Rockford Mattress Co.

Rockford Mattress Co., a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A very old, very weathered, de-neon'd neon sign in midtown Rockford. The whole neighborhood is a bit of a rundown faded timewarp-lots of little storefronts and buildings with old bones. Two separate painted signs for Coca Cola and one for Bull Durham Tobacco. And this.

There appears to still be a furniture store in this building, although it wasn't open at the time. I'm surprised they continue to use this old sign. I'd love to have it-I'd paint one side up all shiny and new, and keep the other in it's current state of decay. All new glass, of course.

I also wonder how it got that dent in the side.

GE Appliances

GE Appliances, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A vintage GE neon sign, in the window of an appliance store in Morrison, Illinois. This is a classic hanging sign, and is still in great shape despite years of being out in the weather.

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.

Ziegler Music

Ziegler Music, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Ziegler Music is an Aurora institution, having been in business for.....well forever it seems. Now located on Broadway, this sign-repurposed from a previous location-is around the back of the building, and advertises Conn organs.

G.C. Conn Ltd. manufactured a variety of instruments for over a hundred years. I know nothing about organs, but Mr. Ziegler (whom I met totally by accident when shooting this) claims that they were some of the best organs he sold in his store.

Shoes

Shoes, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Aurora, Illinois is a pretty big city, and was once a major hub for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. The downtown area is full of old buildings, many of which haven't been over-restored or heavily altered. There are only a few ghost signs, and one of the better known is "shoes". This building is on Broadway, just east of the Fox River. There's some writing near the top (I think it says "felt" somewhere), and there's a twin on the other side, but it's hard to see and shoot.

I have it on fairly good authority that this used to be the location of Van Ham Shoes.

Steele Jewelry

Stele Jewelry, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Vintage vacuformed sign in Mendota, Illinois. I used to ignore these plastic fantastics, in my quest for fun vintage Googie-tastic neon slabs, or fadetastic ghosts painted on walls, but the more I see them the more I like them. They've often got cool graphics and genuine character, and they're often in better shape than old neon.

I shall continue to search them out.

Kirkland I.G.A.

Kirkland I.G.A., a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The Independent Grocers Alliance was founded in 1926 when a group of independent merchants in New York and Connecticut organized into a unified marketing system. By the 1930's there were over 8,000 IGA stores, all of them independently owned. The franchise model remains today, with IGA overseeing several resources that are shared between member stores, most visibly the IGA store brand products and the logistics of shipping them.

IGA stores have frequently been found in smaller towns and cities throughout the country, and this former store in Kirkland, Illinois is one of them. I have no idea how old the sign is-I believe it's been a while since the company was known as I.G.A., and I imagine this sign is from the sixties.

Adams Shoes

Adams Shoes-Chicago, IL, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Vintage Chicago signage. Adams Shoes is long out of business, but it's storefront remained mostly unchanged for years. Check out the font on the yellow sign-it pretty much carbon dates it to the early sixties, maybe earlier. This sign also includes a smaller neon "Adams" sign on the front corner of the building. All of it was in pretty good shape, and probably looked awesome lit up at night.

I shot this several years ago-I don't know if any of the signs are still extant.

Long's Sportsman

Long's Sportsman-Dixon, IL, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This building has had a couple of remodels (the vinyl siding and newer windows gives it away), but they've kept this cool, old school neon sign on the wall. I don't think it works, but it still is in pretty good nick, and is pretty cool.

The "Long's Sportsman" sign also looks pretty old. I don't know what they do here-I think it's an outdoorsy supply store.

Al's Smoke Shop

It's often pretty slim pickin's in the suburbs, at least as far as old neon signs go. At least here in the Chicago area, a lot of the towns further out have shined and buffed their downtowns into sort of old-timey Rockwellian Main Streets, with older buildings restored to a time right around the change to electric street lights, but before illuminated advertising. Between that and the number of old businesses that are long gone, the old-school hanging neon sign is a bit of a rare bird these days. Which is why I was so pleased to find this one in Villa Park. The sign ain't anything really special-brown and white, with white tubes-but the fact that Al's is still in business, and still uses their vintage sign, makes me happy. It's a nice time warp.

You can tell this building is pretty old, too. I didn't notice the builder's name ("Clarke") above the door. I like details like that, and would probably still call it the "Clarke Building".

Apropos of nothing (okay, something!), if you like what you've been seeing on this site, our chief lensman (okay, it's me) has a website! Cool images like the ones you've been enjoying, some you've seen, some surprises, all awesome and available to purchase, to bring a little of the View. Found. fun to your walls!

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.

The Majestic Store

The Majestic Store-Uptown, Chicago, IL, originally uploaded by William 74.

The Majestic Store (Everything for Men!) is-or was-a clothing store located in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. It's right underneath the L tracks, and has been there for years and years. I never saw it open for business when I lived in the neighborhood, although there were some clothes in the windows. My understanding was that the store closed down either because the owner owed a ton of back rent, or because the roof was leaking. I don't believe it's reopened since.

Although the sign is clearly a sixties or seventies item, the building itself dates to the 1920's, and features some really nice terra cotta details.