We’re gonna be here a while. I spent 15 days in Illinois before turning tail back to California. So, 15 posts will be coming your way over the coming weeks.

Let’s start with some buildings. This midcentury modern American Legion is in Chester. I’m not sure what the technical terms are but I have always called these “barrel roofs with legs”:

The “Dental Dome” in Du Quoin might be midcentury but a lot of these were built in the 1980s as well:

This Art Deco building in Du Quoin houses Decker Chiropractic. I haven’t been able to determine the original occupant:

A couple of heartbreaking situations. The long-closed Massac Theatre is in Metropolis:

…and the long-vacant, former Standard Oil “Red Crown” station in Vienna. The bay at the right has no roof and there are trees growing inside:

A former Phillips 66 gas station in Zeigler now houses a used car lot office and repair service:

Moving on to some statues. There are about 19 of these Popeye-themed statues in Chester. The city adds a new one every year. This is Wimpy:

These wizard statues are at Jeremy “Boo” Rochman Memorial Park in Carbondale. A very sad story turned into something good. Jeremy loved to draw wizards and dragons and he was obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons. He was killed in a car crash in 1993. This property was turned into a public park with castle-style buildings and about 30 statues based on Boo’s drawings:

The Big Muddy Monster in Murphysboro is a local legend. There’s a festival every year and a couple of sculptures:

The mascot for Southern Illinois University at Carbondale is the Saluki. This concrete sculpture is one of a pair. There are also a couple of other bronze Saluki sculptures nearby:

This giant wrench sign is in Marion. If you like giant tools (hammers, saws, and the like), I’ve got a bunch at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/mim/misc5.html

I’m guessing that this billboard style sign next to the highway in Du Quoin was originally built in the 1960s. There are two triangulated panels to be seen by travelers driving from both directions. I’m sure there channel letters had neon originally. The graphic display box there now probably had a readerboard with change-able letters. I wish I could find vintage photos of this one:

This sign is at Benson’s Wine Bar in Chester. The “badge” at the bottom center reads Neon Sign Co. in Herrin which must have been the dominant porcelain enamel, neon sign producer in the area as so many signs have this credit:

This modern margarita sign is in Anna at Los Dos Gallos Mexican Bar and Grill:

Another modern sign at the long closed Annex Theatre in Herrin which has been a coffee shop since around 2000:

I believe this neon dancing woman in McClure was originally created in the 1980s for a strip and drag club in Memphis, TN. There were supposedly about 7 or these created but I believe this is the only one still on public display. The club in Memphis has been vacant for years but still has a neon pair of legs over the entrance. This sign is at The Pony which closed last year. There is another location in Memphis which is still open but does not have one of these signs. But that affiliation must explain how this ended up in McClure:

This Knights of Columbus sign is in Herrin (yep, that’s another Herrin sign co. badge on the left):

This long-closed cleaners is in Benton:

And lastly — this Henrici’s Pizza and More sign is in Herrin. While it might look vintage, it was actually built in 2003 by Roth Signs. The business has been closed for a few years but this sign remains. If you like pizza chef signs, I’ve got a bunch of ’em at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/sca/pizza.html

Back soon with more Illinois stuff.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

This former Conoco cottage gas station is in Hayti, MO:

The mid-century modern Temple Israel is in Paducah, KY:

The Columbia Theatre is in Paducah, KY:

This former Coca-Cola bottling plant in Paducah, KY was restored in 2013 and has been repurposed for multiple tenants:

This pink elephant is in Fenton, MO. These statues were produced by DWO Fiberglass – for other examples, see my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/critters/ele.html

This flying moose is at the Manac Trailers in Oran, MO. This is the mascot for the Manac which produces many types of truck trailers. There are several of these statues in Canada but I think only one other in the U.S.:

This Mel, the Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurant chain mascot, is at the Paducah location. Each of these recycled metal statues installed at many locations are different:

This sign is in Cape Girardeau, MO:

This sign is in Sikeston, MO:

This sign is in Paducah:

The Boomland fireworks store is in Charleston, MO:

This modern sign is in Paducah:

The Dexter Queen in Dexter, MO was originally a Daisy Queen (never a Dairy Queen):

The Melba Theatre is in De Soto, MO. This is what happens when you go cheap and replace neon with LED. The cheap plastic tubing usually comes loose, breaks, and needs replacing in just a few years. And, as you can see here, it never makes for straight lines and has ugly bent corners — no replacement for a skilled human that can bend neon precisely. Not only will the neon last much longer but it looks far better than LED during the day (beautiful shadows) and night (better glow and reflection off the panels).

