot lots of round mid-century buildings today — I’ll spare you.  But here’s one in Wheeling.  Pink panels, blue panels, green panels… I love them all:

More Wheeling.  Now, had this been a sunny day, this magnificent sign would be appearing over at my agilitynut Flickr account tonight.  But, alas,  it’s sadly condemned to the rusty, crusty, dreary selections of my blog:

Now, I never complain (ha!) but this one really pisses me off.  Bad enough that they’ve covered the original Kresge facade — but this cheapo lithograph covering is a joke.  Completely blurry — like they planned the resolution for something one-fourth of the size — and then just blew it up all the way like “good enough, no one will notice, looks better than it did”.  Gawd.   It looks so much worse in person.  I guess they thought they were hiding an eyesore — but THIS is the real eyesore now.

And what’s been covered up:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34878756@N04/3867845692/

OK, so covering things up is nothing new.  Here’s a sixties/seventies example.  And maybe it’s just now that this has that kitschy fun look to us now that it’s treasured (at least by folks like me).  But still.  Really.  If printed computer graphics are the way of the future and all craftsmanship is dead, do we have more downtowns soon to looks like super-trashed Disney Main Streets — all vinyl tarped crap?

On a less serious note.  Still Wheeling until I say otherwise.  These guys (puppets? masks?) stare down from the second floor.  Half cute / half creepy:

Shall we vote if this is a beauty or an eyesore?  I personally love it — all this and that.  1970s?  I particularly love the beam with the hanging lamp.

On to Weirton, WV.  This 1947 All Saints Orthodox Church has been gussied up with stainless.  I assume post-1947.  Almost diner-y, no?

Pittsburgh, finally.  Gotta be a modern sign — but wonderful nevertheless.  At Niki’s Pizza.  Which reminds me, the topic of my next SCA article is pizza chef signs.  That issue should be out any day now.  Shameless plug for the organization and publications.  If you’re into this roadside stuff — you wanta / gotta join.
http://www.sca-roadside.org/

This sign at Lucky’s Tavern has not been so lucky.  I don’t know what bar it originally advertised for — but good god, some lousy patch work here.  And I guess left unattended, those holes fill with water and the bottom gets rusty and eaten out like this.  Might make a good advertisement for all those vintage sign owners out there to keep their signs in good shape.  Like those anti-smoking ads — don’t let this happen to your sign!

Here’s a heartbreaker.  Abandoned since forever.  The New Granada Theatre.  More about the place here:
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/16495

Another modern sign — but pretty cute.  The torch flashes on and off.  Unfortunately, the face wasn’t lit on either side:

On to Clairton for another flame sign.  I do have a thing for them — another SCA theme article coming up most likely (are you reading this Doug?).  The torch was out on both sides here.  I don’t get the message:

And this cute guy is over the door:

Alright then — an early night here (11 pm).  I’ll catch up on the sleep I missed last night.  And then make some big decision in the morning at sunrise — stay & shoot — or scoot off to the Midwest someplace.

Hopefully, after today’s photos here and over at Flickr, you’ll understand my compulsion to finish up my West Virginia list before eventually heading westward.  Maybe it’ll moved up on your list of states to explore.  Make sure you have good brakes and tires though — they don’t call it the Mountain State for nothing.

So, I’m almost done with WV.  Ran out of daylight in Wheeling where I’ve parked hard-working little Sparkle for the night.  Just some Northern Panhandle (that skinny piece on top) to go — and then over to Pittsburgh area for a bit and then onward to Ohio.  Finally.  The big exciting-est news (you might have noticed at Flickr) — SUN today.  All day.

And one humbling 15 minute episode.  I spotted an unexpected nice canopy gas station to shoot in Harrisville.  Pulled over on the shoulder — thought I’d be fine with two wheels on pavement and two in the grass.  But, uh-uh.  Although Sparkle’s all-wheel drive, I could tell right away we were in trouble.  I gently tried reverse and forward a bit.  No dice.  It was like quicksand.  After a few minutes, Sparkle’s left rear tire was off the ground.  I wanted to get a photo for you — but I was too chicken to get back in the van to get the camera.  So then the race was on by every macho guy in town to get me out.  A trooper directed traffic while a good-old-boy in a monster truck pulled me back out just the way I went in.  Done.  So strange.  I was only maybe a foot in the grass from the pavement but that was enough.

OK then — lots of photos — and I got a late start tonight.  Already 12:30am so let’s get to it.

Starting with Morgantown.  This appears to be a former gas station dressed up castle style:

From Fairmont.  Still open.  From the company’s website, it sounds & looks like this sign is from 1936:

This two-fer — also in Fairmont:

A dome home in Quiet Dell (gotta love  name):

From Grafton — sun makes all the difference don’t it?

