We’ve shared lots of Curtis Perry’s old car shots over the years. But going through his Flickr photostream makes it obvious that he photographs a whole lot more. He’s an inveterate traveler who stops to shoot all kinds of things, including vintage signs. These are a time travel to a time when national chains and their instantly recognizable logos weren’t nearly as predominant, and the majority of roadside businesses were mom and pop operations. And distinctive signage was a key part of reeling in the customers. These were mostly shot in smaller towns in Oregon and neighboring states, about a dozen years ago. Who knows how many are still up?
Best one is the motel that says “Sorry”
Lol! Wonder what’s she’s sorry about?
Sorry no vacancies
Seems to read
“Sorry Apartments”
Poodle Dog is still there, even ate there several months ago for the first time in a decade or two.
Awesome signs! I’m a “ruin porn” junkie and these skirt with that genre. I think “SORRY” in the context of a motel sign means “NO VACANCY”.
Terrific collection! I particularly like the Sapp Brothers coffee percolator water tower. From what I recall, Sapp Brothers is a small chain of truck stops, and these water towers are used at multiple locations (though last summer when traveling through Nebraska, the Sapp truck stop I saw didn’t have one).
I think the percolator part lights up too.
The Town House Motel is also a terrific sign – possibly the most Space Age-ish sign imaginable.
Percolators were once the default way to make coffee; it’s been awhile since I was anyone use one.
We do! We have two actually, the one below and also a small one that we use when camping. We don’t use this one much, since it takes longer to make coffee, but it’s a treat when we do since gives coffee a distinctive flavor.
Whoa, I have the same percolator and a relatively similar stove- I had to do a quick double take on the photo.
I don’t use mine much either anymore because I’m the only one here who drinks coffee, so I tend to do single servings with my Aeropress. Much easier to clean.
Wow — pretty amusing! Incidentally, these Corning Ware percolators were recalled in the 1970s because the handle/spout assembly came come loose from the pot. We do use ours, but always grip it firmly with oven mitts and use caution. But the coffee from these percolators is really good.
Eric, thanks for the info- you might have saved me from some third degree burns down the road!
Note: Image is not mine. Sourced from Flickr no artist provided. Here’s a cool neon sign from a Dutlers Bowl in Mankato, MN and still in operation. I took a number of pictures of it at dusk with my then brand new digital camera. A couple years later I lost those along with a couple hundred others when my hard drive crapped out. Bought a separate hard drive after that.
‘Bern’s Tavern’ appeals to me. You have to love a place that promises you to ‘EAT’.
Also, is it mandatory that bowling alleys and motels have neon signs?
I love the photography and signs, must now google poodle dog.
The Poodle Dog is the pride of Tacoma, Washington, down near the port.
Except that the Poodle Dog is located in Fife, not Tacoma.
Many of these look like what one might see travelling along what remains of Route 66. Great shots!
Neon always reminds me of the ‘BLUE SWALLOW’ motel on Rt 66 Haven’t been for awhile, was always lovely place.
The rexalll sign took me back to our village drugstore which was a wonderful place for a five year old as they sold matchbox cars!
Oh yeah…and a bunch of medicine and stuff.🚓🚕🚗🚙🚑🚜
Count me as another who loves these old signs. Sadly, most of them either outlive their businesses or their businesses outlive them.
There are not many of the old ones left around Indianapolis. One exception is at the Red Key Tavern, an area that has stayed fairly nice, allowing the old bar to remain in business.
I found a few on the internet. Here is a pizza place.
Art Moderne and Googie architecture and design themes produced the most expressive, wonderful neon sign art and design. What we have now is all so sophisticated …and boring!
Benton Harbor, Michigan
What a great collection of signs! Thank you so very much for sharing!
Here in Sacramento, my favorite is Gunther’s Ice Cream (since 1940). Here’s a link to a GIF that shows the animation:
https://images.app.goo.gl/f8a6WgueRVWid4oh9
His photography is fantastic. I too love old signs. It’s a neat window from a bygone era. This is a local ice cream shop that once was an ice cream producer in Cookeville, TN.
Curtis’ sign shots really are beautiful.
In my neck of the woods, one of the last remaining big classic neon installations is finally coming down. A used car lot will be making way for more condos. The old neon will be salvaged though and moved out to CA.
(Edit: reread the linked article and they updated it to reflect the car lot neon will stay in the Chicago area.)
Might be behind a pay wall, but just in case: https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/02/11/car-town-on-western-avenue-slated-for-demolition-iconic-neon-sign-headed-to-california/
One more… 30 years ago when I lived just west of the city the greatest neon sign was for Kiddieland, an amusement park at the corner of North Ave and 1st Ave, a few miles from the city limits.
The amusement park is now a Costco. But the sign lives on… it’s now in the parking lot of the local public library. I happened to drive out there to visit relatives right before the shutdown; it was great to see it again.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kiddieland-sign
One more shot, not lit but closer up.
Really brings back memories Paul. My favorite is the first shot of O. K Tires. The style of the letters looks remarkably similar to the OK Used Cars sign Chevrolet dealers used to denote their used car lot. I don’t know if GM trademarked that OK but if they did the OK Tires sign could have gotten around that by having the little man saluting as part of the sign. Rexall drugs must have been part of a franchise as most small tows in Indiana always had a Rexall Drugs store with the franchisee’s name on the sign like in your photo. I also liked the water tower being depicted as a coffee percolator. Reminds me of the Leave It To beaver episode where Beaver gets stuck in a steaming soup bowl on a billboard.