Day 1: New Jersey

Posted on March 12, 2010March 13, 2010 by roadsidenut

Surprise! I snuck out a day early to get this trip started. I had an errand to run in South NJ so I took the day off from work and got a few hours start on my list. The weather is really horrible, crummy, lousy, awful with unrelenting rain. The forecast is for another three days of the same. A rather depressing and frustrating way to start a trip. Tim Gunn would say, “make it work”. The traffic added an additional challenge today. Still, I got some decent photos for the blog & Flickr.

The dogs were overly hyped and barking constantly. I made a few pit stops so they could run but it was obviously not enough. The van and my pants are already nice and muddy on Day 1. The dogs usually settle into the road routine on the 3rd day. Til then, I’m doing a lot yelling and warning Grem that I’ll pull over and put that collar on her. Gulp, the threat of the citronella barking collar is usually enough to quiet her down. For a couple minutes anyway. MinPins were born to bark.

So let’s move on to the photos – the reason that you’re all here! Since the weather was so crappy, I focused on gathering goodies for the blog rather than the important stuff for the website & Flickr.

First up, a couple side-by-side motel signs in Absecon or Galloway. Google can’t decide which. The Ten Acres (although spelled Tenacres on the sign) has busted neon but it looks like they’re keeping the paint up.

And next door – don’t know the name but I doubt it was really the “Poo Motel” (grin). This wooden sign is pretty much buried in the trees and probably what’s holding it up. The motel itself is long gone. Note you can see the Ten Acres sign in the distance.

A rather eerie mannequin driving this covered wagon at Pistol Pete’s Saloon in Pleasantville:

A nice Chevy bow tie “scaffold sign” on top of an updated showroom in Egg Harbor Township. I’m betting that this one is still lit at night:

Also in Egg Harbor Township – love this guy! The holes suggest he had neon at one time. Or maybe, from their irregularity, he was just the victim of target practice:

From Mays Landing. The Custard Castle is closed for the season or maybe just sensibly closed on Fridays when it rains. Love the roof detail:

A gardening cowboy from Hogbin’s Nursery in Williamstown. I don’t know if he’s old or new. But it doesn’t matter since he’s fantastic. A metal sign, gaining a bit more rust today. That’s Sparkle waving “hi” from the right.

Also in Williamstown, I went to check out this “mini Pebble Palace”. It really was mini — just this one little clump of stone sculptures. But still kinda cool. I imagine it has or had some fountain action.

I have tried unsuccessfully three times over the years, including today, to find that other, larger Pebble Palace in Deptford. All my sources say on Rte. 47, just a few feet off the road. I’ve scrutinized the recent photos with the white house and drive up and back far, far in both directions. Still can’t find it. Can anyone provide a cross street or address for this place?

I’ve been wanting to see the “Nipper Building” in Camden for a long time now. Although the stained glass windows in the tower are recent replacements, they’re still very neat. This RCA building was one of several here – the others were demolished. The building now houses the Victor Lofts. Here’s some more about it:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=7426
I’ve also got some Nipper statues over at my website if you’re interested:
http://agilitynut.com/critters/dogs.html

Quite a paint job on this bowling alley in Brooklawn! Something tells me, not the original colors. Although the sign is missing both bulbs and neon, it still looks pretty cheery in lemon yellow.

I’d love to know the history of this motel in Brooklawn and see photos of it before the Red Carpet Inn bland-ified the rooms. There were hints of little turrets on the buildings around the big courtyard layout. I also can’t figure out what the screens on this sign tower are about. Postcards anyone?

One more sign before I go – the Pennant East rock club in Bellmawr. The sign is evidently from 1992 – I would’ve guessed older. The club was originally Dick Lee’s from 1956-1992. What did we do before Google!

