Ploetz Furniture

Ploetz Furniture, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I guess I should've posted this yesterday and brought a glorious return to Neon Friday, but I was busy. Sorry.

Anyway, this excellent neon sign is for a long-standing furniture store in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Baraboo is a neat town in itself, with a charming downtown and an wonderful vintage movie theater. But this beauty was a complete surprise to me. I imagine it dates from the late fifties, maybe the early sixties.

The Ringling Theatre

Ringling Theater, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I suppose that I should have some sort of interesting, year ending post for you, but instead I have this, a shot I took on a sunny October afternoon. First, some history.

Opened in 1915, the Al. Ringling Theatre is located in the town of Baraboo, Wisconsin. Built by Albert Ringling (of the circus family - Baraboo was the winter headquarters of the circus for many years), this fantastic house was designed by noted theater architects Rapp & Rapp. Originally a vaudeville and silent film palace, the Ringling is still operating today, as a movie house (Lincoln was opening when I shot this). The Ringling is one of the oldest continuously operating theaters in the United States.

Anyway, I'd never heard of the place till I saw it. I was grinding along the highway, returning to my Chicago area home from a brief visit to Minneapolis. I'd gotten a late start on the drive up, ending up spending much of it on the road after dark, putting paid to my plans of doing some shooting along the way. So, I made sure I had the time to make at least one stop on the return trip-and was greeted with a spectacular day. I looked at my map and decided on the town of Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Why Baraboo? I liked the name - I remember seeing a picture in a book about trains, showing the station with a big sign on the side that said "BARABOO". It stuck in my mind as one of those classic upper Midwestern names, like Sleepy Eye or Oconomowoc, and I had a good feeling that Baraboo would have a great downtown.

I wasn't disappointed - Baraboo's downtown is quite charming, and I passed a nice hour looking around at stuff on this lazy fall afternoon. But really, to find a grand old vaudeville house, complete with neon sign, right downtown? I wouldn't have thought it, but there it was.

So there you have it, a short story to round out the year.

Midway Eat

Midway Eat, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Neon Friday!

I've been traveling past this sign for years and years now, but this is the first time I've managed to stop and shoot it. The Midway Restaurant in Random Lake, Wisconsin ("Random Lake? Somewhere over there" as I like to joke every time we go). It's a nice little diner, and does a good trade because of Road America race track, in nearby Elkhart Lake.

Keller's Good Food

Good Food, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Vintage neon restaurant sign, in tiny Genoa City, Wisconsin. I think this building has been remodeled-that flagcrete facade doesn't look as old as the neon. Either way, I'm glad that Keller's has kept their sign intact.

Lake Aire

Lake Aire, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, is located just over the border from Illinois, and has been a popular weekend retreat for many years. Lots of cool old buildings in the area, including the excellent, old-school Lake Aire Restaurant, with this fantastic slab over the door.

The place is packed all summer long. Naturally I went when it was rainy and cold-I'm kind of glad. The colors really popped.

Olympic Restaurant

Olympic Restaurant, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The Olympic is a well known, classic restaurant in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Their sign has undergone some modifications-I'm pretty sure it said something other than "breakfast"-and Midwestern winters haven't done it many favors. But it still works, mostly, and the restaurant is still going strong in this fun little resort town.

I also have no idea what the Olympian Breakfast includes-I've never been there early enough!

Dino Supreme

Dino Supreme, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Sinclair gasoline has been sold since the early 1900's, and is one of the oldest brands still in use. It's also well known for it's green dinosaur logo, which dates to the 1930's. Sinclair sponsored a dinosaur exhibit at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair, to demonstrate the correlation between gasoline and the age of dinosaurs. The exhibit included a big, animatronic Brontosaurus, and led to a popular line of Bronto promotional toys given away at the stations. The rest, as they say, is history, and Dino became the company's mascot. This station, in Wisconsin Dells, even features a big Dino the Dinosaur straddling the station's entrance.