Sparkhaus receives grant to refurbish historic sign
Before and after shots of the historic sign at the SparkHaus building in Covington. Photos provided by the City of Covington
From LinkNKY.com: This historic Sims Furniture sign is getting a facelift with help from the City of Covington.
Covington has granted $7,500 to the Northern Kentucky Port Authority to aid in the refurbishing of the historic sign at the building set to house the entrepreneurial incubator SparkHaus.
The incubator is located on Madison Avenue on the site of the old Sims Furniture building. The sign will be updated to reflect the SparkHaus’ branding.
SWEPCO to mark 113th anniversary by restoring historic sign in Shreveport
From KSLA: SHREVEPORT, La. – SWEPCO is celebrating its 113th anniversary in June, and to mark the milestone, the company is restoring a piece of history.
SWEPCO was founded June 29, 1912. To commemorate this, the neon SWEPCO sign that once sat on top of the Arsenal Hill power station will be lit up once again. Arsenal Hill is on the outskirts of downtown Shreveport near the city’s main fire station.
Arts Alley slated to make its debut in August
The authentic diner is now in place and will be painted before the opening in August. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff
From the Concord Monitor: Arts Alley continues to host a whirlwind of construction vehicles and piles of granulated soil, but the project should soon be completed and ready make its debut to the Concord community on Aug. 1.
The two-story event complex between the Concord Food Co-Op and the Bank of New Hampshire Stage on South Main Street features “The Courtyard,” an outdoor area surrounded by art, “Rose & Rye,” a retro diner that sits in the courtyard and a Friendly Toast, a brunch restaurant on the first floor. “The Main Venue,” on the second floor, is a private indoor function space seating 100 people, and “Rooftop Social,” a rooftop bar, will seat 60.
Trump administration aims to slash funds that preserve the nation’s rich architectural and cultural history
The iconic ‘Walking Man’ Hawkes sign in Westbrook, Maine, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. Ben McCanna/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
From The Conversation: President Donald Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2026 discretionary budget is called a “skinny budget” because it’s short on line-by-line details.
But historic preservation efforts in the U.S. did get a mention – and they might as well be skinned to the bone.
Trump has proposed to slash funding for the federal Historic Preservation Fund to only $11 million, which is $158 million less than the fund’s previous reauthorization in 2024. The presidential discretionary budget, however, always heads to Congress for appropriation. And Congress always makes changes.
Route 66: The end of the road at Santa Monica pier
Visitors pose for pictures at the Santa Monica Pier, where Route 66 ends, on June 1, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
From the Chicago Tribune: SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Our Route 66 road trip began at the end, at the famed fishing pier jutting out into the Pacific Ocean.
On a breezy Sunday afternoon, the first day of June, a steady stream of visitors waited their turns to pose with one of the pier’s most popular attractions: a Route 66 sign, perched on a pole 12 feet above the wooden planks, advertising the spot as the “end of the trail.”
Except, it’s not really the end. That distinction resides a mile east, at Lincoln and Olympic boulevards, the “official” end of a route that since its decommissioning in 1985 does not officially exist.
Diner dates and bathhouse chili: the colorful, defiant history of America’s gay restaurants
Orphan Andy’s, a 24-hour diner, opened in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood in 1977.Photograph: Erik Piepenburg
From The Guardian: Erik Piepenburg’s voice breaks when he speaks of the Napalese Lounge and Grille in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The restaurant known as “Naps” to locals is where a group of transgender people regularly come together to chat over beer-battered shrimp, deep-fried green beans and cheese curds. Many travel long distances to do so.
“An amazing woman called Martha oversees it,” says Piepenburg, 54. “She told me the stories of people who drive there but can’t get out of the car, and of one young trans woman whose mom stayed outside so her kid could enjoy themselves. It’s not political, everyone was having fun just being able to be themselves. Naps shows how important gay restaurants are – and they are not new. Walt Whitman enjoyed eating in his era’s version of a gay restaurant. We’ve been finding one another for a very long time.”
World’s largest chimney sweep in McPherson in need of repairs, company says
(Chimney & Stone Specialists Inc)
From KAKE: MCPHERSON, Kan. — A McPherson fireplace shop says their 25-year-old towering roadside icon is in need of repairs.
Chimney & Stone Specialists Inc. says their huge chimney sweep – now named the largest in the world – has been subjected to weather, bullet holes and other vandalism over the years.
From 1970 to 1999, the mascot, named Happy Chef at the time, was a baker holding a wooden spoon. In 2000, he was bought and renovated by the former owner of Chimney and Stone, Vaughn Juhnk, per the World Record Academy. Since then, he has stood tall on I-135 southbound in McPherson between mileposts 56 and 57, alongside a billboard advertising the company.