Tivoli

Tivoli, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I believe we've visited Downers Grove's historic Tivoli Theater before. It's a nice old building, but it's marquee is kind of hard to shoot. It's only one-sided, and sticks out at a weird angle from the building. Plus you have to stand in the middle of the street to get a clear shot at it. Fortunately, even on a Saturday night, traffic's fairly light.

Central Furniture

Central Furniture Sign #2-Chicago, IL, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A bright-and-night of the Central Furniture Mart sign in Wicker Park.

The Catlow Theater

The Catlow Theater, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Vintage neon at the Catlow Theater in Barrington, Illinois. Opened in 1927, this single screen gem also hosted stage shows, and still has most of its vintage charm. I believe this sign dates from the postwar period, probably the fifties. It has that look about it.

And, in a bright bit of news, until late last year, the Catlow was facing an uncertain future, due to the movie studios moving towards all-digital formats over old fashioned film. Upgrading costs typically go to about $100,000 per screen, something the Catlow's owners couldn't afford. Fortunately, a Kickstarter campaign raised the necessary funding, and this absolute gem of a theater can continue to serve the Barrington area (as evidenced by the fact that Skyfall is on the marquee!).

Bowl-Mor Lanes

Bowl-Mor Lanes, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

When I become emperor of the whole world, I will decree that every bowling alley needs to have an interesting neon sign out front. Preferably a fifties style.

Spotted in Streator, IL.

Thompson Drugs

Thompson's Drugs, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A classic American brand name, Rexall had it's start in 1902, with the formation of the United Drug Stores cooperative, which sold products under the Rexall name. The cooperative developed a franchise system where independent drugstores could use the Rexall name and sell Rexall products. The company grew steadily, and by the late fifties was the largest drug store chain in the U.S.

However, by the sixties Rexall was beginning to come under attack from discount chains such as Thrifty Drug and Eckerd, which were able to drive prices down through block purchasing. By the 70's the company had sold off all of the company owned stores, but allowed franchisees to continue using the name. To this day you can still find Rexall drug stores here and there, usually in smaller cities and towns.

This beautiful vintage Rexall neon sign is on a nicely preserved sixties styled building in the town of Spring Valley, Illinois.

Robert's Western World

Robert's Western World, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Happy Neon Friday! Today we have a re-imagining of an old shot of Robert's, to make it look like....er....an older shot of Robert's.

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!