So here’s the plan for the next few days. Tomorrow, I’ll be starting on MD. Probably about 3 days in MD and VA and then on to NC for about 3 days. I’ve been to these states many times before but stuff has piled up on my “To See/Shoot” list. Also, lots of ancient & ugly photos at my website for these states that really need reshooting and I’ll try to get to a lot of that, too. Do a sundance for me, will ya?

Name That Station #1: Phillips 66 vs. Pure Oil Cottages

Posted on March 11, 2010 by roadsidenut

I get lots of emails asking for help with identifying gas stations. While I don’t consider myself an expert, I have studied them for years and I’m happy to help when I can. The subject is way too big for one post so I’ll just offer some basics here about a couple brands & designs and revisit the subject between roadtrips later on.

There’s a lot of confusion out there between Phillips 66 and Pure Oil cottage-style stations so let’s start with some generalizations about them. It’s actually very easy to tell the difference. Here’s a classic Phillips 66 from Chandler, OK:

Note the chimney at the front (although not all P66 cottages had these) and the steep gable above the arched doorway. The round windows on the chimney and the side of the building originally had glass Phillips 66 logos. This station still has the multi-colored roof tiles.

Here’s another example of a P66 from Stratford, TX. Note that this station has the chimney is to the right side of the door. There’s also an original “P” on this chimney. Not all P66s had chimneys but the buildings all basically looked like this.

Even this early P66 in McLean, TX (the first built in TX) had a similar design:

Now then, here’s a typical Pure Oil station from Englewood, OH:

Although the siding has been added, the other building features are original. Note the differences between this design and the P66 design: chimneys on the sides of the building, the copper hoods above the left window and doorway, the flower box on the small window on the right, the step and hand rails at the door, the blue porcelain enamel roof tiles and chimney tops.

Here’s what Pure Oil’s “P” looked like on the side of their chimneys – skinnier and more Gothic in style than the ones that Phillips 66 used. This one is from Washington, NC:

The smaller Pure Oil windows had faux open shutters. The drainage spouts bore “Ps” as well. There were also brass lamp light fixtures. This Lyons, NY station still has all of these things. There would also have been a flower box below the shuttered window:

Pure Oil had a few variations of these cottages but with the same details. Here are a few other examples. From Dayton, OH. Even with the office details stripped, you can tell where the larger window would have been. Even with the roof extended in front a bit, the blue roof tiles and chimneys are there. The office was messed with quite a bit here: the door is now where the little window was & the details are all gone. The brick work here is original and has been emphasized with red and blue paint. This station has what I call the “slopey bay” on the left – another common design element used by Pure.

Here’s the same basic Pure Oil design with a canopy from Jacksonville, FL. Phillips 66 did not make a canopy version of their cottage stations. Note all the door & window details described above are still there:

Pure Oil also produced what I call the “fat chimney” design. This one is from Lynchburg, VA. The chimneys are still on the sides of the building and there’s that step-up doorway with railings. Notice also the weathervane on the service bay part of the building – another uniquely Pure Oil element used with the fat chimney design.

So I hope that helps. Other oil companies produced cottage stations as well but the details described above should lead you to correct conclusions. For lots of other examples of Phillips 66 and Pure Oil stations, have a look at the gas station section at my website:
http://www.agilitynut.com/gas/main.html

snapshots from home (part 2 of 2): dogs & buildings

Posted on March 10, 2010March 10, 2010 by roadsidenut

My mornings are spent with my dogs in Prospect Park which is just a block from my apartment. Dogs are allowed off-leash before 9am so I drag myself out of bed after 4 hours sleep to get us there every day. Dogs are only allowed off-leash in the “meadow” but that area is huge, absolutely HUGE. I don’t know how many acres it is but it’s more than any dog park I’ve been to anywhere in the country. It’s not fenced so you do want to train a recall and carry tasty morsels with you. The roads are pretty far away so there should be enough to keep your dogs busy and safe. There’s also a great local organization, FIDO Brooklyn, that organizes monthly Coffee Barks, an annual Bark the Herald Angels event, seminars and helps reunite lost dogs with their owners.
http://fidobrooklyn.com/

Looking north:

Looking south:

All this looked completely different until a few days ago. We got a ton of snow this winter and it was nothing but white and icy for months. Suddenly, we have 40 and 50 degrees days. The trees have no signs of buds yet. I should also say that this was a weekday morning. On the weekends, there are maybe five times as many dogs and people.

