View allAll Photos Tagged signgeeks
I am really pleased that JPG Magazine has chosen this as their Photo of the Week!
jpgmag.com/live/evans-gas
Photographed on US 1 in the outskirts of Manson, NC
Headed out to the Kitchener-Waterloo area a few days ago and was delighted to discover this gem.
Waterloo, ON
North Wildwood, NJ
I wish there were more signs like this terrific neon beauty at the Matador Oceanfront Resort.
mamiya 6MF 50mm f/4 + kodak portra 160NC, 10sec exposure on tripod. lab: the icon, los angeles, ca. scan: epson V750. exif tags: filmtagger.
Los Angeles, CA
This ornate neon sign is full of great details, like the chicken in a basket, and the lovely flower at the top. I didn't get a photograph of it at night but I bet it's stunning when all lit up.
Syracuse, NY
This is the coolest dollar store I've ever seen! Does anyone have any knowledge -- or guesses -- about what this was before it was a Dollar Tree?
My guess is the circle on top could have once been a globe. Maybe a Norge location?
UPDATE: Thanks to Dean Jeffrey for the reminder that I should ALWAYS check Debra Jane Seltzer's always-helpful Roadside Architecture site! Here is what she has to say about this......mystery solved!!
"This building originally housed Mandy's Drive-in. It was built in 1964. The restaurant specialized in roast beef sandwiches. It was a walk-up stand with no car hops or indoor dining. The sign which is gone now, the roof, and the ball on top of the building were all turquoise at that time. The building was designed by Toby Nadel and Edward Fisher. Mandy's closed in 1969 and briefly became "Archie's Drive-in".
The box-like building was added later when the place was turned into "Kid's Town", a toy store. In 2003, the building houses "Record Theatre Audio & Video". It is now occupied by a "Dollar Tree" discount store. Dollar Tree removed the circular counter which I believe was original but left the wood ceiling. The ball on the roof is still illuminated at night."
the empty desert of the eastern antelope valley, where old couches and television sets return to nature.
mamiya 6MF 50mm f/4 + kodak portra 160NC. lab: the icon, los angeles, ca. scan: epson V750. exif tags: filmtagger.
Columbus, OH
Buckeye Donuts refers to itself as a "Columbus Classic" and indeed, it's been serving the locals since 1969. Located right in the heart of the Ohio State campus area, this fun sign caught my eye as we explored this extremely busy and bustling area.
Columbus, OH
Plastic-fantastic, neon, and bulbs (well, missing bulbs) along with a nifty red arrow -- all in all, a very cool sign.
on the carnival midway at the 71st annual carrot festival in california's imperial valley. mamiya 6MF 50mm f/4 + kodak portra 400. lab: the icon, los angeles, ca. scan: epson V750. exif tags: lenstagger.
mamiya 6MF 50mm f/4. film: eastman kodak VISION3 5207 250D cut down to 120 from 65mm motion picture stock by nik & trick photo UK. lab: remjet removal & C-41 processing by the little film lab, menlo park, ca. scan: epson V750. exif tags: lenstagger.
El Monte, CA
Yes, I shot into the sun. A no-no, I know. But after editing the RAW file, I liked the results. Kinda groovy :-)
Warrenton, VA
The neon is missing from both the sign and Rip (the motel has other signage, not visible in this photo, where the neon is still intact) but that doesn't take away any of the charm. The motel started out in the 1930s, and I found a postcard for sale online from the 1950s that featured a different sign, so I'm guessing this sign originated around the 1960s.
Niagara Falls, NY
Elsewhere in my Flickr photos I have a closeup shot of this sign, taken at night. The very night this shot was taken, to be exact. I had to return that night after taking day shots, hoping it would be lit up. I was so glad it was.
The motel is neat and appears well-kept, and the sign is in great shape too, at least at the top. If you look close though, you'll see the rust.
Grand Falls/Grand-Sault, New Brunswick
Yes, it's a cool old motel sign (and the motel and restaurant looked old-school and inviting) but check out that happy, smiling potato. A potato!
It made no sense to me until we drove by a sign, shortly after finding this motel, for a McCain processing facility (McCain is a huge food supplier here in Canada, with potato products being their specialty).
Also, it's unfortunately positioned in profile, but the top of the sign is a nifty neon star pattern.
Cincinnati, OH
Terry's Turf Club was one amazing place, inside and out. It was a bucket-list shooting destination for me and was well worth the visit. Signs, signs...everywhere.