This store is long gone but this sign in Hayti, MO remains:

We’ll be moving on to Illinois with the next post (soon!).

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

A lot of miles on this day — not so many photos as usual but I’ve got enough for a blog post.

This Indian statue in Poplar Bluff was built in 1954 for the long-gone Big Chief Trading Post:

This gate from 2005 with a fiberglass horse (a one-off I think) in Ava leads to the grounds of the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association:

A stylish former gas station – now barber shop in Fredericktown:

A midcentury modern post office in Houston:

Moving on to a batch of signs. This one is in Houston:

This one in the trees in Niangua:

I wish I’d had my garden shears with me in Thayer. Note the “Cold Beer” tubing over “Liquor” indicating that this must have been a flashing sign originally:

A couple of closeups of the Godwin’s Sporting Goods neon extension sign in Poplar Bluff (now at Hefner’s Furniture). The fisherman on top:

And the fishies below:

This photo from huzzahs at Flickr shows that it was still lit at its new location as of last year: https://www.flickr.com/photos/50757691@N07/53529225236/

These two signs in Ava mark the front and rear entrances:

And this liquor store sign (also in Ava):

This theatre is in West Plains:

Lastly, this very rare Dog n Suds sign in the private collection at the Carpet Gallery in Poplar Bluff. There were only a few of these “Rover” signs with the Pluto-like dog built in 1954 before Disney came after the drive-in burger chain. Only 3 of these are known to still exist:

For comparison, here’s the design that Dog n Suds began using after that. This one installed outside at the Carpet Gallery. This one came from the Cherokee Pass location which is gone now:

I’ll be back soon with a bit more Missouri before moving on to Illinois.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Let’s start with some statues. This 1960s era fiberglass buffalo in Lebanon, MO is located at JR’s Western Store:

Another fiberglass statue — these elephants were produced by the Plycrete Mold Co. This one is located at the Riverside Wildlife Center in Stanton, MO:

A modern frozen custard statue at Spooner’s Frozen Custard in Eureka, MO:

The only intact Dairy Isle in Missouri — this one in Steelville. More info and examples of Dairy Isles at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/eateries/disle.html

A very abandoned Howard Johnson’s motel gatehouse in Rolla, MO:

Its companion restaurant now houses a Mexican place:

A former Phillips 66 gas station in Eureka, MO:

A couple of 1920s/1930s gas stations in Washington, MO. This one at a used car lot:

And this one housing a law office now:

Moving on to a batch of signs. This one with a Superior Electrical Advertising bulb arrow in Bourbon, MO:

This key-shaped sign was originally installed in Villa Ridge. The cafe is gone now but this sign was saved and moved to the Route 66 State Park Visitor Center in Eureka, MO:

The very famous sign in Lebanon, MO was based on Rest Haven Motel sign in Springfield (with their permission) which, yes, was inspired by the Holiday Inn “Great Sign” like so many others:

This sign is in Kirkwood, MO. This much-loved restaurant closed earlier this year but was immediately purchased and will be reopening soon.

This replica sign in Sullivan, MO was built and installed in 2022. The stone-faced motel rooms are being restored and the motel is expected to reopen next year:

This corrugated plastic sign is located in Lebanon, MO:

The Gardenway Motel in Villa Ridge, MO was demolished in 2023 but this sign down the street is still hanging on:

Let’s wrap up with the Uranus Fudge Factory in St. Robert which has some modern signs (in addition to statues, food, souvenirs, and other fun stuff). There’s another location in Anderson, IN and they are building another in Richmond, IN:

This sign on the side of one of their buildings was built by Fossil Forge (which has restored a lot of vintage signs) and depicts some famous Route 66 landmarks:

Back soon with even more Missouri.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Let’s start with a couple of midcentury modern buildings in St. Louis. This former bakery thrift store has been abandoned for years. I’m worried about it.

