COLUMBUS OHIO NEON

A few pics from my phone/memory card fow now..

2012-01-26T12:11:00.003-05:00

So far this month and year have just been flying by. Very busy of course which is why it may seem that way. Seems to me like we just had Christmas and the holiday season and now here we are, almost February. It's been a fairly mild winter, especially compared to the last 3, which have had varying degrees of harshness. This season has been wet and rainy, with very little snow and a few brief but tolerable cold spells. December in fact had almost no snow and so far with only a few days to go, we've had maybe 4 inches or so total. Not at all like the winters of 2009 (very cold and rather snowy, especially January which was followed by a coolish spring and summer), 2010 (very cold and snowy especially in February), and last winter (Dec. 2010 was actually the coldest and snowiest month of winter, and early February of 2011 had a bad ice storm!). So this SHOULD be a good time for neoning. Well, not quite, mainly because the lack of time, my schedule, the fact I like to be mostly home with the kids at night, and my car is out of commission. Hopefully, things turn around soon and I can do a full fledged tour, even if a small one. Now here I have a few photos I've snapped over the last few weeks and another from guest photographer Ramah Marie Myers, who has a few photos from back in the fall on this blog here. Enjoy for now..and watch for a tour soon..I really DO PROMISE ! ! !

This lizard is from Leapin Lizards, a bar on Cemetery Road in Hilliard where we like to go for Karaoke nights occasionally (KJ Howie does karaoke here on Thursday nights and at Coaches on Bethel I believe Mondays). Taken Thurs. 1/12.

The "teen" section at the Clintonville/Whetstone branch of the Columbus library, taken by Ramah M. Myers on Fri. 1/20.

How could I have missed this last time I was at Tuttle Mall? I don't go to the mall very often, usually only around Christmas and maybe a few times a year. I was here last weekend and bought my daughter an outfit at Justice and a Starbucks coffee, of course. Taken the afternoon of Sat. 1/21.

Happy 2012! Men are from Mars, Women are from..

2012-01-12T12:43:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year to all! Just a small update to start the new year. Hoping 2012 brings me slightly more free time for everything, including neon pics! These were taken at the Westpointe Movies (Starplex). I believe I did the outdoor neon signage way back when. I took the girls to see Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked to celebrate the last day of winter break. Not really a lot of neon inside, but I did capture these restroom signs. Both pics taken the afternoon of Mon. 1/2.

Escape

2011-12-31T14:38:00.004-05:00

For the last post of the year I bring you the sign from the Escape "gentleman's" club, seen at the corner of E. Dublin Granville Road and Spring Run, near Cleveland Avenue on the far north side of Columbus. This used to be Dockside Dolls and the sign has been there less than a year, just haven't had a chance to snap it. It was a darkish cloudy morning yesterday when I happened to be in the area on the way to work and had a few extra minutes. It's a cool sign..not the greatest but hey, it's neon! Taken the morning of Fri. 12/30. Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year and 2012 is prosperous and full of neon!!

AHH! It's a Monster!

2011-12-29T11:06:00.004-05:00

Well, a Monster energy drink neon. Snapped this while doing some last minute shopping at Tuttle Mall. It's a cool sign. But seriously..the name of the store where this is displayed is "Damaged". Damaged?! Who would shop at a store with that name?! Kids these days! Taken Fri. 12/23.

Oh and this caught my eye. I'm not in the area often and it probably closes by sunset, so while I was at Trader Joe I thought I would shoot this while I was here. A bead shop, at Sawmill and 161 in Dublin. Taken the late morning of Wed. 12/28.

These are likely my last photos and my last post of the year. Hope everyone has had a great holiday season and has a very Happy New Year! Let's go 2012! My New Year's resolution? Shoot more neon!

De-Novo Bistro&Bar..the old Kyrie sign!

2011-12-20T13:25:00.002-05:00

Driving down South High Street in downtown Columbus by the statehouse I'd always try to get a better look at what appeared to be a very cool 60s or so vintage neon RESTAURANT sign. Unfortunately, it was dark/dead. Perhaps even ghost status. But thanks to the development of the Scioto Mile and Columbus Commons Parks (along with the death and burial of City Center) in this area, the once sorta listless stretch between the Statehouse and Franklin County government center seems to be coming alive. Hope those parks work out for the city..this city needs downtown activity. This upscale aka pricey restaurant appears to have recently opened up in the space of several other restaurants which have come and gone over the years. And the owners or operators appear to have taken an interest in rehabbing this gem of a sign. It's now lit and looks absolutely beautiful, set against the towers of downtown. I went to the Columbus Commons for the Holiday Fair..which was small but a LOT of fun..my daughter loved it! And noticed this sign actually in operation. So of course, I had to catch it. I took 3 pics from 3 angles. This is easily one of my top signs in the city now. Hope the place stays open though generally it's not a place I could afford. All pics taken the late afternoon of Sun. 12/18.
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If I don't get to post again before, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

A tide over

2011-12-13T17:01:00.004-05:00

I have been shooting some neon. No tour as of yet but it is coming as soon as I can get some time to do it, after work. With the sun setting barely after 5PM on these cold December days, it shouldn't be a problem. This is a small set taken on my phone since about the beginning of the month:

-Steak Escape: Taken at the corner of Dublin and Grandview, near I-670 and Grandview Ave. Newer sign but cool and street/sidewalk level, like most of Grandview already is. This property used to be the site of a very nasty Knights Inn motel that was raised a few years ago and redeveloped. Taken the evening of Fri. 12/2.

-Haircuts for Men. Taken at the Major League Haircuts on Sawmill Road in Powell, not far from the zoo. Taken the evening of Sat. 12/3.

-Schlitz. That and PBR, two of my favorite beers are now sold at Nationwide Arena, and while no PBR sign is present, a cool Schlitz lights it up. At $6.50 for a 16 ounce can or draft, it's the cheapest beer at a Blue Jackets game. Taken Sat. 12/10.

-Hydrofarm: A brand name of gardening and hydroponic equipment sold at the Garden Indoors location at Indianola Avenue and Morse Road. So you can ummm..grow your umm..vegetable garden. Taken Mon. 12/12.

-That last one..just a cool scene..not exactly a neon specific pic, but the combo of neon signage, a bar, beer, Chinese food, and Christmas lights..up my alley! Taken Tues. 12/13.

Watch for a Christmas vacation tour soon!!!

Just a few photos I took last week

2011-11-28T17:19:00.003-05:00

Nothing major or great. But a few things I found interesting I took last week.

These nighttime shots were taken on the eastside. The 'bluish' accent neon was a club in a rough neighborhood, but enjoyed the neon anyway. The bailbond ad was maybe a mile south, in a rough but not as rough, area on E. Broad near Town and Country.These were taken the evening of Wed. 11/23.

These daytime shots would be better at night of course, but I am pretty sure the Adkins Barber shop doesn't keep his sign lit at night. In Old Hilliard near where Main becomes Avery. With the barber pole and the soda machine this looks like it could be out of the fifties or sixties. Very cool. The slot machine 7's are in the front of another one of those "Internet Café"/gambling centers that have sprung up around the state. And that brush stroke is a tattoo shop on N. High St. near Graceland shopping center. I believe that one stays on at night so one night soon I will do a re-shoot. That place was an art studio/gallery, and if you look back to one my first posts of 2011, I have pics of the cool butterfly neon. That is now brush strokes. Both great though. These 'daytime' pics all taken the afternoon of Mon. 11/21.

Look for more neon soon! Hoping for a full fledged tour in early December!

Short Eastmoor-Whitehall revisit

2011-11-19T19:10:00.004-05:00

Last night I had a few extra minutes after work and felt like neoning back in the old neighborhood. The neighborhood hasn't changed that much since I started doing this over 4 years ago, but of course there are a few businesses that have came and went over the time period. I shot a few places that were newish in the Eastmoor area..the area between Bexley and Whitehall that centers around James Road between Broad and Main. And a pizza place in Whitehall. All pics taken the evening of Fri. 11/18.

The first three pictures were from a Pawn Shop located on E. Main Street a few blocks east of S. James. Cool neon but unfortunately due to the criminal element alive in the neighborhood, the signage is covered with bars thus somewhat obscuring the view. The fourth picture is from a car stereo/audio shop in the same area. Pictures 5-7 were taken at Happy Pizza, located at the corner of E. Main and Collingwood Ave. in Whitehall, part of the "Shoppes at Collingwood". In the same building as Joy to Go Chinese restaurant, which seems to have been successful since it's open in 2007, this part of the building has not...so far. It's been at least 3 different burger joints in the last 4 years but Happy's is good food (had it once) so hoping it lasts..because this modestly sized chain, based in Michigan, LOVES neon. The photos here only scratch the surface. Next time, I'll be a paying customer and go inside and take more..it is a nice little cache of neon!

Well again, Happy Thanksgiving..hoping to do some more touring soon!

Finally, some new material!! Happy 4th! And a new guest blogger, of sorts!

2011-11-16T18:19:00.006-05:00

Let's just say 2011 has not been the most productive year for this blog. I hate to say it, but it's true. With some crazy situations, completely different job and work hours, 3 crazy kids, it is hard to find the time to get a good tour in. However, I should be finding some time shortly to get some good tours in and of course my belovèd missing links (which I usually spot while just driving somewhere, with no specific neon photo shooting in mind). But for the occasion this week of the 4th anniversary of this project, I do have some new material that I have taken over the last couple months. I am using a few different cameras now too that are somewhat frustrating to operate so hopefully I can work out some of those kinks and get back to neoning! Hoping this upcoming FIFTH year of this project is fruitful! But for now, enjoy the "new" stuff!

Sign 1: A wedding/prom photography company on Obetz Rd. just east of S. High Street. A very nice and unlikely sign..how often do you see a name like that in neon? Taken the evening of Sun. 11/13.
Sign 2: A pretty cool sign for an auto repair shop on Refugee Rd. near Berwick. Taken the evening of 11/13.

Sign 3: The blue/green version of a Yuengling sign (which has been in Ohio since Oct. 3..damn good beer!). Most around here that I see are the blue green or the red "Ohio" one. Both nice. This was taken the late afternoon of Thu. 11/3.