From Clarksburg.  A not so special mid-century bank.  Although the marble at the lower level is nice….

BUT…  the most exquisite vinyl (?) tiles above:

Also Clarksburg:

More Clarksburg.  Your vitrolite facade du jour — this time with the sign built into the glass:  Note the detail at the tops of the windows also:

Yes, more Clarksburg.  Theatre-like sign originally read “Palace Furniture”.  The store is long-gone now.  Surely there was neon or bulbs.  Note the double ladders that were used for maintenance:

Still Clarksburg.  Need I say that this drive-in is closed?  I love the extra long arrow, with the crunch:

OK, last two from Clarksburg — a nice bit of terra cotta at the downtown post office:

The Dairy Queen in Shinnston.  What made me hit the brakes was the DQ “lips” weathervane.    I’ve only seen a couple of others like this:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/dq4.html

But what seemed especially novel to me was this backside.  A second level balcony?  Can one rent out the top floor of DQs?  Is this just a private lounge for employees?  Was it — or is it still — open to customers?  So many questions — but so little time.  I was racing the sun to get to Parkersburg so I couldn’t stop & ask what the deal was.

Final photo for the night — from Ohio (I was spilling over to Ohio for a bit en route to Wheeling).  This is in Sardis.  Nearly dark but I still had to shoot this one.  Obviously from the island, it was a gas station at some point.  Sadly, vacant now.  I like how it nearly conceals the attached house behind.

1:20 am.  That’s a wrap.

The dogs, yes, must get some shots of them soon.  In the meantime, for those of you starving to see them, you do know they have a section over there at my site?
http://www.agilitynut.com/4gde.html

Food.  I’ve been eating really boring & healthy lately.  But I will break down soon and get some ice cream — and yes, some pie, somewhere.  Not to worry.

I hope you all brought a lot of snacks and comfortable clothes.  This is gonna be one long roadtrip.  I think 39 days straight is a record for me.  Although the focus of this trip will be on New Mexico and Arizona, it’s gonna be awhile before we get there.  I have a lot of stops in other states on the way.  Starting with this first mission which is to finish up the West Virginia stuff that I didn’t get to last month.

So, today was lots of PA & a bit of WV & MD.  Hopefully, tomorrow I can bang through the remainder of the WV stuff and some Pittsburgh area stuff.  Today was frustrating weatherwise.  Although, the rain didn’t start until 6:30 (which cut the shooting off an hour early), it was 99.9% grey from start to finish.  Grey variations — from annoying to horrible.  But if forecasters are right — there’ll be sun tomorrow.

Before moving on to the photos, I should give the yadda-yadda to the newcomers.  Yes, it’s just me on these trips — with my rambunctious pack of four little dogs.  I only post here at the blog & Flickr as “agilitynut” when I’m on the road (different photos both places).  So you are getting as near to virtual as I can make it.   And the writing is done late, late at night when I’m exhausted — so you have to pardon some bad grammar and babbling.  Fixing when I get home would be cheating!  The idea of this blog is a documentation of what goes into the gathering of photos (trials & tribulations, joys & disappointments) for my website (RoadsideArchitecture.com).  What goes to Flickr & this blog is just a smidgen of what you’ll find there — all organized, researched, etc.

The photos here at the blog are all clickable (you click on them and you get a larger size).  These blog photos also appear at Flickr under the roadsidenut account — for folks that don’t like to read (ha!) or for searching by key words, sets by state and all that.

OK then — that’s out of the way.  Enough chatter!  On to today’s offerings.

Let’s start in Harrisburg, PA.  This one’s been a “reshoot in sun” on my list for a long time.  Maybe sun next time.  This one spins & says M&Z on the other side.

The Subway Cafe opened in 1948 and this sign appears to be from then.  I don’t think there is or was ever a subway in Harrisburg so I can’t explain the origin of the name.  Their website shows sequentially lit lettering but I don’t know if that’s really still the case.  There is one night photo at Flickr from 2010 which shows the sign fully lit.
http://www.subwaycafepizza.com/

Here’s another brown porcelain enamel sign — and also from 1948.  Hmm, same sign company?  Same owner?  This one is at the Pep Grill.  There’s an article about the place being put up for auction last summer — but the bar was definitely open today:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/08/pep_grill_in_harrisburg_open_s.html

This one’s been on my to-see list for a while.  Tinyworld  in Shippensburg, PA.   Very sweet, adorable, small-scale, handmade buildings.  Maybe a couple dozen.  Here’s more about the place:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11165

While the article mentions the cats — it doesn’t mention the peacocks strolling about — which make my dogs bonkers.  On a scale of 1 to 10 — they’re an 11.   Screaming, jumping, pandemonium in the van.   And very careful exit / entry by me.  If Nik or Grem got out, there would be peacock bloodshed I’m sure of it.   What is it?  Do they think birds should not BE that big?