This round-ish restroom building in Beckett Park with mushroom canopies:

This theatre in St. Louis is now used as a community center:

An Art Deco detail from the Vandeventer Building in St. Louis (which now houses a Mexican restaurant):

The Paristyle Building (now lofts) in St. Louis with its nice-preserved 1942 facade:

A former Standard Oil station in St. Louis which was it lousy shape until it was restored for the Olio restaurant:

This former canopy gas station in Webster Groves has housed Roger’s Produce since 1978:

The White Knight Diner in St. Louis was built in 1952:

This Lustron house in St. Louis was recently restored as a bed & breakfast. What’s a Lustron, you ask? I’ve got 6 pages of them at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/modarch/lustron.html

And there’s a Plycrete hippo in front:

This nasty-looking snake is at the Pirate’s Crusade mini golf in St. Louis:

This serpent fence surrounds the parking lot at the City Museum in St. Louis:

This giant ice cream cone in Affton from 1942 was originally at a Velvet Freeze ice cream stand. It was restored by the local fire department and is now installed in front of a school:

Moving on to a big batch of signs. This one is in St. Louis:

I’ve been worried about this sign in St. Louis for years since the donut shop sat vacant for decades. I’m happy to see it’s now a cafe:

This bar is in St. Louis is closed but the sign is still there:

The flame on this shopping center sign in Affton was originally animated:

The Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale mural sign in St. Louis was originally installed in 1968. It had fallen on hard times and was replaced with this replica last year:

Speaking of Anheuser-Busch… This quite famous sign in St. Louis right next to I-64 was originally installed in Los Angeles. When a new building went up in 1962, the sign was moved here. In 2022, the incandescent bulbs were replaced with LED versions and the Budweiser channel letters beneath this panel were switched from neon to LED tubing. Fortunately, the 33-foot-wide eagle is still lit with neon:

This sign in St. Louis was built in 2023 when the indoor mini golf opened. It features a woman putting on the other side:

I’m obsessed with Weather Balls and have shot a number of them for my website. They changed color depending on the weather forecast. This one in St. Louis, originally built for General American Life in 1956 was lit with blue for cooler weather, red for warmer weather, green for no temperature change, and flashed when precipitation was expected.

The sign was dark for decades and the neon letters were long gone. When it was converted to lofts in 2001, the ball was relit at night with red neon. I don’t know if they still keep it maintained but at least this piece of history is still there:

This Gateway Arch inspired sign in St. Louis previously advertised for Shop ‘n Save:

Let’s close with just one more sign from St. Louis:

I’ll be back soon with more Missouri. Three or four more days/posts before we move on to Illinois.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Let’s get back to the summer trip. This day was pretty grey but I did what I could. Let’s start with the Chuck-a-Burger drive-in in St. John. There were eight locations but this one, built in 1957, is the only one left.

The Crown Candy Kitchen in St. Louis opened in 1913. It still makes its own chocolate candy and retains its old-time interior with booths and soda fountain (the oldest in town). I had some peach ice cream to go and it was mighty good.

In front of the business is this giant cake which was one of 250 of them installed around town in 2014 at historic locations to celebrate St. Louis 250th birthday. This is the only one that I know of that’s still around:

This J.C. Penney store in St. Louis was built in 1948:

The store closed in 1976 and it’s been vacant since then:

Children’s Palace was a nationwide chain of toy stores built in the 1970s. The buildings had castle-style turrets and a crenelated roofline:

The stores all closed in the 1990s. This one in St. Louis closed in 1994 and was adapted for The Palace skating rink. That closed in 2007 and the building’s been vacant since then:

