Spring River Inn neon sign to be restored
From KSN: RIVERTON, Kans. — The Kansas Historic Route 66 Association is working to restore life — and illumination — to a piece of history in Cherokee County.
The group recently reacquired the iconic neon sign from the former Spring River Inn in Riverton. It closed in the mid-90’s, before burning down a few years later.
But the sign survived.
An attempt to restore it 8-years ago fell through — but now, the association is on a mission — and hopes it will, once again, help shine a light on the history of Route-66.
Starbucks is leaving America’s dying malls and focusing on drive-thrus
People sit in a Starbucks cafe in a mall in Beijing. Reuters
From Business Insider: The suburbs are making a comeback, but malls are getting left behind as Starbucks wants out, too.
Three Starbucks employees in three states, whose employment was confirmed by Insider, shared that their mall-based stores closed in the last month. They all requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.
One barista in a Texas mall said he was “blindsided” at the news of the closure. All the baristas Insider spoke to were offered transfers to other locations.
Phoenix approves sale, development, preservation plans for American Legion site
American Legion Post #1 at 7th and Grand Avenues in Phoenix. Photo by: Jim Poulin/Phoenix Business Journal
From abc15: PHOENIX — Phoenix City Council accepted a proposal this week that will make way for an adaptive reuse and redevelopment project at the city-owned American Legion site on 7th and Grand Avenues.
Council voted on Aug. 25 to sell the property, located at 723 W. Polk Street, to Cardinal Capital Management Inc., a Wisconsin-based developer, which now plans to develop a mixed-use building on the site that will create 132 housing units. The project would include affordable housing, workforce housing and market rate units, which will give a preference to veterans.
Only in Wisconsin: Cow spotted at McDonald’s drive-thru in Marshfield
From WQOW: MARSHFIELD, WI – A video went viral after a cow was spotted in the back of a car at a fast food drive-thru. You heard it right!
Jessica R. Nelson captured this video at a McDonald’s in Marshfield. Her Facebook post went viral, with over 4.5K shares. The cow is taking up the entire back seat. That’s something you don’t see everyday. I think it’s safe to say the cow wasn’t ordering a Big Mac.
Here’s where to find the best neon signs across the U.S.
Nathan’s Famous. Photo: Alexandra Charitan
From Roadtrippers.com: Although the neon sign’s heyday has long passed, the colorful roadside advertisements have beckoned tourists and locals from rural back roads to the centers of big cities for decades. They lure travelers with their seductive glow, urging them to stop, have a cocktail, eat a spicy footlong, or share a brownie sundae served in a clamshell. Without uttering more than a constant, barely audible buzz, they encourage roadtrippers to make it to “Tucumcari Tonite!” or simply ask, “Have you slept in a Wigwam lately?”
Glass tubes bent by the whims of a nimble fabricator take the shape of white t-shirts, blue swallows, or red stilettos. When vacuum-sealed, with electrodes affixed on each end, a neon-filled tube glows reddish-orange; argon glows blue with a little help from mercury (making repairing old signs a tricky, and sometimes dangerous, process).
No matter their size, shape, or color, the following signs prove that when it comes to classic neon, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it—or even if it is, please don’t replace it with something new and uninspired.
These are some of the best places to find the most iconic neon signs across the U.S.