Grain Belt

Grain Belt, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The iconic Grain Belt Beer sign in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Erected in 1941, the sign originally sat atop a downtown club until 1950, when it was moved to it's current location on Nicollet Island. Featuring the early, pre-WW2 logo, the sign has 800 feet of neon tubing and 1400 incandescent bulbs in the lettering, which lights up sequentially. It looks great, but sadly, despite being restored in the 80's, the sign no longer works. Hopefully it'll be restored again someday.

Trolley

Trolley, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This is the former Chicago Surface Lines #3142, one of 169 steel "pay as you enter" streetcars ordered in the early 20's. Built in 1923 by the J.G. Brill Company, 3142 was used by CSL, and later the CTA, until 1953, when it was parked and used as storage at the CTA's South Shops. Donated to the Illinois Railway Museum in 1973, a fifteen year restoration finally put it back on the tracks. Today it is the only surviving CSL steel "arch roof" streetcar.

I saw this operating at the museum, and got it rolling past the Museum's Riverview billboard. I like to think that 3142 delivered patrons to the park at one time.

Lincoln Highway

Lincoln Highway, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Through the Viewfinder Tuesday!

The Lincoln Highway was the first named automobile road to completely traverse the United States, from coast to coast. Originally opened in 1913, the Lincoln's original stated length was 3,389 miles. It has been realigned several times, and over the years it has moved through 14 states, 128 counties, and over 700 cities, towns and villages.

Plenty of signs of the road exist all along it's length. Plenty of streets called "Lincolnway", signs old and new, and historical markers. This billboard is in the town of Franklin Grove, Illinois, which is the home of the Lincoln Highway Association as well.