One of my favorite buildings in St. Louis: the DeBaliviere Building was built in 1928. It features glazed and unglazed terra cotta. A couple of detail photos here:

The Employment Security Building in St. Louis was built in 1958:

This sad Lindell Bank & Trust motor bank in St. Louis has been abandoned for decades:

Happier stuff — a fish on a bicycle in a fountain in University City:

These stylized dolphins are in a different park in University City. They were built in 1967 and installed in a pool:

Later, that pool was filled in and grass was planted. The dolphins were in bad shape until they were restored last year and placed in this splash pad for kids:

This repainted Big Boy statue is at the Hi-Pointe Drive-in in St. Louis:

This revolving, 20-foot-in-diameter moon was built in 2009 for the Moonrise Hotel in St. Louis:

These two covered wagons are located in Marthasville at the Boone Monument Village event venue. You can rent them out for overnight stays. The first one was produced by the Conestoga Wagon Co. which has been selling these to campgrounds around the country since 2015. I have many of them at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/mim/vehicles2.html

This smaller one appears to be a one-off:

The Soda Museum in St. Charles has several neon signs but it has LOTS of other cool, vintage stuff — like drink coolers:

… and coolers/vending machines:

This sign is installed at the Beverly Hills Pharmacy in St. Louis. Ah – for some sun!!

The Droste Furnace & Cooling Service building in St. Louis was built in 1937. It’s been vacant since at least 2007:

This Stag Beer sign in Florissant is installed at B.J.’s Bar:

Sundecker’s bar in St. Louis has been closed since 2014 but these signs remain:

Stay tuned: there’s still about 20 days/posts to come!

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

I took a break from adding to the website for a couple of extended weekend trips to L.A. & Orange County and then to Central California & the Bay Area en route to NeonSpeaks. Those photos are all up at the website and I’ll add some highlights of other things here (some included at my site, some not). If you are new to my blog, the purpose of it is to document each day’s shooting in some way and to include many things not worthy of my website. The photos at my blog are also include at my roadsidenut Flickr account so that the images are searchable and have links in each caption to the blog post where they appear.

Let’s start off with some Southern California stuff. This chimp statue is installed in front of the Mr. Brainwash Art Museum in Beverly Hills:

Another chimp statue in Beverly Hills in front of a house on Benedict Canyon:

A wood-carved bear in Los Angeles that’s been painted many colors over the years:

A detail from the L.A. Times Building in downtown Los Angeles:

A detail from an apartment building in Los Angeles:

The Silver Fox nightclub in Long Beach — fake deco from 1981:

The Segal House in Malibu:

The Tail O’ the Pup clock in West Hollywood:

The Rainbow Neon Dog in West Hollywood which was built in 1990 for a pet store. The store closed in 2020 and the sign was gifted to the City and installed here earlier this year:

Let’s move on to some Central and Bay Area stuff. The restored Mammoth Orange from Fairmead now at the Fossil Discovery Center in Chowchilla:

This building is in San Francisco:

A mountain lion carved from a tree stump in Mill Valley:

Lord Snort from recycled metal in Healdsburg:

Moving on to a batch of signs. This former bulbs and sputnik-ish detail is mid-pole at the Puerto Vallarta restaurant in Hanford:

Sam’s Anchor Cafe in Tiburon:

This former Bob’s Big Boy sign in Fresno was recently repurposed for a cannabis store:

A detail from the Pine Cone restaurant in Sebastopol:

The Milt’s Coffee Shop sign now installed at the Kern County Museum in Bakersfield:

Caldron’s Jewelers in Tracy closed in 2021 but this sign remains over the vacant space:

The SureSave Market sign in Madera:

The Linder Hardware (also closed) sign in Tulare:

A couple of San Francisco signs. Neon directly over vitrolite on Mission St. Established in 1908 and still operating:

This sign with the “tipsy” martini” was repainted recently. I’m sure it had neon originally:

Let’s end this post with this sign. The Hotsy Totsy sign in Albany in looked like this until just a few weeks ago:

The new owners wanted to it to be known that management had changed and asked for these colors. The neon was reinstalled just a week after my photo:

