View allAll Photos Tagged SignGeeks,
Fredericksburg, VA
Found this by driving the side streets in Fredericksburg; this factory had the appearance of being shut down and abandoned. The sign above the door reading "furniture" was painted on top of something else. I'm not sure what it used to say.
I was attracted (as I always am lol) to the grunge and decay. Also the red walls and red door were striking.
North Providence, RI
Further to the last photo I uploaded (the Christiansen's Dairy neon sign), as promised, here's a photo of two of their old Divco delivery trucks. There were three others in the parking lot as well; two of those appeared to be in good shape while one was quite rusty.
As I mentioned in the description of that photo, Christiansen's closed in 2019, almost 100 years after the company began. Right up until their closing, they continued home dairy delivery.
According to Wikipedia, "Divco was a brand name of delivery trucks built and marketed in the United States. Divco is an acronym which stands for Detroit Industrial Vehicles COmpany. Divco became known for its multi-stop delivery trucks, particularly in use as home delivery vehicles by dairy producers."
mamiya 6MF + 50mm f/4. expired kodak TCN 400 chromogenic B&W film cross-processed in E-6, push two stops. lab: the icon, los angeles, ca. scan: epson V750. exif tags: lenstagger.
mamiya 6MF + 50mm f/4. film: kodak portra 160. lab: the icon, los angeles, ca. scan: epson V750. exif tags: lenstagger.
Seligman, AZ. Route 66 beauty. Also I'm pretty much just on Instagram nowadays @saguarosally and focusing almost exclusively on signs.
Lake City, FL
Unfortunately we were there too early in the morning; they weren't yet open so we couldn't buy a t-shirt. We probably would have bought a few lol
Covina, CA
Loved the sign and wished we could have gone in, but we just didn't have the time. It looked like a great place.
Route/US 41
Tifton, GA
It's a shame the neon and bulbs are missing, but it's still a striking, wonderful sign. And even though the old Bulova clock is mounted on a pole on the street, in the sidewalk, it seems quite the coincidence it's right in front of a jewellery store. I'm thinking it's there on purpose.
The Roadside Architecture site states the store dates back to 1953 and the sign was probably installed then too. It's an oldie!
Route/US 1
Dinwiddie, VA
Despite the full window, this old garage had an abandoned, unattended look to it, and online it is listed as permanently closed. The coca-cola privilege sign had certainly seen better days, and I would love to know what the chunky green letters above the garage once spelled out. Another example, I guess, of fading small town america.
On US 9
Malta, New York
The Malta Drive-In Theatre has been in continuous operation since 1949. For sign loving photographers, it's worth a visit.
South El Monte, California
June 2021: Word from my sign buddies is that the Starlite Drive-In is in trouble. It hasn't shown movies for a long time but it has operated as a swap meet location. Now, the entire property apparently looks abandoned and there are real estate signs up, I hear. There is concern the sign may not make it, and is vulnerable to being vandalized right now. Such sad news to hear. It's such an amazing sign -- the neon is missing and so are a lot of the bulbs, but it is absolutely striking to see in person.
Franklinton, NC
According to Texaco's web site, this sign was introduced in 1963. It was a fun find as we drove off-interstate through North Carolina on our way north.
mamiya 6MF 75mm f/3.5. kodak portra 160. lab: the icon, los angeles, ca. scan: epson V750. exif tags: filmtagger.
Commerce, CA
While driving around Los Angeles looking for signs to shoot, we found a doozy. There are even a few stars in the swirl below the text, not to mention the nifty "lady". A tall, fun find.
abandoned gas station along old route 66 between barstow and victorville.
60 second exposure early in the evening before the full moon rose, lots of ambient sodium vapor light here. light painting on gas pumps with LED flashlight. 5x 60sec stacked exposures for star trails. nikon D7000 + nikkor 10-24mm.
Columbus, OH
According to what I read online, the Chatterbox had been in business since the late 1930s, under a variety of owners over the decades. Sadly, it looks like this longstanding community dive bar is now permanently closed.
North Hollywood, CA
When we travelled to Los Angeles for the first time in 2014 (I had been a loooong time ago, when I was a child), it was a long weekend that was a sign-shooting frenzy. I knew I wouldn't get to all that I wanted to shoot (and I sure didn't!) but I had a few that were on my must-shoot list -- and the Circus Liquor clown was one of them.
Confession: clowns creep me out. But I love this one -- as creepy as I find all clowns, including this one, I think this particular clown is still marvellous.
You've likely seen him before, even if you've never been to Los Angeles, as films and music videos have all been filmed in Circus Liquor's parking lot.
abandoned truck stop & diner along interstate 15 in california's mojave desert. mamiya 6MF 50mm f/4 + kodak portra 160. lab: the icon, los angeles, ca. scan: epson V750. exif tags: filmtagger.
Cornwall, ON
The neon and bulbs may be gone, but the Port is still in business and screening movies -- and nowadays, that's something to be thankful for!
From the Cinema Treasures web site:
"Opened December 26, 1941 as the Roxy Theatre. It was closed by Odeon Theatres (Canada) Ltd. in April 1961. It reopened in March 1963 and was renamed Port Theatre in July 1966. This is now Cornwall’s only remaining independent and single screen theatre."
Kissimmee, FL
I enjoy finding any sign related to art. I don't know what store/business this sign in downtown Kissimmee originally represented -- maybe a gallery or an art supply store -- and I think there used to be neon. I'm unsure. I do know that sadly, the last time I checked on this sign, it had been completely repainted and while the shape remained, that's it -- it was hard to tell it used to be a palette.
Los Angeles, CA
Serendipity. We had a red-eye flight back to Toronto the day I shot this image so, in the afternoon, we headed to the vicinity of LAX so it would be easy to return our rental car with plenty of time to catch our flight. We spent the time just driving around, exploring streets we hadn't driven before, with one eye on the clock. And as we did that, we came across these Stephan Plumbing signs. Pretty cool, right?
Jack Stephan served in the navy in WWII and, after the war ended, he started his own plumbing business in Los Angeles. Since I have never lived in Los Angeles, this plumbing business was not familiar to me, but I've learned online that Jack Stephan was well known for his commercials on local tv in the 70s and 80s.
Info about the signs from the always-informative Roadside Architecture site:
"Jack Stephan Plumbing & Heating had two animated neon signs. They are both at least 15 feet tall. One faucet pours water with sequentially lit strands of tubing. The other faucet has five drops which are lit in sequence. Chief Neon produced these signs in 1946 for $1,500. The signs had been dark since around 2015. The neon was a frequent target of rock-throwing vandals. The last estimate to repair the signs was $5,000. In 2018, these signs were donated to the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, CA."
I shot this photograph in late September, 2018, so I'm guessing I captured it shortly before the signs were removed to MONA in Glendale. Like I said, serendipity.
along the salton sea in the california desert, the full moon hidden behind the sign. bracketed HDR exposure to capture both the neon sign and the night sky. nikon D7000 + nikkor 10-24mm. HDR processed in nik HDR efex pro 2.
vintage polaroid SX-70 camera electronically modified to shoot 600 series film, impossible project B&W generation 2.0 beta test film. scan: epson V750. exif tags: lenstagger.
Los Angeles, CA
I was stoked to see this Warhol-inspired art as we were rushing towards LAX. I'm not sure where we even were but I think on La Cienega. I know we were near See's Candies.
I'm uncertain if this building still exists; I don't recall seeing this on our last trip to LA even though we specifically took a drive to See's for some goodies.