Signs 4-5. A sign company located on Johnstown Rd. (62) not far from the airport! It's a pretty cool sign but never really saw it lit at night and am rarely in this area. Taken about 20 minutes before the above Yuengling sign.

Signs 6-8: All taken at the Hooters in Newport, KY. My second road trip to the Cincinnati area this year. Saw a Bengals/49ers game earlier with Brian and Dan. Good wings and ok neon. Taken the afternoon of Sun. 9/25.

Sign 9: The "Ohio" Yuengling sign. These started to appear leading up to the debut of Yuengling in Ohio. This pic was taken Sun. 10/2 at the Buffalo Wild Wings on E. Broad St. in Whitehall and now can be spotted in several locations. I love both this version and the blue green one that is seen in some spots. Taken the afternoon of Sun. 10/2.

Signs 10-11: Actually not taken by me, but by Ramah M. Myers, at the Ohio State Fairgrounds while setting up the Ameican Quarterhorse Congress that comes to Columbus every October. I believe this was taken also on Sun. 10/2. Very cool to see horse related neon.

Well hopefully more posts and pics on the way soon! Happy Thanksgiving if I do not get to post again before then!

I'm back!

2011-06-25T21:06:00.004-04:00

Yes, I am aware that I have not posted any new material of any kind in several months. It's been a hectic life, with a baby son, kid in school and such. But summer is here and hopefully slightly less bustle. While I have not actually done a photo tour since January (yikes..), I have had some occasions to take snap some neons. This post is a 'phone dump' of pics I have collected since my last tour. I do hope to get back to touring soon. I definitely miss neoning, and with summer coming up, a little extra time to do it. Yes, the nights are long, but I stay up late!
After posting these photos I will provide short descriptions of them.

1. The 'Nails' sign is located in a strip center near Morse and Maize Roads in North Columbus, near the former Toys R Us. Taken Tue. 1/25.
2-3. Were taken at the Trabue Tavern, a bar on Trabue Road, east of N. Wilson on the west side of Columbus. Taken the night of Sat. 4/30.
4-5. These 2 photos were actually the first 2 pics ever taken outside of the Columbus area for this blog! They weren't even taken in the state of Ohio, but my first "road trip", taken in Newport, KY, just across the river from Cincinnati. I hope to get back there alone some time for a more extensive tour. Taken the evening of Sat. 4/16.
6. This really clear Pabst Blue Ribbon sign can be found inside the Hooters restaurant on Rome Hilliard Rd. I have covered this previously, last summer, but this seems to have been installed since that occasion. Taken the afternoon of Tue. 5/10.
7. Just a Columbus Blue Jackets 10th anniversary sign, seen at Hooters, taken back on Thu. 2/10.

PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES VERY SOON! HOPING TO DO A NEW NEONING PHOTO TOUR WITHIN THE WEEK, and hopefully get back on track here! Thank you for your patience and enjoy the summer, and if I don't post on here again before, have a safe and happy 4th of July!

HOT COOKIES! A first for this project!

2011-01-26T10:20:00.003-05:00

Well I don't know if this is the first ever photo of cookie neon, but this is the first time I have allowed a guest photographer some space on here. Props to Megan R. Pease for sending me this awesome shot from inside a Max&Erma's restaurant.

A neighborhood revisited. Happy 2011!

2011-01-05T10:53:00.001-05:00

For the first post of the new year, I decided to do a revisit while on my way home from work. One of my favorite neighborhoods for neon signage: Clintonville. This minitour covers specifically the northern part of the area, also known (partially) as Beechwold. A few newbies and missing links comprise this first post of 2011. Hope everyone had a great holiday season!
All pics taken the evening of Sun. 1/2.

Ok, the wicked cool butterfly is at the Art Pad gallery on N. High. The Qdoba Mexican restaurant is just north. The Pierce Cleaners is one of the top ten signs in the city that dates to the classic era of neon (1960s). I have shot it before, but not at night and never the whole sign. The Pork City sign is north of Pierce Cleaners. oink! The Tower Centre is a small strip center on the east side of N. High almost directly across from the Iron Pig.

Hoping that 2011 is a good year for neoning! Lots of missing links, and some new neighborhoods, and definitely some road trips this year! Enjoy!

WOW! HOLIDAY NEON FOR REAL!

2010-12-31T06:11:00.002-05:00

So for the final post of the year 2010, I present to you a first. In all the years I have been doing this project, I have looked for one thing each holiday season since I have done this: holiday themed neon. Well, finally, 2 days after Christmas I found a home which had as part of their decorating scheme a NEON CHRISTMAS CANDLE! That's right! The home, located on he far north side of Columbus, has a few non-neon Christmas lights up as well, and in one corner window, a small (about 12" high maybe?) blue and red candle neon decoration. Unfortunately, do to the position of the sign, as well as the position of the little old lady who sits on her couch with her curtains drawn wide open, it is hard to shoot, especially with my rather wimpy camera phone. But I was able to get within about ten feet of it and took a pic. Hopefully she keeps her Christmas decorations up through tonight because I will be back in the area tonight and tomorrow as well. The picture I did take was taken on the evening Monday, 12/27. Unless I get back to this house, or I see a surprise tonight while I am out and about, this is my last post of 2010. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and has a VERY happy New Year!

Quaker Steak/Texas Road House

2010-12-05T17:40:00.007-05:00

A few establishment interiors for you. Both have extensive neon signage on their exteriors, but they also have some cool neon going on inside. I have shots of Quaker Steak's exterior taken a couple years ago, and one of the several TRH locations done a while back as well. The Texas Roadhouse shots were taken from the E. Main Street location on Fri. 11/19 and the Quaker Steak pics were taken the afternoon of Fri. 12/3. We discovered they have a lunch buffet including all you can eat wings (with a couple main dishes, salad, desert, etc) for $8.99. Good deal.

Texas Roadhouse

Quaker Steak & Lube. Hot, hot, hot! And I love that football helmet! and of course the Route 66 sign.

Giving thanks for neon, and happy 3rd anniversary!

2010-11-25T09:07:00.004-05:00

OK, it's been a while since I have posted some pics. But a few minor things have happened since I was last able to post some pics back at the beginning of fall..including a new addition! Hopefully my newborn son will be able to enjoy neon when he gets older as this artform is slowly and sadly disappearing. Anyway, to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of ths start of this project (amazing!) and Thanksgiving, I have a few minor tours to post. I was in the area of Hard Rd. and Smoky Row which includes a few generic strip centers (but one gem of a sign). Also I finally covered the Schuman's meat store on Harrisburg Pike. I was first told about this place a while back. Awesome meat in an old fashioned meat market and the walls are decked with old fashioned neon signage! The Schuman's pics were taken on Thurs. 11/11 and the Smoky Row pics were taken Sun 11/14. Happy Turkey day and stay posted for a new photo tour soon!

The Sawmill Florist pic is actually on Sawmill Rd. near Hard, a mile or so west of the mentioned intersection. Actually a retake of a shot I got during the say a few months back.

Mmm..Schuman's. They sell Falter's meats, which are made near German Village and only sold in a few places (Schuman's, the Brewer's Gate Kroger on Sycamore are two I know of). Some of the best bacon and bratwurst I have ever had.

just a tide over

2010-09-29T09:57:00.004-04:00

With my time for neon photo tours at a minimum these days I have to find stuff when I find it. A missing link and a plain old OPEN sign. Why the simple OPEN sign? Becuse of it's simplicity. It takes us back to a time before signage became standardized and OPEN signs didn't always have a blue oval surrounding the text. It's not an old sign, but has a "rustic" look. You can find this sign an an identical one at a Chinese restaurant on SR 161, near Karl Road. The Sawmill Florist sign is great, and in an area sadly deprived of neon between Dublin and Powell along Sawmill Road north of I-270. The OPEN picture was taken the late afternoon of Sun. 9/26 and the Sawmill Florist was taken the morning of Mon. 9/27.

Sawmill Plaza (Post #101 of this project)

2010-09-22T09:08:00.004-04:00

Yep, my last post on this photoblog a couple weeks ago was my 100th post since starting this blog nearly three years ago! That wasn't my 100th photo tour necessarily, but still 100 posts, is a milestone. I can't believe I have maintained this for nearly three years now, through all the moves and changes in my personal life. Hopefully with the arrival soon of our son, things will calm down and I can find some time for neoning. Of course spare time will be hard to come by, but I will take busy and calm over busy and chaotic any day. So this little shoot isn't much, just a few cute pieces I found tucked in a little corner off Sawmill Road at the Sawmill Plaza, between SR 161 and I-270. I can never seem to get to this area at night and I believe they shut the signs off (grrrr!) anyway, so it was mostly cloudy when I shot these in a tucked away area of the three dimensional strip center. All of these pics were taken at Barclay Tobacco and The Cleaner (drycleaner, obviously) the morning of Weds. 9/22.

The tobacco store and "Capone" sign remind me that Halloween will soon be approaching. Last year I was a twenties era gangster for a party I went to. Maybe again this year? And I can get my stogie for the occasion from Barclay's!

The Wild southwest

2010-09-09T13:06:00.009-04:00

Little pockets of development and of course commercial neon signage exist where one is not likely to find it. The far southwest side of the Columbus city limits and Franklin County is probably one of the least developed areas of the city. While the east and north sides are heavily developed like any major city, there are parts of the southwest side which have a very suburban, even almost rural character. I've always found this area pretty fascinating. One of the few areas where one side of the street is gritty, densely populated and very urban, while the other side has old barns and fields. And pretty far out west, an intersection has a shopping center with an authentic Mexican restaurant on one corner, billboard ads for cut rate car insurance, and a sizeable cornfield on the other corner. L:ooking west the sky is dark and full of stars. To the east is lights galore. It's as if a surveyor simply said "stop, stop right here, this is where civilization ends". Weird, and kinda cool at the same time. Anyway enjoy some of the neon signs of the far SW side. Also included is a sign I have long wanted to photograph, both day and night. Once a gem of neon dating to the 1960s, the property changed hands and the new owners (Walgreens...zzzz.) decided to keep the old sign and retrofit it for their purposes. Kudos to Walgreens for saving the neon, but it still doesn't make up for kicking Kahiki out some 10+ years ago (which also featured it's own ubercool neon sign). All pics were taken the night of Tuesday, 9/7 except the daytime Walgreen's pics, which were taken the morning of Thurs. 9/8.