That’s it for now. I’ll be back soon as we get back on track with the summer trip’s Missouri stuff and eventually Illinois.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

Let’s start off with a couple buildings. The Royal Theatre is in Versailles. The neon appears to be in good shape:

This restored Skelly gas station is in Stover. It now houses an ice cream shop:

Let’s move on to some statues. This Mortimer Snerd statue in Lake Ozark was restored and reinstalled earlier this year (across the street from another International Fiberglass statue, an Indian Chief, which was restored in 2016). For more about these Mortimer Snerd statues, see my website here: https://www.roadarch.com/giants/ifsnerds.html

This wood-carved fisherman and animals is located in Stockton:

This swan is installed in front of a house in Warrensburg. The bird’s back has a little slide and there are some built-in steps on the other side. I suspect this was used in conjunction with a pool:

This former Sirloin Stockade bull is located in Windsor. I have dozens of these statues at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/critters/bulls2.html

This Rexall Drug is in Warsaw. Notice the under canopy plastic sign which are even rarer now than the panel signs above:

This motel sign in Eldon was blown apart into 40 pieces by a tornado in 2019. The panels were bent and all of the neon and bulbs were destroyed. Here’s what some of the sign looked like.

This video shows the damage and restoration of the sign and buildings:

The owners got it all put back together and reinstalled the following year. Here’s what it looks like now:

Lee Mace’s Ozark Opry in Osage Beach opened in 1953. By the 1960s, (unknown photographer, photo from 1988 at Facebook shown below), the Ozark Opry panel had letters on top of corrugated plastic. I suspect that part of the sign was neon originally but I can’t find any early photos. Or it’s possible there was another pole sign there that was replaced with this one in the 1960s.

After closing in 2005, the building sat empty until it became a Sears in 2014. The Ozark Opry panel was replaced with new flat panel then. In 2023, the building began housing a Harbor Freight store and the sign was adapted again:

Stewart’s Restaurant opened in 1953 in Lake Ozark. Earlier this year, the business and sign moved down the street to this former hotel/gas station/cafe:

I don’t know if the sign was built in 1953 or later. The oval must have been added after the 1960s:

This sign is in Bolivar. Goldena’s opened in 1988. This sign is probably from the 1960s and must have had a different name before Goldena’s took over.

This sign is in Camdenton. The motel has been there since at least 1960. The sign had slightly different wording then but the same neon star:

This one is in Warsaw. The motel was built in 1940 but the sign is probably from the 1950s:

This sign is in Lake Ozark and is probably from the 1950s. Evidently, the arrow was added later:

The motel has closed and there are plans to demolish it. I don’t know what the plans are for the sign.

That’s it for now. There was a delay for this post since I took a couple of extended weekends trips to shoot things in the Los Angeles/Orange County area and on the way to/from NeonSpeaks in San Francisco. I’ll sneak in some blog posts for those trips soon before we get back to the Missouri stuff.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

There was some sketchy weather on Day 9 so the photos are pretty depressingly gray. I’m combining two days for this post. Check out those gray skies in the background – the kids & Ronald McDonald in Bethany:

The bread slicing machine was invented in Chillicothe:

This Art Deco building with polychrome, glazed terracotta tiles is in Kirksville. There are a bunch of missing black tiles around the horizontal window. I’m not optimistic that those can or will be replaced:

Miller’s Rexall is in Macon. The interior (shot thru the front door when they were closed) looks so wonderfully old school. Check out that neon clock:

Speaking of old school — this still-operating combo Firestone tires business and appliance store is in Vandalia:

I’m always relieved to see Crescent Jewelers in Hannibal is still open and these marbled vitrolite tiles are still there:

Duval & Reid Menswear in Moberly opened in 1928. The building now houses an Italian restaurant but they kept the letters above the storefront and display a lot of vintage photos of the store in the left window:

One of the vintage photos in the window:

This jewelry store is also in Moberly. There are some missing tiles upper right but it’s still a pretty amazing building:

Just across the border in Keokuk, IA is this round motor bank with round canopies. It was built from 1969-1970:

How about a couple of former gas station? This one in Marshall has been vacant for decades. I love these simple, little box stations with tile roofs:

This former station is in Centralia. Most of these 1920s/1930s canopies are half the length — but this one could accommodate two cars (three if you count access to the pumps in front of the canopy).