That’s a little Texaco station on the right:

No sign of a train at this mini depot but there must’ve been one at one time:

Moving on to Chambersburg, PA.  A sweet (okay, I overuse the word) painted wood sign.  Maybe six feet tall:

Sun for this one in Fannettsburg, PA.   No sign of the motel that I could see:

I’m always hoping for a miracle with this place in Chambersburg, PA.   The Snak Shak drive-in from 1951, long closed.   I fantasize that there will be car hops hopping and obnoxious 1950s music blaring when I come round the bend.  But no.  It just looks grimmer and grimmer.   Paging Lincoln Highway Association before it’s too late.  Right now, a used car dealer seems to be operating on the lot.

Some good news.  The Muffler Man at the Scottyland Campground in Rockwood, PA has gotten some TLC and paint since I shot him eight years ago:

He’s also got a very deep tan now:

From Cumberland, MD.  That red vitrolite on top might indicate that this was a Newberry’s or Kresge or some other five and dime.  There’s actually a lot of vitrolite downtown here.   I really liked the curved corner entrance on this one:

Last one for the night.  Also Cumberland.  I’m a sucker for those metal awnings.

So, there you have it for Day #1.  Don’t forget to check out the other photos over at Flickr if you haven’t already:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Normal order of things if you’re interested:
8 pm-ish: answer emails & comments; crop & tweak a couple dozen photos
11 pm-ish:  upload to Flickr; more emails & comments
1 am-ish:  publish blog post (as it gets late in the trip and I get more exhausted, I finish & publish blog post in the morning)

Photos of dogs & pie later in the trip.  Any other special requests?

OK — some sleep and back to the routine.  For the stat-minded, here’s a breakdown from this mini WV trip:  four days — 2,414 miles — maybe one-third of that death-defying hairpin turns in the mountains.  $591 on gas.  I never keep track of food & hotel costs.  About 600 photos — 98% of them for the website, the other 2% appeared here at the blog.

I took Sparkle directly to my mechanic.  The code was something like a mass intake something or other.  The exact name has fallen out of my brain.  But basically, something to do with mixing gas and air.  Also need some oil line something or others (I noticed a few drops of oil leaking once in a while) and a couple of engine mounts (I noticed a little vibration at stops).  So, about $1400 or so.  But I intend to keep Sparkle going for at least a couple more years.  My mechanic says everything else looks perfect — engine, transmission, all the big pieces (and the little ones).

Back to the trip — day 4 started in Gilbert.  Here’s a geodesic dome church from there.  The Promise Christian Fellowship and foggy mountains:

The sun, ever so briefly, and a former Burger Chef in Kenova.  Now a Stewart’s Original Hot Dogs.  More about the Burger Chef chain if you’re interested:
http://agilitynut.com/eateries/bchef.html

From Huntington — Wright’s Men’s Store — still in business:

From Milton — the Blenko Glass Visitor Center, built in 1966.  I didn’t have time to check out the museum inside.  Incredible glass pieces and you can watch them being produced.  The video on the lower left at this page shows a bit of that:
http://www.blenko.com/Photo_Album.php

Also in Huntington — I love these big Sunoco signs….

… this station also had an unusual concrete building.  Never seen one like this before.  Some of it might be updated (the pushed-out window on the left; maybe the brick glass) but I’m still intrigued by it:

The light ran out in Parkersburg.  Here’s a nice Masonic Temple sign to close out the batch:

And so, back to life here in the Big City.  Here’s the view of Manhattan from my gym next door to my apartment.  Lots of sun here today just to torture me about the grey I had on my trip.  Some of you might spot the Chrysler Building, the Citicorp Center Building (now Citigroup), and the Williamsburg Bridge if you click to the larger view:

The next “real” trip starts in just over four weeks:  April 26 – June 1.  The dogs and I will be taking on west Texas, New Mexico and Arizona — with some stops in other states to & from.  As usual, I’ll be blogging and posting to Flickr nightly.  So I hope you’ll enjoy tagging along.

In case you missed them, I posted a handful of photos each night during this trip over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Or, if you just discovered this blog, you might want to check out my website which is the reason for all these obsessive trips:
http://www.agilitynut.com/roadside.html