The sudden appearance of grass and dirt means the ground is now fascinating to the dogs. Here are the butts of my pack of four in the foreground:

And Grem finding something stinky enough to merit rolling in:

A Corgi enjoying a mudbath:

I took a bunch of photos of my dogs running after balls and bringing them back. But I believe I’ve posted a number of those already at this blog. So I’ll spare you those and just include a nice group shot. If you’re not familiar with the cast, left to right is “Grip” (Gripper), “Nik” (Sputnik), “Grem” (Gremlin), and “Fix” (Fix). You’ll be seeing a lot of them here I’m sure on the upcoming trip (leaving Saturday).

Here a couple of my good chums from the park: Glenn & Habibi and Douglas & Chi Chi:

People that get up at 7am every day to take their dogs to the park are a special “breed” themselves.

The Prospect Park dogs are an even mix of mutts and purebreeds, all sizes and shapes, and 99.9% well-mannered. I’m pleased to report that there are a lot of rescue dogs from shelters. Here are some charming park regulars:

While many owners are off at their day jobs, they pay dogwalkers to bring the dogs to the park. Most of the dogs lounge on this hill in an enormous pack.

OK, shall we move on out of the park for some buildings on the short walk home? Park Slope, my ‘hood, is part of “Brownstone Brooklyn” which is usually defined as an area that runs from the park to Brooklyn Heights (the closest neighborhood to Manhattan). Most of the residential buildings in the landmarked areas are from the late 1800s. Not really my era – I prefer 1920s onward and especially 1950s-1970s – but I’d have to be heartless not to think these buildings were stunning. The craftsmanship and variety is incredible. Here’s a little strip of repetitively gorgeous limestones:

And some details from other buildings:

There among all the architectural splendor is this anomaly: the Pink House. The owner painted it pink back in 1968 when there were no landmark laws against such things. There has been some talk of the owner, who is in his 90s, selling the place. In which case, the building would most likely be repainted. A house this size in Park Slope goes for about $2 million.

This old fire call box is right across the street from my building so I have great personal attachment to it. I believe it’s cast iron and probably from the late 1800s. There’s a modern-looking metal fire alarm device on the other side of it so I think it’s still functional.

A block away from me is this thing which I call the “freaky tree”. The bronze sculpture is actually called the “Tree of Hands” and is composed of two trees that wind around each other. The bronze hands convey some sort of message in sign language. I don’t know what they say but it’s probably some groovy peace & love sort of thing. Nevertheless, it scares me.

snapshots from home (part 1 of 2): work, work, work

Posted on March 9, 2010March 10, 2010 by roadsidenut

I thought I’d do a couple posts with a local and personal slant for a change. Some of you might think that I make a living doing this roadside thing. Far from true! I only make a couple hundred bucks per year from donations & magazines/books using my photos. So until the Travel Channel offers me a reality show, or Diet Coke or Chevrolet become sponsors, I’ll be toughing it out here in NYC, putting in 60-hour weeks to pay for these big roadtrips.

Here are a couple buildings that have been part of my daily life for many years. This is one of my favorites that I pass every day on my walk to the subway to work. Known as the Montauk Club, it was built in 1891 in the Venetian Gothic style. It was inspired by the Ca’ d’Oro in Venice. The building is used a lot for movie shoots and weddings.

terra cotta details with Montauk Indians & European settlers:

cast iron fences:

I’ve worked in this building in Manhattan for about 14 years now. The building at the left with the “Credit Suisse” nameplate is actually a separate building. My building is the Art Deco one on the right. It has a stunted look because it was never finished. There were plans for 100 stories but then the Depression happened and they just capped the building off at 29 floors.

