‘Folk art’ neon sign along Dixie Highway gets a facelift, but its owner hopes to finish fixing up Hi-Way’s baker
The neon sign atop Hi-Way Bakery, a fixture along Dixie Highway in South Chicago Heights since 1949, recently received $2,000 in repairs to its neon tubing. Frank Vaisvilas / Daily Southtown
From the Chicago Tribune: A neon sign shining brightly atop Hi-Way Bakery evokes a bygone era when that area of Dixie Highway in South Chicago Heights bustled with economic vitality.
While some of the neighboring businesses have been replaced over the years by vacant lots, the 1940s-era glowing sign remains a beacon to longtime and new customers, who answer the invitation to warm coffee and pastries baked fresh every day.
Arturo’s Roosevelt diner’s journey from Route 66 to cozy Phoenix meeting spot
The nine-seat interior at the existing Welcome Diner in Phoenix. Photo: John Samora/The Republic
From AZCentral: The city has many notable restaurants, but few qualify as living culinary museums like the vintage Route 66 transplant in Phoenix’s Garfield neighborhood.
The cozy diner, now called Arturo’s Roosevelt Diner, features nine aqua-blue stools around a red counter. It’s a vibrant piece of Americana where patrons congregate to ease both their hunger and solitude. No wonder that a decade ago, under different ownership, the diner was named “Best Place to Meet a Stranger” by the Phoenix New Times.
Socializing is central to the diner experience.
The Welcome to Las Vegas sign is still fabulous at 60
The sign circa February 1960, a few months after its installation along what was then U.S. 91, the highway linking L.A. and Vegas. Don English / Las Vegas News Bureau
From the Los Angeles Times: Las Vegas welcomes more than 42 million visitors a year, and a good share of them make their way to the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada” sign that’s turning 60 this month.
When it was created six decades ago, the sign featured a popular, midcentury Googie architectural style, a futuristic design that reflected the Space Age.
Showtime: Michigan’s restored golden-age movie theaters are places to see and be seen
he State Theatre in downtown Traverse City has been home to the Traverse City Film Festival since its restoration in 2007.
Many of Michigan’s revived downtowns are anchored by restored old theaters. They draw crowds of patrons hungry for an alternative experience to driving to the cineplex and waiting in long lines for tickets and popcorn. Most of them are architectural masterpieces, some dating to the late 19th century. Some had long been shuttered before being bought and brought back to life; others had limped along, in need of attention and renovation, before being bought and spruced up.