Flyers Pizza. Very good pizza. I usually get it from the one further north in Hilliard next to Sloopys (check out my tour of the area from late November of last year..little did I know that a few months after taking that set I would frequent that area!). The flyer guy does something cool, which I will later show. The "free" sign is a computer store adjacent to Flyer's.

Galloway Square, at the corner of Hall and Galloway. Diagonally across the street from this strip center is a cornfield!!

Now what we've all been waiting for: The former Frisch's Big Boy sign. The restaurant closed a few years back, and Walgreen's purchased and redeveloped the property. I guess they wanted to do away with the vintage neon sign but after consideration from the community and local government, they decided it could fit into their scheme. And honestly, they did a great job of keeping and refurbishing the sign.
A few night shots of the sign. The upper part, with the cursive "Walgreens" script is in neon, while an LED ascpect is on the bottom half advertising specials and whatnot.

A couple shots of the shot in daylight.

Here is a link to what the sign looked like in it's Frisch's days. Frisch's

Interesting (no, sadly, not a tour, but something cool to tide us over..)

2010-08-31T23:49:00.002-04:00

OK, with the car issues I seem to find every late summer, I have not gotten to do much neoning in the last several weeks. But fall is approaching and of course, more neon. Look for a new post with a tour coming in the next week or two. For now, I thought I would share this video I found on youtube, showing how these great works of art are constructed.

NW side missing links, COSI stragler, DDs, and movie time!

2010-07-29T11:50:00.008-04:00

With everything that has been going on since the start of this year, this has admittedly been a disappointing year for this blog and photo taking in general. A lot has happened personally for me and my family this calendat year so neon signs have been on the backburner. So this month of July has been surprsingly productive since summer in general is a "slow" time for me with the later sunset times and longer days. Happy to see I have been into it quite a bit this month despite what has been going on as of late.

So I have a few mini tours and shoots to share. The first set included in this post is a set of "missing links", either new, forgotten, or overlooked. I covered the Dublin Road and Arlington/Grandview areas in general a few times over the last couple years. But I decided to take the long way/scenic route from a ball game downtown up to Linworth this week. I caught some surprises of neon along the usually subdued Dublin Road.

I also included a couple pics snapped when I took my future stepdaughter to COSI a couple Saturdays ago. The building was a former high school of course and has a lot of nooks and cranies as many older buildings do. Good find in one of those nooks! Also, I took my daughter to see the movie Marmaduke at the "dollar theater" and of course, theaters that were built in the 70s and 80s and became second run theaters in the last 10-20 years are fill of neon! Good find there! And then my brother and a friend decided to go to Hooters to check out the...wings and beer, and a cool neon sign in their newest Columbus area location in Hilliard. And I got a free beer there! Free beer is always noteworthy.

The first set, the NW side pics were taken the evening of Sun. 7/25. The COSI pics were taken on Sat. 7/17. The theater and the Hooters pics were taken on Wed. 7/28.

The Rocco's sign is my fav! I love cursive neon. The neon McDonald's is relatively rare since most modern McD's locations do not feature neon displays. Nice. The men's barbershop is for MEN (and boys). Ladies, don't even try it!

This is a wall disaplay at COSI covering the history of Cracker Jack, which goes back over 100 years. Neon signs celebrate their 100th birthday in the next couple years!

Movie time! Ana and I watched Marmaduke at the "dollar theater" which actually set us back $1.50 per ticket. In the movie there is a scene taking place in a junk yard which also includes supposedly 'junked' neon signs. The travesty of a neon sign relegated to a junk yard. Though of course, neon grave yards would be a cool place to visit, especially if I had funds to restore them.

This cool Corona sign hangs on the wall of the Hooters on Rome Hilliard Road, their newest location (been there about 2-3 years or so). The Bengals beer sign is cool, though the neon functions as a backlight.

A couple Dublin Road missing links

2010-07-14T12:33:00.002-04:00

Just a couple pics I had missed or have been new additions since my last visit to the area. Well, the Fur Vault has been there for years but either way, they caught my eye while stopping off 670 to get gas on the way home from work. Both pics taken the night of Sat. 7/3.

COSI

2010-06-30T10:33:00.006-04:00

COSI, the Center of Science and Industry, is Columbus's science museum. The original location was on E. Broad Street across from the first Wendy's and near the old Borden headquarters and was there for over 30 years. In 1999 the museum moved to it's current location on W. Broad Street across from the Veterans Memorial Hall, right on the west bank of the Scioto River, in the former Central High School. Not the greatest science museum in the world I am sure, but definitely good for a few hours of fun for the kids. Also located within the museum are the studios for WOSU 820 AM, one of the local public radio stations. I took my daughter here for her first time this month and she loved it! My fiance got us season passes and I am sure they will be well used for the next 11 months. Many of the exhibits and installations have some form of neon I was happy to find. I may have missed some, but I believe I captured most if not all of the neon in the museum. All pics were taken the afternoon of Tues, 6/15.

The first couple pics and the last (all the neon punctuation is ubercool to me!)are in the "Gadgets" wing, which focuses on industrial technology. The "drugs", "Bailwicks" and "diner" signs are in the "Progress" wing, near Gadgets, which is a walk through replica of a small town center in two sections. One enters into the "town" as it would appear in 1898 with storefronts, street furniture and the like. Very cool. At the end of the street you turn into a small hallway and then we are in the supposedly same "town", only now we fast forward to the year 1962 with period replica shops and street scenery. Very cool and cool hands on stuff for kids to do (my daughter loves working the counter at the 50s-60s era diner!). And of course, 1962 was in the middle of the golden age for neon signage! Beautiful signs, even if not original. Progress is probably our favorite section. What would be cool is to expand this to include a small section of "today" and one for maybe some period in the future. Just my idea anyway.

The WOSU studios are located underneath this neon sign. And the neon backlit map is in the weather section.

Welcome to 2010 finally! A few short tours and new missing links!

2010-05-17T08:09:00.013-04:00

While the end of last year and the first few months of this year have been slow as far as updating this blog and new pics, I have had time for a few small tours. A description follows the photos.

Counting from the top downward: Photos 1-5 are the neon signs of Holiday Lanes and Bob Hart Pro Shop. My own bowling ball and shoes were purchased here. He also has various sports and associated collectibles, including neon signs. I would love to get my hands on some of them! The Mickey Mouse had a price tag of $535 last time I was there last month, for the last night of my winter league. Pictures taken in April, 2010.

Photo 6 was taken at Macaroni Grill above the bar area. The only neon in the place as far as I could tell, though there may be an outdoor sign. We went for lunch on a bright spring afternoon (4/.

Photos 7-9 are on the north end of Columbus. Some SR 161 and Cleveland Avenue "missing links". The auto repair shop is on E. Dublin GRanville Rd. and the law office is a house used as an office on Cleveland north of 161.

Photos 10-16 are some photos in or around Olentangy Center, at Bethel Rd. and Olentangy River Road. The Arabic language pic is near the Bethel Center, next to "our" (Red Sox fan group) Buffalo Wild Wings. It is a middle eastern/Halal meat shop.

Photo 17 is the Church Next Door, on Feder Road. Not a lot of neon, but a pretty sign. I currently live very close to this church. Sigh..I miss German Village!

Photos 18-20: More businesses along Cleveland Avenue up on the far north side, between 161 and I-270.

Photo 21: We're Rolling inside the WalMart on Rome Hilliard Road. Not the greatest pic. Didn't know it was so off centered until I uploaded it.

Photo 22: Jitters Café, inside Grant Hospital. This hospital was my "home" in late February and early March 2009, and had a medical emergency (that is putting it lightly, let's just say). I have been in and out of there not only as a patient once, but for speaking engagements related to my condition. I am a sorta celebrity around the ED and CICU there.

Photo 23: Galaxy Golf and Games, off Wilson Road near I-70. My daughter loves this place, which is a lot like Magic Mountain. I think Ana will do her first mini golf here this upcoming summer! This was actually taken on 12/30/09, so this was my last neon photo of 2009!

Photos 24-26: More Morse Road/Patio Shops "missing links". These are relatively new, as this carry out and restaurant have opened within the last year.

Photo 27: Holiday Lanes again. This hangs from the bar inside the bowling center. Not for sale as far as I know.

Photo 28: A new arrival on Morse Road. A furniture store across from Morse Center, at Lemarie place. I have previous photos from this location, but this sizable installation was added just in the last few months.

UPDATE!!!!

2010-04-21T11:21:00.001-04:00

Yes I am alive and still neoning! Lot's of changes in my life since the start of 2010! Mostly good changes! And look very soon for new updates and pics! By soon I mean within the day, possibly even later today! I have some catching up to do! Hope everyone made it through winter and is having a great spring! Check back VERY soon!

Kosher pork? And a trip to the dentist

2009-12-04T08:59:00.003-05:00

So it appears a former Jewish bakery is now home to a....bbq place? On James Road, just north of Broad on the east side. And yesterday I took my daughter to the dentist and two pieces of good news: My daughter has ZERO cavities. And they have an uber cool neon sign. It is inside the office and would look great in their street level windows (yep, it's in the basement of a medical building). I already caught Dr. Martinez' window sign over a year ago, but this would be a very cool addition. The BBQ pics were taken the night of Tue. 12/1 and the tooth on Thu. 12/3.

Yes, I've been lazy..two new tours though!