Lots of nice exterior details:

including several of these still functioning bronze & glass lamps which must be about five feet tall:

It was originally Metropolitan Life’s North Building and there is still a skywalk connecting the two buildings. I don’t believe the skywalk is used any more:

I’d love to take some lobby photos but I’m sure the guards would tackle me. I can only find one interior photo on-line which doesn’t show much but you get the idea: loads of marble, oil portraits, and high ceilings.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37896716@N00/191148893/

From the 20th floor, here’s a view of the Met Life Building and its clock. There are clocks on all four sides of the building. The modern building to the left was completed last year:

And here’s my desk — for the day anyway. We are moved around where needed like little document processing soldiers. When asked what I do for a living, the simplest answer is “fancy typing”. I know nothing about technical computer stuff — but I can do just about anything in Word, Excel or Powerpoint.

Canada Dry Buildings

Posted on March 8, 2010 by roadsidenut

I have long been fascinated with bottling plants. As a child, I remember going on a field trip to the local Coca-Cola plant in Ventura, CA. It was spellbinding watching the assembly line conveyor belts with bottles being filled and loaded into wooden boxes. I don’t remember what that building looked like but I don’t believe that it’s still around. There are probably 100 or so old Coca-Cola buildings that survive around the country. However, there are very few examples of buildings from other brands. I don’t know if it’s that the buildings were not noteworthy or if they were destroyed.

Anyhow, I wanted to share this great little page of photos and research that traces the history and remaining examples of Canada Dry plants.
http://silverspringhistory.homestead.com/canada.html

I have several examples of these 1940s Canada Dry buildings scattered around my website — here are a few:

In Silver Spring, MD – from 2006 when the building was being converted into the Silverton condos:

here’s the finished product:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdmarkus66/3233989985/

In Minneapolis, MN – from 2008 when I believe it was being used as some sort of warehouse:

In Cincinnati, OH – from 2006 when it was home to the Giminetti Baking Co (which I believe is still there):

In San Diego, CA – from 2009, now obviously converted into a furniture store:

[photo above courtesy of Gregory May]
also, a photo of the front of the building at the store’s website:
http://www.consignmentclassics.net/

Keep an eye out for these distinctive buildings and let me know if you find any others. If you’re interested in Coca-Cola and other bottling plants, here’s a link to that section of my website:
http://www.agilitynut.com/beverage/main.html

Little Taverns

Posted on March 7, 2010March 7, 2010 by roadsidenut

If you’re not familiar with Little Tavern restaurants, or even if you are, I think you’ll really enjoy a peek at what Spencer Stewart has put together on the subject. Spencer has been photo-ing and researching diners for many years. He’s now become obsessed enough with Little Taverns that he’s been making models of them — one nearly life-sized. His recent post contains loads of info and vintage photos:
http://dinerman.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/little-tavern-locations-updated-list/

I’ll give you a quick “snapshot” here. Little Taverns were inspired by White Castle restaurants. By the 1940s, there were nearly 50 of these little porcelain enamel clad buildings installed in the DC/Baltimore area. Here’s a photo from 1972 of Harry Duncan, the founder of Little Tavern, posing with a model of what the buildings looked like originally:

photo credit: http://silverspringhistory.homestead.com/LittleTavern.html

Although the last location closed in 2009, a handful of Little Tavern buildings still survive. This location in Laurel, MD was the most intact example of the chain in 2004 when I took this photo. I hope these signs have been stashed away somewhere because as far as I know, these were the last remaining examples of them.

By 2008, the signs were gone, the door bricked up & building details removed as this building was converted into a donut shop:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/army_arch/2787171142/

This location in Baltimore was demolished shortly after I took this photo in 2003. Note the then intact “Buy ’em by the Bag” sign on the side of the building:

Not all the news is bad. This location in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC was restored over several years and put to use in 2007 as “Sweetgreen” (a salad and frozen yogurt place):

For more photos and info, I have a couple pages about Little Taverns at my website:
http://agilitynut.com/eateries/lt.html

And be sure to check out Spencer’s post mentioned above.

