The Country School

The Country School, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Former neon sign in Rochelle, Illinois. Judging from the condition it lost it's glass a long time ago-I can't tell if it was just a neon version of this sign or if the design was different. Still, a classic.

Chicken's pretty good too.

M.B. Union Church

Church Sign-Chicago, IL, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Neon church sign in Chicago, on the near West side. I spotted a couple of neon church signs in the city-it sort of makes me wonder how many are out there.

I also note that the Sears...er...Willis Tower is in the background-sometimes it's impossible to avoid catching it.

Pontiac Sports

Pontiac Sports, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Pontiac Sports, a sporting goods shop in Pontiac, Illinois, a town along historic Route 66.

I believe this sign has been rebuilt at some point-there are some stray outlets dotted around it.

American House Hotel

American House Hotel, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Belvidere, Illinois is known for it's murals, many of which replicate old advertising signs. This one was my fave.

Holiday Motel

Holiday Motel, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Old motels have some of the best vintage neon. This classic, Googie-tastic piece of the glassbender's art is in Wisconsin Dells.

I wish it had been sunnier when I shot this. I'll have to go back in the spring, and maybe see if I can get it at night too.

J.E. Brady

J.E. Brady, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This week's Neon Friday post is a bit of a mystery. This simple sign is in the town of Pontiac, Illinois, along old Route 66. I've been through Pontiac a couple of times, but this was the first time I noticed this particular sign. It's kind of hard to see-there's a metal awning just below it (those are the awning's supports you see in front of the sign), so you can't really see it unless you're across the street.

I have no idea who J.E. Brady was, or what J.E. Brady did. The building has a martial arts academy in the storefront now. This sign looks to be in really good shape-the glass is intact and it's not especially rusty. I wonder if it still works, and have this odd fantasy that it's on a timer and still lights up every night at 6 pm.

Lexington

Lexington, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Pointing the way to Lexington, Illinois, along historic Route 66. Originally a station stop on the Chicago and Alton, Lexington became a popular stopping point along Route 66. Now mostly bypassed by the interstate, the old road can still be driven.

I can't find out the history behind this sign, if it originally hung on a local business and has been repurposed. It's in pretty good shape, and I think it lights up.

Oregon Theater

Oregon Theater, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A former movie theater marquee in Oregon, Illinois. I have no idea how this sign looked originally-I think it probably said "Oregon", as the holes for the neon tubes seem to match up nicely. Clearly it had some extra decoration at one time, though, and it appears to be hand painted.

The theater has long since closed-the storefront is now home to an appliance store.

Steak House

Woody's Steak House, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This sign is on a pole near the corner, in front of a smaller building with a restaurant in it. Clearly, it's been repurposed from some other building, although I don't know if it was just relocated from this restaurant's previous location. Clearly it used to spin (and maybe still does-it's in good shape, and I bet it lights up nicely), but that big C-clamp pole is awkward.

This is down in Ottawa. I should really go down there and check it out at night, along with the Sands and Monte's.

The Sands

The Sands, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This beauty is from the days when independent motels were the norm, rather than the exception. They always seemed to have these really cool names, often based on larger, more famous hotels. I can't imagine how many Sands Motels there must have been-The Sands in Vegas was very well known, so it would be a natural to copy.

This is a pretty well preserved old school Googie styled motel, complete with flagstone exteriors and funky lights. And dig the hourglass motif on the sign!

Food

Food, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Maybe this is "Neonless Friday"? This arrow was tubed at one time, although I have no idea how long ago it lost it's glass. It points at the Chick-N-Dip in Hampshire, Illinois, which is an old school joint with a patio and no interior seating. It features no other old signs except this one. I think it's interesting that they've kept it for so long!

Monte's Riverside Inn

Monte's Riverside Inn, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Happy Neon Friday!

Ottawa, Illinois is a medium sized town at the confluence of the Fox and Illinois Rivers. I'd planned on going down there for a while now-it has a nice downtown area-and finally did it because I found myself in front of a sign that told me I was only twenty miles away. I mean, once you're that close, you may as well go, right?

Imagine my surprise when I saw this gem as I passed over the Fox River. Monte's has been around for a while and is a classic old-school restaurant. This sign is just gorgeous, and I have to find the time to go back down and shoot this at night, and more importantly, eat at Monte's!