2009-11-30T10:09:00.007-05:00

Yes, I am aware, I have been lazy about this lately. Well, not really lazy. Have had some personal issues come up over the last month or two. Too bad, too, because I missed out on my favorite season for neoning. But winter can be fine too..that's why God invented coats! The second anniversary of this project quietly passed earlier this month. The second year has not been as fruitful as the first, but with all that has gone on, including near fatal illnesses, breakups, financial woes, I still consider it a good year. Added at least another 100-200 photos and new neighborhoods. The third year will have some new material, finally some road trips, and revisits. It is amazing how much an urban landscape can change in such a short period, especially when it comes to commercial signage. It's as if I have tracked the entire recession through neon signs. So many businesses, especially small ones, have closed up shop since I started this blog, it is sad. I'm definitely hoping the next year is a better year for all. I'm counting the days til New Year's Eve, so that as this year limps to the finish line, a new decade, a new era welcomes us all.

So I ended the month of November and the season with a couple small tours. Included are a small section of cool neon along Sinclair Road on the north end, and a small but cool cache of neon in the Roberts/Rome-Hilliard area. A few strip malls with ethnic shops that embrace neon! For December I hope to get at least one new tour in, a few revisits/missing links, and maybe 1-2 estalishment specifics. And like last year, I am on the hunt for holiday neon! SOMEONE has to have a neon Santa or Christmas tree around somewhere! All pics in the two shoots, my first photos of the third year of this blog, were taken the evening of Sun. 11/29.

SINCLAIR ROAD (between Morse and Lincoln):

ROBERTS/ROME-HILLIARD:

Sequoia Pro Bowl/a newbie on Morse

2009-10-08T15:51:00.004-04:00

Yes, it sure has been a while. Fall is now here and I should be on track to start getting in some good neoning. Last month was hard to find time, energy, and automobile related issues certainly didn't help that. So in the last week I did get to take a few photos. I hope to get an actual tour in very soon..possibly the long awaited neighborhoods I have yet to cover like the Campus Gateway or Grove Tucky..er..City. The market' picture at Morse and Cleveland Avenues was taken the night of Mon. 10/5 and the two pics inside Sequoia Pro Bowl the night of Tue. 10/6. Sequoia is a nice bowling center! I haven't bowled since before my hospitalization and hope to get practicing soon, with the goal of a short "Warm up" half season league starting in January, followed by a summer league, then back into it for real in the fall of 2010. Sequoia (the exterior signage was covered in one of my first tours almost TWO years ago now!) is the only PBA stop now in Columbus, they usually are here in late February or early March. That lounge is really nice too btw! And they have Keno!

A small "ethnic" market in a strip center near Cleveland Avenue and Morse Rd. This business appears to cater to local immigrant communities, mostly Mexican and Somalian (this side of town has large populations of both these nationalities).

The 7-10 Sports Bar & Grill inside Sequoia Pro Bowl in the Forest Park neighborhood on the north end of Columbus.

E. Broad corridor new/forgotten/missing links

2009-08-29T07:27:00.006-04:00

I have covered E. Broad extensively, at least from about Reynoldsburg to the far west side (so yeah, most of E. Broad in the Columbus area), but a stretch from Bexley to near downtown had a few stragglers which I do not have images of from previous photo tours. So after work earlier this week I took a short drive of E. Broad from Bexley to home, essentially downtown. All photos were taken the night of Monday 8/24.

Bexley Centres sign, near E. Broad and Harding. A small strip center in Bexley, I have photos taken of a few of the businesses in this center from a previous tour.

Apple Vacations neon sign, at a travel agency in another small strip center next to the Bexley Centres, at E. Broad and Broadleigh.

The Old Bag of Nails pub, actually on N. Nelson Rd. at E. Broad at the edge of Bexley, by the railroad bridge. Looks like some cool neon inside since their remodel..will have to check it out inside for an establishment specific photo tour/cold beer.

An attorney's office at E. Broad and S. 18th Streets, just east of downtown. Pretty cool sign. Lawyers are not really known for their use of neon signage to advertise their practices.

Coming soon: summer phone dump..the lazy days of summer neoning mostly taken with my rather low quality camera phone..always a pain in the butt because I have to send a text/picture message to my email since my phone doesn't have peripherals to just upload images onto my PC..but I have a few images taken over the summer, mostly in August, that I need to post. Also, with fall approaching, the campus gateway and short north should be alive with neon again soon..two long awaited areas I have yet to cover! Watch for those soon!

Indianola revisit/Fitzwilly's Irish Pub

2009-08-12T10:52:00.007-04:00

Since I have had a few car related issues, I have been driving home via the surface street of Indanola Avenue instead of I-71 the last few nights. I covered the area a little less than a year ago, but there were a few spots I didn't get for whatever reason, or maybe a few new additions since then. I don't use this stretch of Indianola too often so maybe a few things have changed. I also captured the little neon that adorns Fitzwilly's Irish Pub at the 161 and Karl strip center, next to After Hours Sports Bar, which I have already covered. The Indianola redux pics were taken the evening of 8/10 and the Fitzwilly's last night, 8/11.

Sorry about the quality of the "light bulb". This is the City of Columbus electric complex, and it was hard to get very close to the entrance of this building..looked like some security guards were watching me as I stopped the car with the emergency flashers on Indianola and walked up a grassy knoll and got as close as I could. Plus I didn't have a better camera on me, just the phone. I will probably be back for a retake for flickr maybe.

The neon of Fitzwilly's Irish Pub. Definitely stop in for a drink and see the lovely and beautiful Tracie who tends bar there most Tuesday nights!

Dead abandoned bowling alley

2009-07-24T10:39:00.004-04:00

This short photo shoot comprised of three of my lifelong interests: bowling, abandoned/decaying buildings, and neon signs. Mr. Bills was a longtime favorite bowling center located in the Northern Lights shopping area from the 1950s til the early 2000s. Almost directly across the street was another bowling center, Amos Lanes. Amos Lanes closed I believe around 2001 or 2002, leaving only Mr. Bills and it's cool animated neon entrance sign. Sadly, not too long after Amos' closure, Mr. Bills suffered a fire which caused extensive, if not irreparable damage to the interior. So Mr Bills decided to move to the now vacant Amos Lanes building across the street. Though I believe it has had a formal name change in the last couple years, locals still refer to even the new center as "Mr. Bills". A foot note to the bowling alley, when Mr. Bills purchased the still intact but closed center across the street after the fire, there were rumors going around from other bowling centers management and from local pros, that once the renovations to the new center were complete, that they were going to install a few candlepin lanes to go along with the traditional tenpin. This was like a dream come true for me, but unfortunately, they were either just rumors or the ownership chickened out. Either way, I would love for the idea to be revived. I grew up in New England and bowled only candlepin until coming to Ohio, and while I love tenpin, I miss candles and always bowl a few strings (games) when I am back east. A lifelong dream of mine is to own a candlepin/duckpin/tenpin center. With the recent sad closure of AMF Main Lanes, I saw possibilities...so if anyone has a few million dollars they could loan me, let's bring candlepin out of it's New England hiding place! All pics were taken a few weeks ago (were taken on my camera phone, so don't expect much in way of quality), on the afternoon of Sat. 7/4.

I know, I know, the second sign ( B O W L )is not actually neon. But it is a great sign nonetheless. And it would have been SO much nicer if the overhead wires were not there, but oh well, that's life.

Two long awaited S. High missing links

2009-06-18T11:47:00.004-04:00

I wish these two businesses would keep their neon on after dark, but now having lived close to this area for almost a year, I am resigned to the fact they close up shop and turn the lights out early. Even during fall and winter the signs seem to be off anytime after dark. Now in summer it is unlikely I will catch the signs at night, so I snapped a couple pics on a mostly cloudy mid afternoon. If I ever do have a camera on me, have the time, and I see them lit up while dark, they are going for retakes. Both pics were taken Tue. 6/16.

Bluegrass Music Supply, near S. High and Moler. Love the semi-amateur neon work! Awesome!

Dr. Jenkins Chiropractic office. This sign would look absolutely wonderful at night. Unfortunately the shadows don't do this great sign justice. Maybe one day the doc will keep some late office hours and while he fixes spines, I will get a better image of his sign.

Kroger on Parsons Avenue

2009-06-03T10:40:00.003-04:00

Living in German Village, but spending a lot of time on the east and north sides, I have a wide variety of grocery shopping options. I like my share of Trader Joe when I am in that area (Easton or Dublin..and would be nice to have a store in German Village or downtown, but that's a pipe dream for now). I go to Aldi for many of the basics, rather than pay for other store's advertising. For the 'regular' stores, I definitely prefer the Brewer's Gate Kroger..definitely the nicest plain old Kroger store in the area. The Giant Eagle (a former Big Bear location) on Whittier is maybe a few feet closer to me than the Kroger, but the G.E. is so small. Nothing wrong with it, just smaller selection and higher prices, but possibly fresher lobster. On occasion, I venture over to the "other" side of German/Merion Village, Parsons Avenue. I have done neon photo tours of the area, but only recently did I go inside the Kroger at the corner of Moler. WOW! It is a time capsule from the 1990s. While I am sure somewhere there are grocery stores, even chain stores like Kroger, that may not have been extensively remodeled since the stone age days of the 70s and 80s, I have noticed that MOST older stores have been given a 21st century makeover, and that the newest ones have that same toned down but pleasant look of the 2000s. The Kroger on E. Broad in Town and Country was recently remodeled, but they kept their entrance neon (there is a pic way back at the beginning of the blog). The Parsons store..it is still in full 90s goodness. In the early to mid 1990s, grocers and other retail establishments started using neon extensively IN the stores (while sadly, taking down their classic outdoor neon signs and replacing them with cheaper alternatives). The neon is really nothing breathtakingly exciting but...it is neon, and nice to see some still around. Big Bear also went through a neon phase in the 90s, in what would ultimately be their last new look before death. The Neil Avenue Giant Eagle of course, reflects that era. The following pics were taken the morning of Mon. 6/1. With my phone, so quality is not as great. But I wasn't kicked out by some arbitrary manager!

North End missing links and newcomers/SR 161

2009-05-30T10:26:00.008-04:00

Commercial strips like State Route 161 (called E. Dublin-Granville Road in the northland area of Columbus) is like most retail oriented areas, prone to constant retail change via closures, takeovers, openings, and anything else that is part of the normal business cycle in the retail industry. This road is lined with the sorts of businesses liable to quick openings, even quicker disappearances, and property owner/tenant turnover. Restaurants, small ethnic shops and markets, used car lots, etc. So I am always on the lookout for new neon, changed neon, as well as sadly, newly dark neon. Here are a few examples of some neon that has changed, added, or been relit, or otherwise missed during previous tours of the area. I work in this area so I am able to get to the area fairly regularly. All pics taken the night of Fri. 5/29.