Revving the Engine

Posted on March 6, 2010March 6, 2010 by roadsidenut

A long overdue hello to my virtual passengers. With another big roadtrip just a week away, I thought I’d touch base and make sure I remembered how to log in and post to this blog. Yes, I’ll be posting here nightly as the dogs and I head South for a month. I got Sparkle checked out this week and spent close to $1,000 for new front & rear brakes, a tune-up, etc. So hopefully this will be a safe and trouble-free trip.

I’ve been toying with a new blog approach for awhile now. Not that I’m ready for a big commitment but I would like to post now and then from home base when I come upon something I consider noteworthy or fascinating. To me anyway. I have a few ideas and will post them between now & the trip. These little quickie posts will probably be mostly links to other sites that I hope you find interesting.

First item of this “series”. Last August in Chicago, I came up this nice building feature & posted it here at the blog:

Well, one bit of info led to another as things often do when you’re surfing the ‘net. Turns out, this is a partially obliterated Stege Brewery logo. And part of a phenomenon known as “tied houses”. The Schlitz Brewery was the most prolific producer of these and there are still lots of really nice examples remaining. The Forgotten Chicago website has a fascinating, photo-rich discussion of them here:
http://forgottenchicago.com/features/chicago-architecture/tied-houses/

There are also lots of nice photos of these Schlitz buildings at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=schlitz%20building&w=all

Day 31: 8/09 Heartland Tour (final post)

Posted on August 31, 2009September 1, 2009 by roadsidenut

The last day of the trip was pretty unexciting. Not much to shoot on I-80. But there was a quick stop in Harrisburg, PA to shoot a few things. Glad I forced myself to take that break. There’s only so much that coffee and radio can do.

Across the street from a diner that I shot were these twin garages:

Some nice details on the one at the left:

And taking a lazy route back to the interstate, I came upon this funky sign. Probably faux deco rather than the real thing but still fun:

The worst part of the drive was the last hour and a half. Traffic backed up for about an hour in NJ waiting to get into the Holland Tunnel. Ugh. Bad enough but torture when you have to pee. And then the hunt for parking for about a half hour. Ah, life in the Big City.

So, let’s recap with some of the stats of this trip. 30 days, 11,900 miles, and $1942.56 in gas. Sparkle ran flawlessly and now has over 220,000 miles on her. Whoever says you have to get rid of a vehicle when it has 100,000 miles must never have had the pleasure of owning an Astro Van. Grem only ran off, what, three times? But I came home with all four of my monsters — and managed to help reunite a fifth dog with its owner.

The rain, yes, the rain hampered my shooting a bit. I haven’t counted up the photos but based on previous trips, I probably have about 4500 photos for the website. Which will take some time to get ready, research, and insert. I’ll make Xmas my goal. You can keep an eye on the “what’s new” page at the website to monitor my progress if you like:
http://www.agilitynut.com/whatsnew.html

Settling back into the groove here. I’m anxious to get back to the Midwest for Part II next summer. I have untouched stacks of maps and lists right here staring back at me. If somebody wants to send me say $10,000, I’ll go back there next week and finish up.

If you’ve been slogging through my blog on a daily basis and will now be suffering from withdrawal, you might want to check out the more “serious” stuff — the photos taken and uploaded simultaneously over at Flickr during this trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/sets/72157621743650868/

No food photos for you (although I could’ve gotten my NYC bagel I suppose) but I took a few of the dogs this morning for you to close with. For those of you that are not familiar with “stoops”, they are a big part of city life at least out here in the Northeast. Used kind of like a tiny porch — people hang out on the steps to talk, eat, have “stoop sales” (like garage sales). Anyhow, this one is one of my favorites with the leafy detail right across the street from my apt.

