Ted’s Frostop demolition permission opposed by New Orleans landmark commission staff
Ted’s Frostop on Calhoun Street near the Tulane campus in New Orleans, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
From NOLA.com: A city’s staff of architects and historic building experts has recommended regulators reject a request to demolish Ted’s Frostop in order to replace it with student housing for nearby Tulane University — a development that could complicate the project.
In a report issued Thursday, staff of the Historic District Landmarks Commission said the 71-year-old diner should not be demolished, despite the building’s lack of landmark status, because it meets the “architectural distinctiveness and cultural significance” requirements for the designation.
“Its longstanding operation at this location since 1955, combined with its iconic signage and strong community associations, has established the site as a local landmark within the public realm,” the staff report said.
Aurora community members push to restore historic Northgate sign
The sign at Northgate Shopping Center in Aurora, considered a local landmark by the city, could one day be lit up again as community members push to see it restored. (R. Christian Smith/The Beacon-News)
From the Chicago Tribune: Aurora community members are leading a push to restore the Northgate Shopping Center’s historic sign, which has long been recognized as a local landmark by the city.
Constructed in the 1950s, the Northgate sign attracted cars to the shopping center for decades with its neon glow. But for a while now, the sign has been in a state of disrepair: it no longer lights up, and the base is rusted.
Tracy Duran, a self-taught historical researcher of Aurora, spent years seeing people post on city-focused social media pages about the sign. They’d share photos and their memories of it, but they’d also say that someone should do something to get it fixed up.
“I always felt the same way, but after a while it became frustrating seeing no one step up, so I decided to take that step myself and become an advocate for preserving the sign,” Duran said.
Historic Route 66 sign went up at Cattleman’s Cafe after restoration
From KFDA: AMARILLO, Texas – A famous sign from route 66 has made it’s way home.
The historic Cattleman’s Cafe sign was just returned from being cleaned and refurbished in part of the Route 66 business restoration project.
The cafe is a 24-hour eatery known for it’s homestyle and ranch-style cooking.
It’s iconic Amarillo Blvd./Route 66 address is big since it’s been in business since 1952.
Keegan-Michael Key on why road trips still matter
(Credit: Courtesy of Keegan-Michael Key)
From the BBC: From childhood drives to the Rockies with his family to long hauls on the college comedy circuit, road trips have shaped Key’s life. Here is his love letter to this iconic American mode of travel.
Comedian, singer and actor Keegan-Michael Key is often lauded for his myriad talents, from translating former US President Obama’s anger to voicing video game characters. But his stealth superpower may just be his ability to read a map.
“It’s becoming a bit of a lost art, isn’t it?” mused Key, best known as half of the comedy sketch duo Key & Peele. “And being able to fold a map back up the way that you opened it. [With] Google Maps, you go, ‘How did we do this before?'”
California town chooses to not save historic roadside icon
The exterior of the Pea Soup Andersen’s in Buellton, Calif., on April 14, 2025. Andrew Pridgen/SFGATE
From SFGate: The prospect of saving any part of the Pea Soup Andersen’s building in Buellton is seemingly slipping away, one decision at a time.
Last week, members of the Buellton City Council met to discuss whether any part of the historic building could be or should be rescued or relocated. The century-old landmark provided a template for the great California road trip stop and put the gateway town to the Santa Ynez Valley on the map.
While the general sentiment from the City Council was that something needs to be done to honor a critical piece of the state’s history, the current suggestions for what to actually do with the building were rebuffed. Pea Soup Andersen’s, which opened in 1924 and, at the height of its popularity, reportedly served 2 million bowls of its eponymous soup per year, is slated to be destroyed. In its place, a proposed art deco-style development, including 6,800 square feet of office space, a 5,734-square-foot gym and a central courtyard, is in the works.
Skyway Lanes, Chicago’s Last Black-Owned Bowling Alley, Closing After ‘Surge’ Of Support Fades
Skyway Bowl, 9915 S. Torrence Ave., in Jeffrey Manor on Feb. 27, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
From Block Club Chicago: JEFFERY MANOR — Brunetta Hill-Corley sounded the alarm that her late father’s bowling alley was in trouble in March 2025, leading to an outpouring of community support and over $25,000 in donations for overdue repairs.
But Skyway Lanes, a Far South Side staple since the 1950s that was the city’s last Black-owned bowling alley, will now close for good April 26.
By then, the historic alley at 9915 S. Torrence Ave. will have hung on for over a year after the last-ditch campaign to save it — long enough for neighbors to have thrown one more birthday party.
Lightning In A Tube
Dino Rigoni and his apprentice, Tessa Troutman. Credit: Ashley Lane
From South Side Weekly: The first rule of a glass shop is cold glass looks just like hot glass,” said Tessa Troutman, Dino Rigoni’s neon-bending apprentice.
There’s four of us sitting around a table at Dino’s home in Munster, Indiana: Dino, Tessa, my friend Ashley, and me.
Troutman, a trained glassblower and welder, met Dino through her dad, who grew up with him on Chicago’s South Side. For the last six years, she’s driven 40 minutes every Friday to Munster, Indiana, to learn the sign-making trade.