Stop & Drink

Stop & Drink #2, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Happy Neon Friday! This week we're back in Chicago, in front of what's now known as the Clark Street Ale House. It used to be known as the Stop & Drink, and the antique neon sign dates from the days when Clark Street in River North was still a bit rundown and seedy. Fortunately, when the bar was renamed the new owners did the sensible thing and kept the awesome vintage sign.

I'm told that this sign-less the added on ale house bit-can be seen in the somewhat obscure film Mickey One, starring Warren Beatty. Although now that I think of it, maybe it was Goldstein, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's in The Blues Brothers.

Hey Brothers

Hey Brothers!, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Another nice piece of vintage neon in the city of Dixon, Illinois. This one happens to be across the street from the Walter C. Knack building, just outside of downtown.

Hey Brothers Ice Cream was made in Dixon from about the 1920's up until the early 80's. I'd never heard of the company (outside of this old sign) until recently, when I read a novel that was set in Chicago in 1932-the main characters undertake a road trip to the Quad Cities and stop for some Hey Brothers ice cream in DeKalb.

I had thought that the company was no more, until I decided to have some ice cream at the Kane County Flea Market a couple of weeks ago-it was Hey Brothers! I was shocked-clearly the company had simply moved somewhere else. It was pretty good too, and I'd certainly have some again.

The Hub

Rochelle, Illinois is known as the "Hub City", due to it's location at the intersection of two major highways-the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental road, and Rt. 51, one of the first to go north/south. Although the Lincoln and 51 have diminished in importance through the years (they're known as State Routes 38 and 251 respectively), the town is still crossed by major routes going in both directions. It's also the center of the universe for local area train buffs, with both Union Pacific and BNSF having major lines that intersect in town. It's proven to be such a draw that the city put up a park just for rail fans.

Anyway, that's how the Hub Theater got it's name. It's been around forever, and features a well weathered neon sign atop the marquee. I believe it still works. Sadly, the Hub is currently out of business and is up for sale-hopefully someone can save it.

Robert's

Another small town find, this time in Genoa, Illinois. Robert's Drive In is still in business, although I believe that this sign no longer works. Still, despite having been last painted some time ago, it still points the way to this ice cream stand.

Quality Shirt Service

One of my favorite things about old signs is the sometimes anachronistic things they say, and the now commonplace features they advertise. The sign for J's Peter Pan Cleaners (I think the "J" is a later addition) is one example. "Quality Shirt Service" is a quaint throwback to the days when men's dress shirts needed special care when cleaning, as opposed to today's machine wash ready to wear clothes. Although it sorta makes me wonder if they treat shirts with extra special care.

I find this sign interesting, because the shopping center it's on has been updated quite a bit (inside and out), but this awesome slice of vintage neon is still hanging out front.

Rapid Transit

Not that 5th Avenue! This is a vintage station sign from the Chicago Rapid Transit Company's elevated train system, also known as the L. This one happens to be for 5th Avenue on the now-defunct Westchester branch, which ran from the old Metropolitan Elevated's Garfield Park line at Desplaines Avenue all the way out to Mannheim Road. It was meant to be a bypass for the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin interurban, serving what was hoped to be the newly booming town of Westchester. Development never happened, and the line remained a footnote in CA&E and CTA history until it's abandonment in the fifties. Today, parts of it make up the Illinois Prairie Path.

The sign itself is pretty interesting too. This style of station sign was current in the CRT from 1892 until 1977, when an entirely new, unified sign package was introduced in the CTA's system. Quite a few of the classic blue and white signs remained in use, though, the most famous one being at Sheridan on the Red Line, which remained in place until 2002! These signs are quite sought after today, along with the old yellow street signs, as a piece of Chicago history.

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".

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Dewey's

Another Chicago ghost neon sign. This one hung over a Mexican restaurant on Clark Street, near Devon. At the time I don't think they sold burgers, and probably not chili either, but I never actually ate there. This is obviously a really old sign, from the fifties I'd guess, and dates from the time this was a greasy spoon called Dewey's. I was surprised that it stayed in place so long-it was clearly an anachronism, but I suppose the expense of taking it down and having the power shut off was prohibitive. And, I have to admit, an old sign like this is eye catching, so it couldn't have hurt things to leave it up.

I shot this in the spring of 2009, and I understand that this sign came down later that year.