J.C. Higgins

Bike, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

For almost sixty years, Sears sold sporting goods under the J.C. Higgins name. Originally named after longtime Sears employee John Higgins, an Irish immigrant who began working for the company in 1898, eventually becoming a vice president of the company before retiring in 1930.

The Higgins name continued to be used by Sears until 1968, and the company sold a wide range of sporting goods under the brand, from rifles to golf clubs. This included bicycles, including this farm-fresh fifties cruiser.

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.

World Real Estate

World Real Estate sign, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This beauty must have looked great all lit up at night. Note the tree branch growing through it.

Seen on the north side of Chicago several years ago-I've no idea if it's still there.

Moose Lodge 799

Moose Lodge-Elgin, IL, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

An oldie but a goodie! This vintage sign was on the Moose Lodge 799's building in downtown Elgin, Illinois. The sign was in pretty bad shape by the time I shot it in 2009, and the lodge had moved to a new location by then as well. But it still looked pretty cool, very Streamline Moderne. It disappeared sometime in 2010, reputedly stolen off the building.

Thinking about it, I've noticed that Moose lodges tend to have neon signs out front-I'll have to take a closer look as I drive around exploring.

The Colonial Motel

The Colonial Motel-Elgin, IL, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I don't know much (okay, anything) about the Colonial Motel, except that it's on the east side of Elgin, just off U.S. Route 20, the Grant Highway. Which makes sense, because the Grant is a coast-to-coast road, and motels dot the length of it.

Oh, and it has this excellent fifties sign out front-I can totally imagine rolling up in an old '59 Chevy, back in the day.

Doc Hudson

Doc Hudson, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A nicely presented Hudson Hornet sedan. I couldn't tell if it was original or a mellowed older restoration-either way it really popped on the show field.

A surprising number of kids shouted "DOC!" when they saw this car. He won the Piston Cup, after all!

The Guest House

The Guest House , a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Classic fifties motel on the north side of Chicago. The various signs here used to rotate, and must have looked amazing at night. I wonder if it stopped in this position-it's perfectly done to face the street-or if, when it broke, they moved everything around.

It's double sided too-the back says "MOTEL" and seems to have had a marquee on it as well.

Luxury in Miniature

Metropolitan, originally uploaded by William 74.

The Nash Metropolitan is a tiny, little two seater coupe or convertible, famed for it's cutesy looks, almost fully enclosed wheels, vivid two toned paint jobs, and it's cartoony proportions.

While most American manufacturers in the fifties were going with a "bigger is better" philosophy, bit player Nash was looking for ways to provide American drivers with more economical transportation. Based on an earlier design study, the Metropolitan was positioned to take advantage of the emerging market for "personal use" cars-second cars for shopping or commuting for shorter distances. Some of the Met's design cues are also directly targeted at another emerging market-of the emerging number of women choosing their own cars. The Nash was the first car marketed directly to women (the Dodge LaFemme came a year or so later)-the first spokesperson for the car was the reigning Miss America, and Nash took out ads in Women's Wear Daily, among other women's magazines.

Built by Austin in England, the little Metropolitan sought to provide a big car feel in a tiny package. To further this, it included such things as leather interiors, standard radio and cigarette lighters, those snazzy two tone paint jobs, whitewall tires, and jaunty little continental spares. It also included this almost comically oversized hood ornament-it almost seems too big for the car!

Finally hitting showrooms in 1954, the Metropolitan received mixed reviews. Testers found the car to be solidly built and nippy around town, but rather slow and noisy at faster speeds. Despite this, the little car sold respectably, garnering about 95,000 sales over a ten year lifespan. The final nail in the Met's coffin was the introduction of cheaper Ramblers within the AMC stable. The Met was always an expensive proposition, what with being built overseas and shipped to the States, and by 1960 you could get a much bigger, more powerful Rambler for only about $200 more.