The Keokuk Plant sign in Keokuk, IA was installed around 1925 when the Union Electric Company bought the building:

Around 1997, those letters at the bottom were replaced with the Ameren logo:

This company in Chillicothe opened in 1954. These signs might be from the 1960s. The ribbed white plastic background with affixed letters was common then. Around 2015, the blue panel was painted turquoise. There was previously an oval Carrier neon sign where the Lennox sign is now (replaced around 2016). The horizontal panel for the website was also added around the same time:

This sad-looking sign is in Carrollton. I managed to find a postcard showing that this was the Starliner Motel originally:

This Western wear store in Higginsville opened in 1969. This sign might be from then:

This sign in Concordia was built in 1951. It had been stashed in the attic for decades and replaced with a boring plastic box sign. New owners found it in 2021 and had the neon restored and the sign reinstalled:

This sign in Sedalia hangs above a long-closed nightclub/bar:

Two more special signs for this post. The Hotel Strand in Chillicothe was built in 1925. This sign or a similar one was there by 1931. The porcelain enamel panels have very rare patterning and the letters are embossed. In addition, the original service ladder is still there:

The Hotel Bothwell in Sedalia was built in 1927 and was originally part of the Sweet Hotel chain in Kansas and Missouri. Blowing up a postcard image, it looks like the original sign had bulbs instead of neon. And it was an “I”-shaped sign with Sweet on top and Bothwell at the bottom:

The “T”-shaped sign was definitely there by the 1940s. Here’s my photo from 2010 — note the crazy, scary service ladders – yikes!

Around 2020, the sign was restored – yay (but the ladders removed — bummer):

The canopy signs over the entrance are pretty special as well:

Back soon with more from Missouri.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram

The Missouri marathon continues! This former International House of Pancakes is in Kansas City (now a Mexican restaurant):

This modern sign in North Kansas City advertises for the Mop Bucket cleaning supplies store:

Another sign in North Kansas City. The store is closed and this sign might not be around much longer:

An 18-wheeler is installed on former Phillips 66 gas station supports in Faucett:

This Penguin Park kangaroo mom & baby in Kansas City were built in 1965:

A couple of giant bulls. This former Sirloin Stockade restaurant statue/sign now advertises for a meat market in Savannah:

This one in Kansas City is at the American International Charolais Association headquarters:

This Ray’s Dairy Diner sign in Fairfax originally advertised for a Dairy Queen:

Here are a few signs from St. Joseph. An arrow with electric light bulbs was originally installed above the Hi-Ho bar sign. By 2018, it had been replaced with this LED version:

This sign was installed at a different location a few blocks away and moved here along with the business when the building was converted to lofts. I assume that it originally had neon:

This Reddy Kilowatt sign came from Mound City and is now at the Patee House Museum. It’s in a really bad spot where you can only shoot from this angle and you have to push a button and run over to get close in about 2 seconds before the neon turns off. More about Reddy signs at my website here:

https://www.roadarch.com/sca/reddy.html

This Hy-Vee grocery store sign is in Tarkio. I think the only other one left is in Leon, IA. I wish they hadn’t painted over the blue background with beige paint:

This former Safeway sign is in Excelsior Springs:

Let’s close out with a few more things from Excelsior Springs. Ray’s Diner:

The Dari-B Drive-in opened in 1954 as the Dari-O Drive-in. The sign’s “O” was swapped for the “B”:

The Elms Hotel:

The Oaks Hotel was built as the Snapp Hotel. The name was changed around 1946 and this sign is probably from then. The building is now used for the Oaks Apartments:

Enough for now. Yet more Missouri soon.

Happy trails,
dj & the dogs

website | blog | Flickr | Instagram