Johnny Oak's BBQ, now Shrimp Shack and Pizza, next to Lane Carryout, between Maple Canyon and Beechcroft Roads. This sort of inexpensive faux southern food has become quite popular around Columbus. Gotta try it sometime. This is probably one of the newer more interesting signs in this area, only having appeared in the last month or so. Gotta love a business who still believes in investing in neon!!!!

Accent neon adorning the corners of the Sharon Woods Center, a small strip center that dates probably to sometime in the 1970s.

Interesting that this place has electricity flowing through it. This nightclub, site of the former seafood Shells restaurant, has not been open for years, and was dark for a LONG time. Shells closed in early 2001 I believe and a nightclub went in not long after, but it was not open long and it's long been closed. Maybe new owners have taken over and have plans??

This medical office, which appears to specialize in hair restoration, seems be run out of an actual residence, in this small house tucked behind some trees off a service road at 161 and Ponderosa, near Northland Plaza. Trust me..I may need to pay them a visit soon!!!

Whiskey Dick's bar, on an outparcel of Columbus Square at 161 and Forrest Hills Blvd, across from Northland Plaza. Awesome super atomic hot wings here. So hot, you need to sign a waiver upon ordering them. I've had them..delish!

Lisska

2009-05-19T14:44:00.001-04:00

Lisska is an old bar and grill on E. 5th Avenue at the corner of Cassady Avenue in an area called "the East Gateway". Not far from Bexley and not far from the airport, the area has seen worse and better days. Definitely working and lower middle class, but not the hardest of hard core ghetto. Very little neon graces the area despite many older buildings and businesses. Other than some very run of the mill stuff on some of the convenience stores and a few ghost pieces, there is practically nothing of neon interest here. With one very big exception, and that exception is Lisska. I happened to take this pic despite the fact it was late morning because a. it was lit. And b. I am rarely in this area late at night. I will make it a point to capture the sign at night if I can, but that may be hard since I have rarely seen it lit very late and some of the characters hanging around the area make taking pictures of a neon sign a bit tricky. The neon needs some work and retubing, but the sign really isn't in bad shape, despite it being there probably close to 60 years. According to property records, the Lisska family has owned the property since 1944 and the building itself was built in 1950. I have never been in the place. The pic was taken the late morning of Mon. 5/18.

More from the south side

2009-05-15T11:15:00.014-04:00

The south side of Columbus, I have discovered, is for some reason a tough place to shoot neon. Either I have bizarre hours or the businesses on this side of town do. Or they only feel like having their neon signs lit when the mood strikes them. I can never just seem to do one good photo tour of the area. When one sign I want to capture is there seemingly waiting for my camera's lens to grab it, another one is out cold. And then when that sign finally is on, I discover another hidden gem that is lights out. Anyway, I felt like getting a pretty good tour in of the area of S. High street below German Village. Yeah, I already do have some from this area in previous posts. But I never fully committed to the area as of yet. Lots of ghost neon in this area, which I did cover, but was ghost specific. All the pics were taken the evening of Tue. 5/12 except for the daytime pic of the "rainbow" which I took just this morning.

This business is rather unique. If you ever need to wash your 93 Camaro and your pit bull at the same time, while grabbing that 6 pack of Busch, this is the place! Gotta love the south side!

This is actually inside the DOTS store at Great Southern shopping center, on the back wall. I think every old strip mall, regardless of how well or poor business is, has a DOTS. Kinda like the GNC or Radio Shack for women's clothing.

One side of this tire place is pretty much the norm..one or more letters out. This is a "Fires One". But lo and behold, the other side of the building features a 100% functioning Firestone sign!

Mexican Restaurant on the outlot of Southland Mall. Nice "abierto" sign, even if it is for decoration over function. Very few multilingual neon signs are to be found in Columbus, even with the large increase in the Spanish speaking population. Even establishments that are run and patronized by speakers of languages other than English, most of the neon is English.

Bob Evans Restaurants corporate headquarters are located on a small campus in this area of S. High. I am not the hugest fan of neon covered by other signage (where the neon basically is shadowed by a metallic overlay), but it does look nice and does count as neon.

Buy here/pay here used car lot on Parsons Avenue near Frebis Ave.

Is a lit up Bluegrass Music sign in my future?? A sign I want to capture but eludes me is next door to this Victorian house turned into psychic parlor.

The Rice Bowl sign lit up before it goes to bed. I covered this sign last fall, but it wasn't quite as dark.

Wow! The Chatterbox is NOT dead! I covered this sign a few months back and had it as a dead sign. It is dying and on life support it seems. I wish they would fix it though..it's a wicked cool sign!

Crater's Restaurant on S. High and Morrill Avenue. A comfort food kinda place. I would think that Miller Lite sign means it is gay or gay friendly. I know of a few cool rainbows in the short north area that when I finally cover will be a part of this diverse blog. I am straight but not narrow, by the way.

RIP Wonder Bakery Columbus 1916-2009

2009-05-13T09:38:00.003-04:00

The Wonder Bread bakery on N. 4th St. near E. 1st Avenue in Italian Village closed after decades of wonderful smells and a wicked cool neon sign. It was announced back in March that it would close later in the spring and indeed, the bakery's last day of operations was this past Saturday. The sign seems to have went dark prior to the closing of the bakery though, as I have not seen it lit up in weeks. I snapped this picture in the early evening while the building was still open and was not turned on. This picture, which looks as sad and dark as the now former employee's moods might be, was taken the early evening of Sun. 5/3. A link to the story of the bakery closing can be found here

Establishment specific: Afterhours Sports Bar

2009-05-12T10:43:00.004-04:00

Afterhours is a small bar on the north end of Columbus, in a strip center at SR 161 and Karl Road. It's simple and not snobby and that is what I enjoy about the place. Dollar domestic drafts every day is also a good thing, including one of my favs, PBR. Several TVs, not huge but good enough for the bar, a couple pooltables and dart boards, Golden Tee, a pretty cool bowling game, pinball, and the usual jukebox. The staff is great and meaghan just might be the most beautiful bartender in the city. She is awesome. The neon is pretty run of the mill, typical beer and alcohol stuff, but it is a bar..so umm, that makes sense. All pics were taken the evening of Monday, 5/4. Was pretty busy for a Monday night.

One of my favs..This was my grandmother's beer when I was a kid, now here I am drinking it! Over the last 5 years or so this has become cool and hip and 20somethings fell in love with it, after having a grandparenty image for decades. While still cheap, it's only a matter of time before they raise the price when a beer has been "cool" long enough. A 6 pack is typically $4.99 for six PINT (16 oz) cans or bottles and here at Afterhours it is $1.00 for a tall glass.

Another one of my favs, though I don't always need the girly orange slice. Not on the dollar domestic draft list at Afterhours though.

Yep, it's been a while../Grocery store neon

2009-04-16T09:45:00.008-04:00

Ahh, good to be back. I have tried to do some neoning and post on here at least a few times a month since starting this project back in late 2007, but March was my first postless month. A pretty major illness that landed me at Grant Medical Center in late February and well into March sidelined me for a while. I am doing much better now and hope to get back to full strength over the spring.

So my first neon tour since before I was put on the disabled list I was with my daughter and shot a few photos of somewhere I had wanted to for a long while. Yep, the grocery store. An unusual place for good neon, admittedly. But, for me, there is some meaning and memories behind it. The actual place where I shot these was the Victorian Village Giant Eagle, on Neil Avenue near Thurber Village. The location has not always been a Giant Eagle, however. This was once the location of the now defunct Big Bear Chain, which was started and headquartered in Columbus. I got my 'real' job was at the Big Bear Plus location on E. Main street in Whitehall when I was 16, and worked there for over 4 years. Big Bear was considered my Columbus old timers to be the hometown store and the nicest of the major chains which also had a presence in the Columbus market. Cincinnati based Kroger has been in the market for decades, with Pennsylvania based Giant Eagle entering the Columbus market around the turn of the century (I think it was November 2000 when they built their first Columbus store up on Rt. 161, and I was probably one of the first few hundred customers to shop there since I lived almost across the street from it). Meijer and Wal-Mart have also been considered major players in the Columbus supermarket arena. Anyway, to make a long story short, Big Bear began to lose market share as they focused more on value than on quality after being acquired by a larger grocery operator called Penn Traffic. That move didn't work as Kroger began to expand aggressively thus enabling even lower prices and bigger selection. Bad management from the new parent company combined with the expansion of Kroger and influx of new chains and specialty stores led to Big Bear's collapse, as the last stores closed in early 2004, though the writing was being written on the wall even when I was still working for the company. Big Bear was known in the industry for it's many innovations in the supermarket world, many of which we take for granted such as price scanning and private labeling. Another thing the chain was known for, especially within it's home base of Columbus, was it's use of color and paint schemes, as well as signage. Many of the older stores retained their 1950s and 60s era large NEON signs until their very end. Their warehouse on W. 3rd Avenue had a large neon sign which was a local landmark seen easily from Rt. 315 heading toward downtown Columbus. When the chain went out of business, many locations were acquired by Giant Eagle, including the Victorian Village location. Some still sit empty, as the store on E. Main street where I once worked does. Most of the converted Giant Eagles have been remodeled, but this particular location really retains it's Big Bear elements, including the interior neon signage, which was extensively used by Big Bear in 1990s remodels and new builds. Honestly, except for the name and some of the merchandise, being in this location feels little different from being in the same store 12 years ago. Kroger also uses neon extensively in many of it's 90s and 2000s era stores, and I will get some pics sometime soon. Anyway, I have provided some links about the interesting history of this former Columbus institution.

