Zoom Event: Marisa Scheinfeld – Greetings From The Borscht Belt
From sca-roadside.org: Join Marisa Scheinfeld, author of The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America’s Jewish Vacationland for an illustrated lecture Wednesday, November 15, at 8:00 p.m. EST with photographs of abandoned sites where resorts, hotels and bungalow colonies once boomed in the Catskill Mountain region of upstate New York. Scheinfeld, who grew up in the famed region, shot the images inside and outside locations that once buzzed with life as year-round havens for generations of people. In her illustrated talk, she will discuss the rise, fall, and impact of the Borscht Belt along with the deeper, more layered meaning she finds in her work. She will also discuss the founding of the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project, a historical marker trail she is working on with a group of historians and artists that commemorates the era.
Hollywood Sign Day honors LA’s globally beloved promotion from 1923
Workmen prepare to take down the letter “D” in the famed “Hollywood” sign, the last one to be removed from the sign that has stood in the Hollywood Hills overlooking Los Angeles for 55 years, on Aug. 12, 1978. The old sign, made from telephone poles and plywood, had gradually succumbed to high winds and dry rot and is to be replaced with a new one. The new sign is being financed by several fund raising projects. The Mulholland Highway sign is shown in the foreground. (AP Photo/Wally Fong)
From the Los Angeles Daily News: The Los Angeles City Council celebrated the 100th year anniversary of the iconic Hollywood Sign, and commemorated the milestone by declaring Oct. 31 as “Hollywood Sign Day” in the city.
Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents the 4th District, which includes Mount Lee where the Hollywood Sign is located, led a presentation during Tuesday’s City Council meeting and praised the work of the Hollywood Sign Trust, a nonprofit aimed at maintaining, repairing and securing the famous sign designated as a historic cultural monument in 1973.
Ghosts Signs of Philadelphia: Machines and Bread in Olde Kensington
An undated postcard for Kolb’s Bakery in Scranton, Pennsylvania shows a Pan-Daddy Bread sign and a large Little Baker’s Boy sign. Image: Ebay
From Hidden City Philadelphia: A walk around the two buildings on the southwest corner of 5th Street and Montgomery Avenue reveals an exquisite collection of ghost signs with a varied history. The largest wall on the north side of 500-506 W. Montgomery Avenue was clearly built as a canvas for painted business signs and advertisements.
Two signs can still be read, including “J. NUTTALL. DEALER IN NEW & SECOND HAND MACHINERY” and “Kolb’s PAN-DANDY” with a faded image of the Kolb Little Baker Boy on the sign’s left side. The south facing wall of the attached building at 1750 N. 5th Street also has multiple signs. On top, a layered ghost sign with white letters and a black background is faded, but the word “MACHINERY” can still be made out. Another reads “SIGNS” with remnants of a phone number below. Finally, the two facades, which face east to 5th Street, have their own faded signs. On 1750 N. 5th Street, the word “MACHINERY” is again present, but this time with white lettering on a blue background. It appears that this sign once continued onto the facade of 500-506 W. Montgomery Avenue and was painted over a portion of an older sign that reads “VARIETY MACHINE WORKS/…MACHINISTS.” With so many signs, these buildings, and the block they were built on, reveal a plethora of stories.
Tucson’s neon sign museum turned 5 years old this fall
Signs of all types, including one from the Jerry’s Lee Ho Market, middle, are on display at the Ignite Sign Art Museum. A.E. Araiza, Arizona Daily Star 2018
From This is Tucson: In midtown Tucson, a local museum glows like no other.
The Ignite Sign Art Museum — home to hundreds of historic signs, many from Tucson’s past — celebrated five years of neon and Americana this month. The museum is located at 331 S. Olsen Ave.
Visitors can find signs from the now-closed Molina’s Midway Restaurant, the De Anza Drive-In movie theater and mini replica signs of iconic Tucson landmarks such as Magic Carpet Golf and Tropicana Motor Hotel.
The museum’s newest addition in its “backyard” is Argon Alley, which includes replica storefronts adorned with neon signs from local businesses like Clues Unlimited, Lotus Garden and even a retro Eegee’s sign. The alley officially lit up as part of Ignite’s fifth-anniversary gala on Oct. 7.
Historic downtown garage due for facelift
The Clement garage in Gilbert’s Heritage District may have historic value but it doesn’t seem like much to look at. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)
From the Gilbert (AZ) Sun News: For decades, the Clement’s garage fixed cars and sold fuel in the Heritage District and earned the distinction as the town’s oldest business.
Although the shop at Gilbert Road and Cullumber Avenue has shut its doors, plans to renovate the 1920 building into retail and restaurant uses is making its way through the approval process.
“First of all, I love this property,” said Redevelopment Commissioner Adam Baugh last week. “I love everything about this use. This is the exact type of thing that should happen on this property. It’s awesome.
For unknown reasons, McDonald’s continues to allow this California homage to exist
A historic sign at the unofficial First Original McDonald’s Museum in San Bernardino, Calif., on Oct. 18, 2023. Farley Elliott
From sfgate.com: Deep in California’s Inland Empire, a faded, formerly purple Grimace sits in the Southern California sun, flanked by odd amusement park castoff pieces and a wild-eyed Hamburglar stuffed behind yellow bars. The collection sits hot against the stucco exterior of a low-slung building in the heart of San Bernardino, California, an hour east of Los Angeles, welcoming the curious to the First Original McDonald’s Museum. Spread across tables, display counters, and an endless mishmash of pictures and documents is a very unofficial collection of fast food ephemera inside what was, in fact, the first McDonald’s location anywhere in the world.
