World Famous VIP Records sign may get a new home across from original store, city says
The VIP Records sign. File photo
From the Long Beach Post:After years of languishing in storage, city officials are planning to return the famous VIP Records sign to Central Long Beach.
Officials confirmed last week — barring public disapproval — their desire to raise the sign at the southwest corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, across the street from the original storefront location.
It will sit on a quarter-acre plot of public land, which officials said can be used to hold events, artwork or something more permanent — it all depends on what the community wants, they said.
‘It’s more than a sign’ | How Eden Prairie’s ‘Flying Red Horse’ came to fly again
From KARE: EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — If you’re wondering how a historic landmark in Eden Prairie came to include part of an old Mobil Oil sign, you need to go back to the beginning.
“It’s not just a sign,” said Katie Schwartz, whose family owned the massive sign that now sits at the corner of Flying Cloud Drive and Town Center Place. “It’s love, it’s stories, it’s a legacy.”
Effort to save Milwaukee’s Central City Plaza from demolition gets boost
This building at 1747 N. Sixth St. in Milwaukee could be designated as historic. possibly stopping its demolition. The one-story building, constructed in 1973, was part of Central City Plaza, a Black-developed shopping center and commercial complex that included a neighboring building at 600 W. Walnut St. Petitions seeking historic status were filed in December 2024 with the Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission. Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A public awareness campaign has been launched to save Milwaukee’s first Black-owned, Black-operated and Black-designed shopping mall.
The Milwaukee Preservation Alliance and Docomomo US/Wisconsin kicked off the campaign at an information meeting Feb. 23 on the future of Central City Plaza, located on the corner of North Sixth and West Walnut streets. Docomomo US/Wisconsin is a nonprofit organization missioned to preserve mid-century modern buildings in the state.
At the meeting, the two preservation organizations gave information on the plaza’s history and the threat of its demolition, and explored ways to preserve the building through adaptive reuse.
The Cadillac of cultural preservation: Architect Mark Baker unveils plans to convert a historic dealership into UNM’s new Route 66 research center
Architectural rendering of UNM’s proposed Route 66 National Research Center, designed by Mark Baker, on the corner of Central and University. Courtesy of Baker A+D
From the Albuquerque Journal: Award-winning Albuquerque architect and entrepreneur Mark Baker has unveiled plans for the Route 66 National Research Center — a new, federally funded initiative of the University of New Mexico, which will serve as a global mecca for Route 66 scholars under the umbrella of UNM’s library system and its Center for Southwest Research.
Gracing the corner of University and Central — the old Route 66 — the Research Center will house an archive of documents and materials related to the storied highway, including oral histories, and will host academic conferences. As Baker’s floor plan and renderings show, it will also feature an exhibition space and a bookshop.
Vintage Airport Photos From the Golden Age of Air Travel
Credit: Authenticated News/ Archive Photos via Getty Images
From dailypassport: Air travel has come a long way since the Wright brothers first took to the skies in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. While flying in an airplane today might get you ever-shrinking legroom and a tiny bag of pretzels, air travel in the 1950s and ’60s was a much different experience. Those fortunate enough to afford the cost of a ticket back then were treated to gourmet plated meals, piano bars, flight attendant fashion shows, and ample room to spread and socialize. Wondering what it was like to fly during America’s golden age of air travel? Take a trip down memory lane with these vintage photos from seven iconic U.S. airports.
Smith’s Bar Legacy Lives On as Iconic Hell’s Kitchen Neon Sign Finds New Home
Smith’s Bar’s neon signs shining bright over the corner of W44th Street and 8th Avenue. Photo: Phil O’Brien
From W42St.nyc: New York City’s character is abruptly changing, with digital screens and generic storefronts replacing historic neon signage.
Times Square, once a riot of glowing glassworks bursting with rainbows of color, has traded most of its brilliance for LED displays. Even Harlem’s Apollo Theatre made the switch, retiring its iconic neon for more modern signage.
Here in Hell’s Kitchen, a famous icon of illumination was the latest to disappear when the renowned Smith’s Bar shuttered after 70-plus years. After the old-school Irish bar closed its doors for the last time, the hulking neon sign that served as a fixture of W44th Street for decades went dark.