I shot the outside, both sides, then we went inside for a drink and a snack and I shot the inside, then back outside I shot some more lol
I say "was one amazing place" because it is not the same now. At least, not on the outside. All those signs you see? They're gone. From the always-helpful Roadside Architecture web site, here's the scoop:
"Terry's Turf Club displayed hundreds of signs from the collection of Terry Carter. Carter began collecting signs in the 1970s. Many of the signs were displayed in his previous restaurant, Neon's, which operated from 1988-2003. Among the signs on display in front of this more recent restaurant were eight mechanical signs. These waving signs included three chefs, two bellhops, a service station attendant, a Dutch Girl, and an Apple Annie. In 2018, it was announced that the place was closing and that the signs would be sold. In 2019, the place was sold and is now known as the Turf Club. The exterior signs were sold and removed. Most or all of the interior signs are still there."
US/Route 301
King George, VA
Crazy be damned -- the pig looks evil to me! lol
Unfortunately the Crazy Cajun is gone now, all closed up. I wonder where this devil pig ended up?
Arthur, ON
You can still get a Sprite at the Village Variety store in Arthur, Ontario, but this plastic-fantastic sign no longer will entice you to come in and buy one. The store's still there but this cheery, bubbly sign is gone.
The world famous Blue Swallow Motel. I have had a thing for this place for over two decades now. November 30, 2018: The day had been totally socked in by ugly leaden clouds. Then, just as the sun began to set the wind picked up and this began to happen. In full afterburner mode I shot the hell out of Tucumcari 66 with everything in my collection, favoring the Sony A7R-iii and the Velvia 50 packing Fuji GW690.
This is the Velvia 50 film shot, camera scanned with the aforementioned Sony. With my new 90mm Sony macro lens, I am resolving grain even in medium format film. So I'd say I am probably getting 95 percent of what is on this film. And that last five percent would probably demand something like a Hasselblad Flextight. At a cool $26,000, that is not going to happen. Good enough for a 24x36 print is good enough for me.
Montreal, Quebec
This sign proudly boasts what most Canadians know -- that Montreal is indeed fameux for the wonderful smoked meat found all over the city.
Vancouver, BC
In 1957, the original Save On Meats opened in downtown Vancouver -- a butcher shop that also featured a small restaurant area at the back. I grew up in Vancouver and remember going there with my grandmother when I was little. While the original closed in 2009, the location was revived and this wonderful neon pig is once again glowing -- night and day -- on Hastings Street.
mamiya 6MF 50mm f/4 + kodak portra 160. lab: the icon, los angeles, ca. scan: epson V750. exif tags: filmtagger.
On US 17
Newport News VA
Family owned and locally operated since 1954.
From their web site:
"For over 65 years, Wilcox Bait & Tackle has provided the Tidewater region and the entire east coast with a one-stop shop for all of their hunting and fishing needs. Starting from small beginnings as a corner grocery store, we have built up our business and expanded our available products to include some of the industry’s leading manufacturers and lines of pro outdoor gear."
US 20
Erie, PA
As an avid fabric lover, I was delighted to spy these old plastic-fantastic sewing-related signs as we travelled along US 20. I particularly like the Pfaff sign with the simple graphic of the sewing machine.
According to their web site, Yaple's has been "Family Owned and Operated Since 1948" -- just the kind of business every good neighbourhood should have!
Niagara Falls, NY
The sign is there, but the motel is not. If you look close at the sign, you can see little star shapes where I'm guessing small bulbs were inserted in the holes. This would have been a great sign to see at night, back in the day.
Pasadena, CA
The Glass House, on E. Walnut Street, has been serving Pasadena and the surrounding communities since 1945. That's a lot of glass!
Toronto, ON
First of all, PLEASE forgive me for the low quality of this shot. It was taken almost 10 years ago with my first iPhone, a 3GS. I was so happy to finally have an iPhone back then. Seems like ancient technology now, right? lol
I recently found this photo, on my computer buried in a folder within a folder within another folder. And I was SO stoked to find it! We used to live just a couple of blocks from here and would walk over to pick up our take-out chinese food. This was one of those old signs that we just took for granted, likely because it was local and so familiar. I don't know how long International Chop Suey was on Kingston Road, but I know it was a long time. I'm sure I remember this place from back in my high school days.
Well, the sign and the restaurant are long-gone now. This is a piece of Beaches history and, quality of the photo aside, I'm really pleased I took the shot -- and found it! -- and that I'm able to share it. I did a little photoshop editing to try to improve it, and I'm not sure I was all that successful, but it's still a treasure to me. Toronto has lost a lot of its old neon signage and so documentation of what we had is, I think, important.