California’s famous giant artichoke restaurant closing after 25-year run, as it lists for $1.8M
The restaurant is known for its 20-foot-tall artichoke sculpture outside. Instagram/@bluebubbles30
From the New York Post: Iconic Castroville restaurant The Giant Artichoke will officially close its doors this week after 25 years under its current owners.
In a Monday Facebook post, the restaurant confirmed that Wednesday, September 30 will be their last day of operation.
“We’ve had the Restaurant for 25 years and it’s been an honor serving our community and faithful customers, buts time to move on,” the post read.
Classic Chronicle: Why diners still matter
From WCVB: Massachusetts diners remain gathering places where history, craftsmanship and community meet. In this Classic Chronicle segment, originally airing in 1991, diner owners, historians, artists and loyal customers explain why these uniquely American restaurants continue to inspire generations of visitors across the commonwealth.
Richard J.S. Gutman, author of American Diner, tells Classic Chronicle he was drawn to the architecture before diners became widely appreciated, saying, “Well, I was first attracted to it by the style of diner — the campy old stainless steel and wood.” Gutman also explains that the craftsmanship behind classic diners is difficult to duplicate today, while diner historian Larry Cultrera, artists John Baeder and John O’Connor, and publisher Randy Garceau describe preserving diner history through photography, paintings, writing and publications devoted to the American diner.
Marineland sign transformed. What’s next for Niagara Falls’ iconic landmark
The Fallsview Boulevard Marineland sign in the Niagara Falls tourist district has pointed tourists to the park for decades but will soon be repurposed. Crews removed the lettering this week. John Law/Niagara Falls Review
From the Niagara Falls Review: For six decades, it guided millions of drivers in the direction of Marineland.
But this week, the massive white sign in the Niagara Falls tourist district had its lettering removed as it prepares to serve a new purpose.
The once-iconic landmark at the corner of Main Street and Fallsview Boulevard declared “Let’s all go to Marineland” in bright red letters, with a hand symbol pointing in the park’s direction “1 Mile” away. Niagara Falls is deciding what comes next.
Mayor Jim Diodati said the sign is a piece of Niagara Falls history.
Valentine’s Desert Motel Compound at the Edge of Prada Marfa
From Atlas Obscura: Valentine, Texas — Along US‑90 in Valentine, an old roadside motel, a landmark gas station market, the iconic town Post Office – and a garage that was once an adobe chapel – form a sparse commercial crossroads in the splendid isolation of the high desert.
Most travelers know Valentine only because of Prada Marfa, the permanently closed art installation that looks like a luxury boutique stranded beside the highway. Ironically in Valentine: not Marfa the high art mecca 30 miles east. The actual town of Valentine is its practical counterpart: 73 residents, a school, Post Office, a few weathered commercial buildings and what remains of the roadside services that once made a long drive across Far West Texas possible.
Ghost signs, faded brick ads tell stories of Bozeman’s past
From NBC Montana: BOZEMAN, Mont. — We see them in most Montana towns and cities.
They are the advertisements that you see painted on the exteriors of old buildings.
They’ve outlasted the products or businesses they once promoted, symbols of the past, reminding us of generations long gone.
They call them ghost signs.
Alta Picks: How the West Was Lit
Mission Bank Neon Plaza, in Bakersfield. Kern County Museum
From Alta Journal: For nearly a century, neon signs served as a language of commerce, pointing the way to diners, dance halls, and destinations of every kind. Then came changing tastes, LED lighting, and decades of neglect. Many signs went dark. Luckily, a rescue mission has been underway. Guided by collectors, craftspeople, and historians, specialized museums across the American West have been restoring vintage neon to its former glory and, in so doing, caring for something less obvious than eye candy. “Saving signs also preserves community legacies,” says Corrie Siegel, executive director of Los Angeles’s Museum of Neon Art. Whether your interest runs to history, science, or art—or you just want a dazzling night out—here are six places to celebrate neon’s alluring glow.