G.C. Murphy

G.C. Murphy, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

G.C. Murphy was a chain of five-and-dimes, founded in 1906 in McKeesburg, PA by George Clinton Murphy, and within three years had expanded to a dozen area locations. As the company expanded through the 1920's they became popular, particularly because of their locations in small and medium sized towns. Often, these towns were under-served for retail locations, and the well designed Murphy's stores, complete with lunch counters, would be a frequent and popular destination.

G.C. Murphy began to experiment with other types of store, eventually opening Murphy's Mart stores in suburban shopping centers to compete with Woolworth's and KMart type stores. These proved popular as well, and the company had grown to over 500 stores by the 1970's. In 1985, the company was purchased by Ames, which rebranded many older G.C. Murphy and Murphy's Mart stores, but a large number remained with the original names. McCrory's purchased the chain in the late 80's, but by the mid 90's had declared bankruptcy and closed many of their locations. By 2001, it was all over.

This G.C. Murphy tile entryway is in a former location in Streator, Illinois, just the sort of medium-sized town these kinds of stores flourished in.

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.

Estate

Estate, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

You see a lot of those little rectangular vacuform signs around-they were ubiquitous at one time and a lot of them have remained. Usually you'll see one or two segments on a given sign, but this one has eight-a definite record for me! Anyway, this carbon dated beauty is in Ottawa, Illinois.

Do they even make these signs anymore?

Larson's

Larson's, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This sign is a bit of a mystery to me. It's in the town of LaSalle, Illinois, tucked away from the downtown area, in a section that looks like it is (or was) a neighborhood shopping district. Just a few storefronts and an old gas station. The current business is an antique/junk type of shop (it didn't look open the day I was there), but it's not called Larson's. So I really have no idea what a Larson's is or was.My best guess is a restaurant or bar, but what's "BPS" mean?

I mean, look at it. This is a really nice sign. The colors are great, and most of the glass is still there, and it's not all rusted through. My research so far has turned up exactly one reference to this building, and that's my photo.

Any ideas?

Window Shopping

Window Shopping, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A funky antique shop in Rochelle, Illinois, that used to be in a bar or restaurant. At least, I think it was a restaurant, because the disused drive up window is still on one side. It's been unused for a real long time, though, because there's no outlet anymore-buildings have been put up since.

Anyway, I liked the packaging on these old trains, and I would love to take better shots of them from the other side of the window. I also like the car reflection-it turned out well.

Your Neighborhood Supper Club

Your Neighborhood Supper Club, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Plastic vacuformed sign outside the B.C. Club in tiny Arlington, Illinois. The restaurant appears to be one of two businesses in the town. At least I assume so, it may not be open-I didn't see signs to say one way or the other.

If Arlington sounds familiar, we visited their excellent-and now demolished-grain elevator last year.

Neon Friday!

Gish Jeweler-Mendota, IL, originally uploaded by William 74.

It's the end of the week, and you all know what that means-it's Neon Friday!

This week we're in the railroad town of Mendota, Illinois, looking at long-time merchant Gish Jewelers. Mendota lies along BNSF's mainline (the former Burlington Route line west), and still sees Amtrak passenger service at it's historic station. It's a pretty sizable town, with a couple of museums (including one at the depot), a few shops, and some restaurants. But at heart it remains a small rural town, a slice of Americana out on the prairie.

I like this sign a lot-it's a nice vintage item. I don't know if it works or if they light it up at night-I'd love to see it working.