Artist uses social media to teach people about Baltimore’s ‘ghost signs’
From WBAL: BALTIMORE — What’s left of an old sign can act as a time capsule, says Baltimore artist Greg Gannon.
“Everything used to be stark black and white and red, bright red, and occasionally, yellow,” Gannon told 11 News. “Now, they just have faded to a point where they are not bold like they used to be.
The lifelong artist and muralist who specializes in painting signs pointed to one near Hollins Street and South Arlington Avenue at Hollins Market.
“Amazingly after, like, 100 years, many of them can still be read. So, this one, it says, ‘Sugars, tea and coffee,'” Gannon read from the sign. “You could imagine people 100 years ago coming to the market and this is where they will get their tea and coffee and sugar.”
Ted Drewes Jr., the Frozen Custard King of St. Louis, Dies at 96
The frozen-custard entrepreneur Ted Drewes Jr. in an undated photo with a sample of the concrete, his company’s signature concoction, which is served inverted to show off its gravity-defying properties. Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
From The New York Times: Ted Drewes Jr., the proprietor of two venerable St. Louis frozen custard stands that drew national acclaim for shakes so thick they are served upside down, and that were embraced locally as city institutions on the order of the Cardinals or the Gateway Arch, died on Aug. 26 in St. Louis. He was 96.
His death, in a hospital, was confirmed by his grandson Josh Dillon.
Known for his easy charm and folksy manner, Mr. Drewes took over the family business after his father died in 1968. Ted Drewes Sr., a St. Louis native, had opened his first frozen custard stand in St. Petersburg, Fla., in 1929 while working for a carnival; he returned to St. Louis and opened his first outlet there the next year.
Historic Longmont gas station to reopen with renewed purpose after years of renovations
Longmont Museum provided this photograph of the original Johnson’s Corner building.
From Denver7: LONGMONT, Colo. — A historic gas station in Longmont will soon reopen with a new life and purpose following years of renovations.
Vintage gas pumps at the former Johnson’s Corner still catch the eyes of those passing by the Prospect neighborhood.
“I grew up in Longmont, went to Silver Creek High. I remember when the building was over on Main Street, so it’s just been, again, such a landmark in the community,” said developer Zachary Nassar.
You Can Buy a Piece of the Famous Hotel Chelsea Sign
Guernsey’s
From The New York Times: Once they spelled the name of a hotel that the singer Patti Smith and the artist Robert Mapplethorpe lived in and that she called “eccentric and damned.”
That was when the tallish neon letters reigned, spelling the name of Hotel Chelsea in brighter-than-bright reds and whites.
Now an auctioneer plans to sell them: the letters from the word “hotel” one by one, and the name “Chelsea” as a single piece. In preparation for the auction, he shoehorned an H from “hotel” into his office on the Upper East Side.
New Texaco giant ‘Big A’ takes his place on historic Route 66 in Galena
From KSN16: GALENA, Kan. — A new Texaco giant is now in its new home on historic Route 66 in Galena.
Big A is his name and now sits just outside of Gear Head Curios.
He weighs around 12 hundred pounds and stands 22 feet tall, the giant is one of six left in existence after the rest of the 300 were destroyed.
Could the Nite Owl Diner’s neon sign shine again? The owners ask for $125K to fix it
The Nite Owl diner at the intersection of Pleasant Street and Eastern Avenue in Fall River, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. COLIN FURZE
From The Herald News: FALL RIVER, MA — The owners of the historic Nite Owl Diner are looking to brighten up the Flint neighborhood again.
The city’s Community Preservation Committee on Monday will be asked to spend $125,000 “restoring the iconic owl neon sign back to its original more menacing appearance.”
It’s unclear what exactly “menacing” means in that context — but the diner’s neon signage and owl figure, sitting silently atop the long-closed restaurant keeping watch over the neighborhood, have been neglected and broken for years.
If approved, the Community Preservation Act money would also help to repair or install mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The funding would also provide design services, reconstruct a handicapped-accessible bathroom, and restore windows and the diner’s aluminum skin.