These are not my best pics, as they were taken on my phone and I didn't have a lot of time to stand there and snap pictures of their signs, something businesses like to frown upon anyway. They were taken the afternoon of Wednesday, 4/15.
Now that I am "back", I have some catching up to do. I have some retake/missing links I have noticed while driving around that I want to get to. Some establishment specific locations I have in mind. Also, at the end of the month, road trip! My first ever since starting this blog. While it is a non-neon related trip, I will definitely be focusing SOME of my attention on the neon of the area I am going to. Happy springtime to all!

GO JACKETS! They play their first ever postseason tonight in Detroit against the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings! We can do it! Carry the Flag!!!!

Wikipedia has a good entry for Big Bear: en.wikipedia.org/Big Bear

Thurman Cafe and Nationwide Arena

2009-02-19T11:08:00.012-05:00

I've been to both these places numerous times. Yesterday I hit both in a night. Started off as a trip just to get a cupcake at Bakery Gingham turned out to be a complete night out. I wasn't in the mood for a giant burger so I had the fish dinner with my Blue Moon. Yummy. Then my friend who works at Nationwide was working the Jackets game so he let me know seats were still available. Never had a bad time at a Jackets game. Only been to one losing game ever, and the two that I've been to so far this year, both thrilling wins. Last night got me a bit nervous but Mason held it together at the end to help The CBJ get a 4-3 win over St. Louis. They have struggled somewhat against lesser opponents but are having their way with the Detroits and San Joses of the league. In sixth place in the west now, they may finally be ready to make a playoff run, especially if they keep playing the way they have. So I supported the local Columbus economy by: my Mint cupcake from Bakery Gingam..fish and beer at Thurman Cafe..took COTA up High Street to the game, and supported our CBJ. Of course, the NHL is headquartered in Toronto, but I still consider Nationwide to be local. Go Ceebus! I took these with a camera phone I just got a couple weeks ago, so they are of so-so quality. Nothing like my JVC. Anyway,all pics taken the evening of Wed. 2/18.

Not easy to take pics in here, since it is elbow to elbow crowded. We got there early, just before 5 pm, and only had to wait about 10 minutes. I have waited as much as two and a half hours on a Wednesday night before. The key is to get there early, before 5! This place has a lot of cool, divey decor like old newspaper front pages, traffic signs and signals, old license plates, tips (literally..probably a couple thousand bucks in singles taped all over the walls, ceiling, bar, tables, etc), and of course, neon signs. Many of the signs are run of the mill beer signs, which is why I don't have a ton of pics from inside, but it is definitely an atmosphere that is right up my very strange alley. Check them out:Thurman Café If you are in the mood for sweets before your giant burger, check outBakery Gingham.

Now pics of neon inside Nationwide Arena. Of course the district was covered on a tour back in November:

US 62/OH3 South/Grove City

2009-02-16T13:21:00.012-05:00

Am I the only one here ready for spring to arrive? Didn't think so! While February, now amazingly half over, has not been nearly as harsh as January was, I think we can all use a good dose of warmth and sunshine! I was hoping to have a pretty active first half of the shortest month but a pretty miserable chest cold/bronchitis derailed those plans, so any time I was not taking care of the little one or working was basically resting. I still am recovering but feeling much better than I did about this time last week.

A month or so ago I had to run an errand in a part of town I am probably least familiar with, the southwest side. I have lived in Columbus well over a decade and can probably count on my hands how often I have traveled this stretch of road, on Harrisburg Pike, which runs concurrent with US Route 62 and Ohio State Route 3. Those same roads zigzag through various streets in Columbus itself and then wind up again on the northeast side near the I-270 Outerbelt. I have mentioned before how Columbus is somewhat different from larger cities, in that one can find urban, suburban, and almost rural areas within blocks of each other. This side of town is the epitome of this phenomenon, and since this area has been the slowest to develop in Franklin County, it is still quite pronounced. Some areas that were like this when I moved here have changed as those areas grew and developed into a more typical metropolitan pattern, with a more gradual shift from urban to suburban to exurban or rural. But this side of town retains that feeling of rural/urban blendedness. In just a couple short miles along Harrisburg Pike, one starts in a gritty urban neighborhood. The scene shifts very quickly to an almost rural setting with some barns and farmhouses still standing (the Columbus skyline still visible in the background). Then just another mile or so south, by the I-270 interchange, we are in typical midwestern suburbia, complete with a multi-lane strip of retail.

Being an older almost rural area, I was not sure what to expect in terms of neon signs. This was a well traveled road in the days before the interstate system was built and was the main drag into Columbus from southwestern Ohio. I only went as far south as Grove City, so it is possible on another day I will go farther south to see if any remnants of the old road and roadside businesses remain. In any case, one will find gems when least expected. I only covered Harrisburg Pike/Broadway stretch from Mound Street south through the southern edge of Grove City. The rest of Grove City (Stringtown Road, etc) and other parts of this road will possibly be covered on future tours. All pics were taken the evening of Sun. 2/15.

Nothing too remarkable about these signs, adorning a laundromat at Central Point shopping center, next to one of the many abandoned Big Bear stores. But the relative rarity of a neon "CLOSED" sign made it worth catching.

A pawn shop at a somewhat major intersection. I love pawn neon, and often provides some of the most intricate and cool modern neon. No, it's not quite a classic gem, but I have rarely seen pawn shop neon that was not pleasing to my eye.

What a gem! Probably dating back to when the road was used more for long distance travel from southern Ohio and other points south. The sign is as cool as the hotel signs found on W. Broad and E. Main, but sadly this sign needs a visit to the neon doctor. It is double sided and sadly, both sides were in the same state. Here is a pic I took by day when I happened to be in the area sometime last month, and filed it away in my head for future nighttime neoning:

This is a "pool store" near I-270 in Grove City. While the business specializes in pools as in swimming pools, they also sell pool tables. Interesting double use of a single word.

Talita's, a Mexican restaurant in a strip center in GC. Not sure if they are related to the Talita's that used to be on N. High in Clintonville that closed a while back. I love the older Miller Lite sign.

Simple neon along Broadway in Grove City.

Not so simple neon along Broadway in Grove City! I didn't expect to find this orgasm of neon, but then again, I am only rarely in Grove City. Jolly Pirate was once a fairly large chain of coffee and donut shops in the Columbus area, but now down to only two that I know of. One in Whitehall (with no neon as long as I have known the area) and this one in Grove City. Most are still standing as independents or as completely new businesses. Can't blame Dunkin Donuts on this one since until now Columbus only ever had a few DD locations. Blame Tim Horton's!

Deader than a doornail. I actually took this by day last month and hoped to return at night to see it lit. Sadly, the sign is deader than a doornail, as is the actual tire business fifty feet below. The sign doesn't look in too bad shape so it could possibly see rehab.

Ghosts of the south side

2009-01-28T14:07:00.012-05:00

As I have mentioned before on this blog, there are several general categories of signs one may find on any given street. Of course, there is active neon. That can be divided further into "new", "old", "classic"..whatever. A generic red and blue OPEN sign is quite different from say, the Ho Toy or 40 Motel sign. Any neon is better than none though, right?! There is also dark neon, neon which is still physically intact but for whatever reasons is no longer lit up on a regular basis. And there is another category, ghost neon. Ghost neon may be hard to spot at first, and admittedly, it is often difficult to determine whether a sign is ghost neon. The south side abounds with dark and ghost neon, especially along S. High Street and Parsons Avenue. Last weekend I hit the road with my camera on a sunny but cold day and looked around for some of the ghosts and "bodies" of neon past. Seeing these makes one realize how much we have gotten away from neon as art, and "progressed" to boring plastic incadescent signs, and how the streets and storefronts of the 50s and 60s must have been much brighter than those today. All pics were taken on Saturday and Sunday, 1/24-1/25.

Old used car dealership on Parsons Avenue near Whittier. Status: ghost (neon tubing remains but holes in sign show how the installation was housed onto the sign itself)

Nail salon on Parsons Avenue near the car dealership. Status: ghost

A masterpiece of a sign. A small tire shop on S. High near state route 104. What this must have looked like lit up decades ago! Amazing! Isn't a plastic backlit sign that just says "tire shop" SO much more interesting??? NOT! Very sad, but looks like it could be restorable? Status: dark (but definitely dying).

Dan's Diner, on S. High Street. The diner and sign have been here for years, but is no longer a neon sign, sadly. Status: ghost

German Village Beer and Wine. Again, the business is still open, but the sign hasn't glowed with neon in a while.
Status: ghost

Caskey, a supply company, located on S. Front Street south of Greenlawn Avenue. It's former life as a neon sign is obvious with the numerous holes. Status: ghost

R&R Bait, on S. Front Street near Columbus Street. With a "live bait" vending machine in front of the building, this may be the only large city not near the ocean where one can buy worms through a machine in the middle of the city. Awesome old sign. Too bad it's "gone". Status: ghost

Old elongated sign on Parsons Avenue. Status: ghost

Along Parsons Avenue, a cool old tavern sign. Status: ghost

Many signs are indeterminable if they are neon, were neon, ghost. If anyone can help me out, please contact me. The following signs I just can't tell from looking at them:

West far and near

2009-01-26T09:58:00.009-05:00

While I have covered the west side before, I had not yet gotten to a few neighborhoods surrounding those areas. W. Broad Street is undoubtdely the main drag of the west side of Columbus, and the main thoroughfare which leads one from the west side to Downtown (I-70 and I-670 for those in a hurry). When I did my original photo tours I did not really venture south of Broad nor west of about Philippi/Georgesville Rd. So I thought I would cover some of that. Believe it or not I still have some west side yet to cover, even after this small tour (Central Point/Harrisburg, etc..but I can cover those on their own or in combination with Grove City..oh and I can't forget those small tiny former towns like San Margherita near Hilliard and Upper Arlington..again, separate tours). I have to admit, I was slightly disappointed by the volume of neon far out on W. Broad. Overall W. Broad is one of the best stretches in Columbus for neon, but a lot of the roadside goodies are now gone in an area which switches almost immediately from high density urban to almost rural in an instant. Of course that area now is becoming "suburbanized" with generic chain businesses which use generic plastic signage. Anyway, one of the old crown jewels of the far west side was undoubtedly the Frisch's sign on W. Broad. The location had been there for decades but closed sometime in the last few years. One of it's hallmarks was it's large neon sign that abutted the road. The neon is gone of course. But out of the ashes may rise a Phoenix (or however you say it). One of those aforementioned chains, this time a pharmacy, has purchased the property, raised the old restaurant and built one of their almost prototype buildings on the property. The good news? They have decided to keep the original sign's structure and designed their own on the old! It was unlit when I drove by and did not take a picture, as it was quite dark. But I have to admit it looks good! It is definitely modern day neon, but with a very retro feel. This could become the Camden Yards of Columbus, Ohio neon signage! I am not sure when this location is due to open, but when it does I will definitely get a pic or two. If they light this sign and keep it on good working order maybe this chain will be in my good graces. I am not boycotting them or anything, I just of course have a general disdain for anything cool and old (meaning, what, anything over 15 years old these days?!?) being replaced by the cookiecutter model, and this chain has a history of doing this. Anyway, here is a small sample of some of the neon of W. Broad and Sullivant Avenues. All pics were taken the evening of Fri.1/23.