And then, this is my stoop — a larger shot to show you the worn but still nice detail on the front of it. The steps lead up from the left to this part. I’ve lived in this apartment for about 18 years so it’s about time I took a photo of this!

I hope you enjoyed our trek through the Midwest. Come join us again in the spring when we head south. Or just maybe I can sneak in a week or two before that to take a blogable trip in the long ignored Northeast. Til then — may your own roadtrips and trips around town be enhanced with fun discoveries, tasty snacks, and great companions.

Day 31: Home and catching up – part I

Posted on August 31, 2009August 31, 2009 by roadsidenut

Alrighty then. Getting back to our usual routine here. The dogs were happy to run and swim in their regular “backyard” (Prospect Park). A dreary grey day here in NYC which feels more like fall. But since it’s Monday, there’s tons of weekend garbage leftover from the mobs on the weekend indicating, yes, it’s still summer. Grip ate half of a submarine sandwich I think. The other dogs ate stuff as well that I couldn’t get to in time to identify.

But back to Ohio. Yes, last true day of shooting and there were hundreds of miles between stuff. Although there wasn’t much for the website, I got a lot for the blog. I think I was just happy to be using the camera outside in the sun again. And sad that it’ll be awhile til we’re back out on the road again.

From Chillicothe, OH:

Road snacks from the Crispie Creme Donut Shop in Chillicothe — “since 1929”. I saw another store with the same name in Portsmouth later. So I’m not sure how many there were or if it was just these two. Orange cake donut with orange frosting and, on the right, cinnamon-filled donut on the right (with chocolate and peanuts on top). Both great.

A reworked bulb & neon sign in Portsmouth — better than taking it down:

and far cheerier than what they did to the Smith’s Drug Store sign downtown. Why they painted it over, I don’t know. The store is still there and open.

A nice streamline / art deco style building with vitrolite tiles and details. Also in Portsmouth:

In Ironton, a nice former gas station with well-preserved Kelly Tires sign. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an embossed Kelly sign before. I love the station’s metal canopy. The paint job makes for a nice study in blue and white with the beautiful sky & clouds.

Surely this sign in Ironton had neon originally — but it still looks pretty like this:

Another one from Ironton. This corner wraparound neon signs must have been pretty rare — or at least very few survive now. I can’t think of any others off the top of my head.

During my research session yesterday, I came across lots of ads for these big red plastic letters. So, for sure, they were big in the late 1950s, early1960s. And I couldn’t resist photo-ing this store in Gallipolis with the mint condition old car in front.

This ice cream stand is in Gallopolis. What I like, besides the blue and white sign / blue and white weather, is the integration of the sign and table/stools. Sparkle was allowed into the photo since she’s also white. And, no, I did NOT sample the strawberry shortcake — but I was tempted!

We were hugging the river that runs between Ohio and Kentucky — and later between Ohio and West Virginia — all day so there were a lot of signs, restaurants, etc. with river themes. And the dogs got a lot of last summer dips in. This cool paddlewheeler (is that what you call them?) model / sign was in Gallipolis:

In Jackson, the Lazy Dog Camp Resort had several of these nicely done handpainted signs:

A double-sided handmade sign — this was in or near Coal Run. While some people might criticize the quality of the artwork, okay so the proportions are a little off, I find it all the more endearing. Sure beats a plain text plastic box sign!

