EAST POLARIS/MAXTOWN ROAD

I got off work a bit early last night and decided to head up Cleveland Avenue to the western edge of POlaris Parkway/Maxtown Road area to see what was going on up there. Not terribly exciting but I did find a few good ones. I stayed east of I-71/the mall area because that is one happening place as far as neon goes, and I will need several hours to cover that area, hopefully next week sometime. All these pics were taken the night of Friday, 6/27 with my digital camcorder still function.







OK, in order: 1. Diadora. At a soccer related store at Westerview Center (ok, not really Polaris/Maxtown area, but was on my way there)

2. Damon's Grill, Polaris Pkwy and St. Rt. 3/State Street. This sign is on the back of the building, not facing Polaris but facing it's parking lot.

3. Quizno's. Subs. Yummy. Located in a stripmall at Maxtown and State.

4. Multicolored OPEN sign, Mexican Restaurant in same strip center. I enjoy these multicolored yet simple installations. Much more interesting visually than the red and blue stuff.

5. SportClips. A hair salon catering to men, with TV's showing sports while getting a haircut. Steam towel treatments and all. But I would likely get a bad cut since I would be moving my head to watch the sports on their TVs!

6. Panda Express. Fast Chinese food. It's pretty good, but a little on the pricey side.

7. Camille's. Some sorta fakey French-style sidewalk cafe, like you would see in Paree, but this is actually in a stripmall at Polaris Pkwy and Worthington Road. It's in the middle of s sorta dead stretch between the 3C highway and the mall area. Cool sign.

8. Pei Wei, an Asian Diner..near Polaris and Cleveland, about halfway between the mall area and State Street. I never put the words "diner" and "Asian" in the same phrase before, but Cameron Mitchell did. Looks like a nice place but probably way overpriced Chinese food. There appeared to be cool Chinese neon beer signs in here, and this was one. The place was closed but a few employees were in there and started staring at me as I pointed my camera into their establishment. Maybe one day I will return for more pics.

In the meantime..

I know it has been a while again since I have done some neoning. I thought spring would have been a great time to get out with the camera, but life has kept me plenty busy! Between my 3 and a half-year-old daughter, work, chores, etc I don't have a lot of time and as much energy to be up til 1am taking pictrues. And I am rarely able to get away during the prime time hours, before places roll over and go to sleep, and around most areas of Columbus, that is much earlier than I get off work. But I am hoping with a few schedule changes in the coming weeks I can kick summer off to a glowing neon start. Also with the warmer weather and my decision to get back to walking as exercise, I will be spending some of the little free time I have walking in the city, especialy when it is not raining like it usually does around here. Sometime this month or next I will be doing the High Street corridor and downtown, which I have been looking forward to since I started this blog. Of course, businesses come and go as does neon, so even my geographic photo tours need ammending and updated now and then. And anytime I see something interesting in my usual stomping grounds I will be sure to have a camera with me.

In the meantime, until I post a new set, watch this slideshow I made back around the time I started this blog. I know, most of the neon in this is NOT from around Columbus, and no, sadly, none of it is my own photography. But I thought the pics along with the music made for a pretty cool cat neon experience!