Some neon from one of the many strip centers located along W. Broad Street near Westland.

The New Rome Motel. New Rome was a town (that is a stretch..was a few houses and a few businesses along a stretch of W. Broad Street lasting about two blocks) which was soley created for the purpose of making money via a speed trap. The fact that 99.9% of their revenue was through traffic tickets, and that the reduced speed limit was later deemed illegal, and a lot of other things led to this "town" being disestablished by the state. Google "New Rome, Ohio" sometime. Absolutely amazing that they got away with this for so long!

Pretty cool addition to what is normally a generic and pedestrian neon sign. Found on a Burger King on W. Broad, in what used to be New Rome.

Western Lanes, near the corner of Georgesville and Sullivant Avenue. One of the few places in Columbus I have never bowled in. Nice sign, but definitely no Hillcrest!

Westgate Cocktail Lounge. The place and sign probably date to the 1950s or 60s. Very cool, even though the sign needs some work.

Just a Papa John's sign, across the street from the Westgate Lounge. What I like about Papa John's is that they at least invest in some neon, at the same time they realize the pizza business is competitive and need to be frugal. Of course an all neon sign would be MUCH better, but at least they have some.

The Columbus Coal and Lime building, very close to downtown at the end of Sullivant Avenue near Gift Street. This area is known as "the Bottoms". A large housing project building is very close to here.

Read this

2009-01-23T00:05:00.002-05:00

This article appeared in the Columbus Dispatch on January 7. Nice article! And I and kick myself for not getting back with Ms. Gibson back when she read this blog. In any case it is nice to hear about fellow neoners!
Cool Dispatch neon article!
Interestingly, I lived (and my parents still live) about 50 yards from the Silent Woman, and I have never photographed their main sign on E. Main Street! When I started the blog I hadn't yet covered dark or ghost neon. When I visit my folks tomorrow, I will pay much more attention to the old headless woman sign. Sadly, it is in bad shape, but I know it is a living history exhibit of U.S. Rt. 40 and Columbus from the 1950s! Didn't know it was once neon though!

Upcoming Projects

2009-01-22T12:01:00.000-05:00

This year will be an exciting year for my blog. In addition to my usual photo tours involving still images of lit signs, I want to do some video projects, perhaps a whole video production involving neon signs in the capital city. I also have planned a few different type photo tours. Back when I started this blog, my aim was to capture the artistic beauty of neon signs, specifically the neon tubing itself, mostly in it's lit up form. Of course, that is the basic aim of neon signage, to advertise XXX (insert almost any noun or even verb) in dim or lowlight environments. I have found though that the actual sign itself, not limited to the lit up gas in glass, is often times also a work of art, especially those dating to midcentury. I have already done a few such posts which deviate from my default norm (still images of lit up signs taken at night), and those type posts will actually increase throughout the course of this year. I have captured over six hundred images of lit up neon of all types, ranging from the usual and ordinary to the extraordinary and brilliant (think blue and red "open" signs vs. Peking Dynasty..and everything in between). But I also need to include, if I am going to be true to the spirit of neon as art AND function, those which may no longer grace our cityscape with light. An example was my "in memoriam" post last fall, which showcased a few examples of dark neon, or neon signs which still exist in physical form, but for whatever reason are no longer actively used for non-daylight advertising. There are yet other categories of neon signs which I have yet to cover, and of course, would violate my rules stated when I started this blog (evolution is good of course, right?).

Ghost neon, is arguably one of the three categories of neon signage found in urban environs such as Columbus; the others being "active neon" and "dark" or "dead" neon. Like active neon seen on any given evening, examples can be found in the city, in the suburbs, and in ruralia. Ghost neon is basically a neon sign which has had it's neon tubing removed, either purposely or through years of weather extremes, pollution, vandalism, or other wear and tear. When done purposely, it usually is removed by a new owner or operator of a business so that a new sign may be retrofitted over the usually much older neon installation. Most of the time, the original business which installed the neon sign has been long gone. On occasion, an original owner or operator of a business may remove neon tubing just to do it (also known as "save money by switching to plain white lighting or LEDs"), or on rare occasions, for safety concerns. While like I said it can be found anywhere, ghost neon abounds in older urban neighborhoods, often in areas which economic conditions fluctuate greatly. In Columbus, the near east side..the west side..and urban south side. I live in an area now which has relatively healthy neon installations (German Village/Brewery), but I am not far at all from probably the most ghostly area of the city for neon. The south side has a LOT of ghost neon. I intend on doing a daytime tour of Parsons, South High, Lockboune..and capture some of the ghosts of neon past. Here is an example of ghost neon, taken in December on Parsons Avenue:
It may be hard to tell from that photo, but one can tell ghost neon from the round holes on certain parts of the sign which housed the neon tubing which covered the signs' facade. Lots of examples like this exist on this side of town. Definitely makes you think about just how neon saturated this area must have been on a cool evening fifty years ago. Yes, most ghost neon signs are VERY old, dating to pre-1960. I can't wait to start this tour, perhaps even today if possible.

Also coming up, like I mentioned, the beer project. I am not sure what the details will be, but basically, I am going to spend one entire day covering one of neon's greatest champions: beer. Beer has to be one of the top two or three uses of neon advertising, especially when one considers just how much neon is used for outdoor, as well as indoor art and advertising inside drinking establishments. Being a fan of both neon and beer, I will combine two of my loves. I have yet to go neoning while intoxicated, so maybe another first is about due?! I will have my walking shoes on for that tour. I am not sure if I will just post stills on blog post; perhaps slideshow form is what I am considering. Similar to the original slide show I did way back when I started this. This country does not have a 'national beer day' like Iceland and Germany do, unfortunately. We have lots of candidates which already function as beer day, like St. Patty's, Cinco de Mayo, New Year's Eve, Christmas..etc..but I want to designate a day for beer, not corrupt another holiday. So possibly a day late this month, or in February or March, when not much else is going on. Psychologists who have studied seasonal affective disorder (appropriately acronymed as SAD) have suggested that January 24 is the bleakest day of the year in North America. Perhaps this weekend I should start my beer project? We shall see!

Famous for Steakburgers (and missing links)

2009-01-22T10:49:00.000-05:00

I remember my first ever visit to a Steak N Shake. It was around 1998, in Indianapolis. I thought, what a cool, retro sorta place. Would be nice if Columbus had one! Well a monster was created. They are pretty well represented here. With some coupons I had (the food has for some reason or another gotten a little pricey compared to when they first entered the market) I decided to take the kids there after a doctor appointment which featured a few of the-not-so-favorite of childhood experiences: vaccinations. With the coupons and a somewhat remodeled menu, it was a reasonable price for lunch for three. One of their new menu offers is "unlimited fries". Unless that is all one was ordering, I have no idea why anyone would want or need this! The original plate offered a LOT of fries. Everyone, including myself, had more than enough food on the first plate. The free shake I had was enormous and there was no way I could finish it. Same goes for the free sundae...way too big, even with both kids eating it. Anyway, as anyone who has been in a Steak N Shake knows, they feature a pseudo-1950s motif. The hats..the 'classic diner' look..the greasy unhealthy (but tasty!) food..and NEON! Sadly, none of the neon is very original, especially in the new fashioned ones which popped up in the last ten years. But I like that they still keep it around, like greasy hamburg...err..STEAKBURGERS..relics from a bygone era. Of course my hope is that neon never disappears and we have a 21st century revival. But those plastic coverings and LEDS..man are they cheap. Anyway, this photo is an example of what nearly all Steak N Shake units offer. Taken Tues. 1/20.

This picture is a missing link from the east/southeast side, on E. Livingston Avenue. This is not the best neighborhood and I may not have had a good opportunity to photograph the sign at night on previous attempts, including my Livingston stretch tour last March. Here is the Vogue, taken Thu. 1/15 on a VERY cold day.

Arlington (and an update)

2009-01-19T11:30:00.000-05:00

It has admittedly been a while since I did a tour of neoning, so I thought last night I would do a small one while I had some time. Upper Arlington is an upper middle class suburb of Columbus, on the northwest side. It is surrounded by several smaller "microburbs" like Marble Cliff, as well as Grandview, Hilliard, and many streets actually belonging to the city of Columbus and Franklin County. It is primarily residential, but has several commercial strips, such as Lane, Fishinger, Tremont (pronounced TREEmont, not TRE-mont as in Boston), and Northwest Blvd. While not exactly a treasure chest of neon art, it is no Worthington and one can find a few nice examples. I am not very familiar with the area as I have little reason to go here, but can find my way along the major streets. I did not really capture the western boundary of Riverside Drive, but I can save that for a future post. All pics were taken the evening of Sun., 1/18.