So while I was photo-ing a giant elephant statue in Beverly and asking around what his story was, someone mentioned that he might have come from the buffalo farm that has those Indian statues. Say WHAT? So I had to go check it out. I got some vague directions, got a little lost, got a little less vaguer directions and found it. Dixon’s Elk Run Buffalo Farm. The Indian statues turned out to be nothing special — less than life-size and plaster and all but one had been toppled. Vandals, weather, time? There was another elephant statue there, in the distance, partially submerged in a pond and grass — so I couldn’t really tell if it was related to the one in town. But while I was busy looking at statues, the dogs were busy losing their minds over these furry beasts. Believe me, I was extra careful opening and closing the van door so as to prevent anyone escaping. They’d have been goners if they’d gotten in kicking or head-butting range. A big male was already giving me Death Eye through the fence. This one with misshapen horns seemed rather curious about me and the bouncing, noisy van. On the way out of town, I passed a store with a fiberglass buffalo statue with a sign advertising “Dixon’s Buffalo Meat”. Made me very sad.

Marietta was the last stop for the day — and the last photo for today. This was in Marietta. I’ve seen those extended Cadillacs and Hummers — but I don’t think I’ve seen an extended mini van before. And certainly never one with a cow paint scheme.

Still one more brief post to come — have to go do some errands & make some phone calls. Post-vacation necessities ya know. So the final blog post might have to wait until tomorrow morning since I’m back at work tonight.

Day 30: St. Clairsville, OH to NYC

Posted on August 30, 2009November 21, 2009 by roadsidenut

We arrived safely home a few hours ago. A beautiful, sunny day — wished I had been shooting stuff intead of bored out of my mind on the interstate. I did shoot some stuff at a pitstop in Harrisburg, PA — probably post a few of those photos to Flickr tomorrow. Not sure if there’s anything blog-ish in there since we were only there for about 20 minutes. However, I’m still struggling to catch up here. After this post, I’ll get the final one done tomorrow.

So this was Friday, August 28th. I had just driven countless hours the day before from Nebraska to Ohio and gotten about four hours sleep. But when I arrived in Cincinnati, I got straight to work. Tod Swormstedt, the guy behind the American Sign Museum, is the former editor and publisher of Signs of the Times magazine. He had graciously invited me to the publishing company library to have a look at old bound volumes of the magazine.

I only spent a few hours there but managed to do a quick flip through 1957-1961 and took a couple dozen photos of things of interest. “Dee” did a better job than I expected. Not quite scan quality but good enough for my purposes. I hope to devote a full day or two on next summer’s trip to go through earlier and later volumes.

There was a lot of coverage in these magazines of old billboard signs. Such a cultural loss that none of these remain. The graphics and creativity were incredible. Lots of them included giant cut-out pieces like this one:

Many issues contained theme articles with sensory overload like this:

I believe all three of these signs are gone. I was mostly looking for info about and photos of signs that still exist — but some things were just too incredible not to pause and photo.

I love those weather ball signs — you know, like the one in Flint that changed colors to tell you to expect cold or heat or whatever.
http://www.grbj.com/GRBJ/Nav/Weather+Ball+History.htm
http://www.mnhs.org/exhibits/weather/weatherball.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_beacon

But I had never seen one with these cute sliding panels before.

So after Magazine Time, it was time to get together with The Man himself. Tod gave me a tour of the museum to show me some of the new stuff that I hadn’t seen before. And it was great to see all of it again. I hadn’t been there since 2006. The collection is mind-boggling with displays of signs from all eras and all media like this one:

There are zillions of photos over at Flickr but here are some old photos at my website for now as well:
http://www.agilitynut.com/signs/oh3.html

The big news is that Tod is hard at work getting a new space ready — hopefully, the new location will open in 2012 or sooner. It is HUGE. Like two football fields. And TALL. It may not look like much now — but try to imagine this space finished and filled with countless and colorful signs. This photo only shows part of the space. It was taken from the second floor where there are plans to have offices and a library. At the back left in this photo, there will be an operating neon shop where local signs will be produced/repaired and restorations for the musem will be done. The shop windows will allow visitors to observe the goings-on.

If you love signs, this will be Mecca. I urge you to contribute what you can to help with this exciting project — or just send Tod love notes.
http://www.signmuseum.net/home.asp

I’ll wrap up Ohio tomorrow… I’m off to sleep in my own bed right now!