AN UPDATE: Last April I covered the area of Grandview, specifically Grandview Avenue, which may be considered the main drag of the suburb. One of the businesses which I covered has a new sign! Check out the difference:

NEW (taken 1/18/09)

OLD (taken 4/8/08)

Which one do you like better? Wonder what Gina did to her old sign since getting a new one? Another update out of Grandview. This one sad. A large portion of the business district, which I covered in the Grandview Avenue walking tour (which the old Gina's pic comes from) evidently was gutted in a large fire. I had heard about it on the news, but the devastation was obvious once I drove past. It happened on Saturday, when the low temperature was about -12, so much of the surrounding area has a large coating of ice enveloping it from the water used to fight the fire. I believe a couple businesses I covered on my April tour were in this block, including Accent on Nature and the optical center. Maybe the physical therapy place too? We thank the brave firefighters for limiting the damage, and our hearts go out to those who suffered loss of their livelihoods due to this tragedy. Hopefully they can rebuild and get back to doing what they do. A link to the story can be found here:

href="http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/01/19/gv_fire.ART_ART_01-19-09_B1_3PCII1H.html?sid=101">

WANTED!

2009-01-13T13:55:00.001-05:00

WANTED! I know I should be neoning and posting photos, and as soon as the weather improves a bit, I will be getting to a few neglected areas. I also have a few projects underway, including ghost neon, the beer project, and maybe some now and then. The "now and then" requires some help. So by now you are wondering, what do I want? ANY old pictures of Columbus, Ohio street scenes, that contain neon signage in the pic. I am a history as well as neon buff, and would love to see what some of what I see now looked like back in the day! Basically, I am looking for pictures and scans from about 1940-1980 roughly, which includes the heyday of neon. They can be businesses still operated, ones long gone and physically deconstructed, or ones that still have a building, have changed hands, such as bars and restaurants. I will not keep them as my own and will not take credit, but would love to take a ride in the time machine and see what neon was like in Columbus of the past. The city has changed a lot I am sure since the 'old' days, and neon is no exception. Unfortunately, mostly not for the good, with the decline of neon usage since the glory days of the mid 20th century. PLEASE e-mail me or otherwise contact me if you have something to share! Be on the lookout for a new tour and/or project! I'm hoping to make 2009 a great year here!

Welcome to the new year

2009-01-05T10:33:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year ! I did not get to do too much neoning over the holidays, as was expected. I have a few items to post here. A missing link, and I captured an absolute gem. Problem with this gem is that it appears to be dark. There is a story behind it as well.

This Planters Peanuts sign is a restoration job. From what I can remember from reading the local paper, the Peanut Shoppe, a small candy/nut store in downtown Columbus, had moved from their original location after some forty years, back in the late 1970s. During that time, the sign was left to decay. Many cities and towns have a store with a Planters neon sign, and Columbus was no exception. Many were well kept up, but many suffered the fate of darkness, decay, and disposal. A few years ago a local preservationist group, dedicated to the preservation of recent historical artifacts (roadside memorabilia..think neon and such from the 1940s-70s), persuaded the owner of the sign to have it taken to a neon museum (now located in Cincinnati I believe?? Roadtrip coming soon then!) for restoration. Well the sign was restored to almost it's original glory and placed near the shop's original location on N. High street, just a few blocks north of Broad. I am not sure of this is the exact story, but this is what I seem to recall. Please let me know if I am incorrect. The sign is there now, but I have never seen it lit. Was this restored without the purpose of being lit? It appears in good working order, but like I said, it is dark. Anyone with any more information on this sign..please contact me! I was driving down High Street the afternoon of 12/27 when I snapped this at a red light, so of course it is slightly obscured by trees. I hope to get a better picture of it, but I know other photographers have posted pics on flickr and photobucket. I hope sometime to see this gem lit up over High Street!

This missing link is not really anything eye catching. I just wanted to include it, since there is extensive neon on this place. The 14-0 Carryout on E. Hudson Street was so named after the Ohio State football team won the 2002 National Championship and finished without a loss. I remember that season well, and the Buckeyes could have easily dropped a few games that year. But our defense held up and beat Miami in overtime to win it all. That was when the National Championship game was rotated among 4 major BCS bowls. Now the location of the game rotates in the same manner, but it is a separate game from the actual bowls. In 2002 (January 2003 actually) Ohio State won the Fiesta Bowl to win the BCS title. In 2007 and 2008, of course, we know how Ohio State fared in National Championships. But including that championship game, Ohio State is 3-0 in Fiesta Bowls in the last 6 years. And trying to make it 4-0 tonight against Texas. It won't be easy, but I think it's possible to beat Texas..possible, not probable. Go Bucks! Pics were my first of 2009, taken the evening of Sunday, 1/4.

2008-12-24T14:05:00.000-05:00

For only a few hundred bucks I can have the real thing of this! Is there really not a Santa?? Anyway, Merry Christmas to all!

Year End Clearance

2008-12-22T12:34:00.000-05:00

In probably one of my more random posts, I have included several pics that are on my card. All sorts of places, things..whatever is neon-related on my camera, I need to take off so I can make room for the upcoming Christmas pictures. Mostly missing links, but a few extra thingies I found interesting. I may not do another tour until after the new year, but I will try. I am also searching of course for that elusive holiday themed neon sign. Cummon' Santa..come through for me!!!All pics have been taken during the last week or so.

A few missing links from the south side, near Thurman and Lockbourne roads.

Go Bucks! Found this on a window of a house near Summit and 15th Avenues, just east of the OSU campus!

A couple that have went dark it appears. The "Chatterbox" is very much open for business, near the intersection of Parsons and Whittier. What a shame the sign seems to have went dark! Hopefully they will get this back up and running. A lot of dark and ghost neon (oh yes, we will get to 'ghost neon' soon) on the urban south side. The 'carryout' sign, however, will likely stay dark until it is dead and buried. The business, on Ann Street just north of Whittier, seems to have went up in flames. The wreckage stands as of today, most likely what is left will be torn down in short order, along with this vintage sign.

In the window of the Chatterbox. I love these simple old-fashioned beer signs. Pabst was my grandmother's beer, I remember her drinking it when I was a kid 25 years ago. I had never really had PBR until I would say about 4-5 years ago when suddenly a new generation of twenty-somethings made the old brew a cool, hip beer to drink. It's student friendly price probably had a lot to do with it (probably the same reason why my grandmother drank it back in the 70s and 80s). Now it has regained popularity with people of all ages, mostly within Generations X and Y.

It may not count as holiday neon, but neon surrounded by traditional Christmas lights is always pretty. The simple Budweiser sign encircled by a wreath just makes me wanna drink a tall draft beer and spread the Christmas cheer. This can be found at a small neighborhood bar near Town and Country, in Whitehall. The "open" sign was taken at the Alum Creek Marina restaurant building in southern Delaware County. We were there last week for the Fantasy of Lights, and my daughter got to sit on Santa's lap. While none of the lights are neon, unfortunately, the drive-through display is amazing! Definitely puts one in the holiday spirit!

The gift that keeps on giving..

2008-12-16T15:09:00.000-05:00

Missing links! With the turnover rate of neon pretty high these days due to several factors, it is not hard to find pieces which I have either overlooked, simpply forgot about, was not in a position to take the photograph, or simply didn't exist the first go around. An actual tour or establishment specific set may be coming up soon. For now, enjoy these missing links from downtown and the Clintonville areas. Also, a sneak peak preview of an area not yet covered. Unlike with Santa, peaking is occasionally permitted here!
I am also thinking of doing a holiday neon show of some sort, like a slideshow, perhaps? Actual neon holiday decorations are a rare find, but who knows..I am always on the hunt, so to speak. The photos for this post were taken on Wednesday, Sunday and Monday, 12/10, 12/14-12/15.

The Garden Inn, located on the north end by Cleveland Avenue and I-270.

A copy/fax place on Gay Street, in downtown Columbus.

Christine's Flowers, on N. 3rd Street in downtown Columbus. There is a similarly colored sign inside; when the weather is warmer I hope to snap a better pic of these. Closes so early though it is rarely still on by the time I am off work, and the heavy traffic makes taking pics from the car difficult.

How did I miss this back when I was doing the Clintonville tour, and even my previous revisit last month? What an awesome sign, even if not all of it is lit.

A preview of the short north! Columbus' version of Las Vegas as far as neon goes. Until the campus Gateway came along..I hope to finally cover this area soon. I would have last night, but my battery was low. That and I didn't want to park my 'sleigh' with Santa's sack on High Street.

Franklinton

2008-12-08T15:15:00.001-05:00

Franklinton is a racially mixed, mostly working class neighborhood just west of downtown Columbus. Once you have crossed the Broad Street bridge heading westbound from downtown, you are in Franklinton. The area's boundaries are roughly from the Scioto River downtown to the area near W. Broad and I-70, and from about Sullivant Avenue north to about McKinley Avenues and the 'twin rivers' area. The Sullivant Avenue corridor though is usually considered a somewhat separate neighborhood, commonly referred to as "The Bottoms" (for several reasons, usually having to do with both the low elevation of the area and..how do I put this nicely..the character of the neighborhood). I concentrated on W. Broad Street for this short photo tour, and Sullivant and other westside locales will be covered in future tours. This is the oldest neighborhood in the city. Actually, it was the first permanent settlement by European Americans in central Ohio, having been settled in 1797. Cleveland and Cincinnati had already been around a while, and the area is downright new when compared to the likes of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, which had pretty much seen their 150th anniversaries already. But for central Ohioan purposes, it's old. As the eighteenth turned to the nineteenth century, the territory called Ohio entered the new nation as a state and villages, towns, and cities started to spring up all over the state. Franklinton was pretty much the definition of 'remote outpost' around the first decade or so of the 1800s when other communities relatively closeby (meaning only halfday on horse) got their start, such as Delaware, Worthington and Reynoldsburg. There was still no "Columbus", and the capital of the state moved back and forth between Chilicothe and Zanesville, many miles away. Ohio politicians at the time wanted to settle the capital city debate by choosing a new state capital city, preferably more centrally located than the previous two capitals. Franklinton was already there, so why not Franklinton? Easy..Franklinton flooded every time there was a drop or more of rain. They did notice, while in Franklinton, that across the river was a patch of woody land that didn't seem to flood quite the same way Franklinton did. After bids from several other cities and towns, the area just east of the Scioto River was chosen and what is now Columbus started to be laid out. The founding fathers of Ohio thought they were being original with the choice of name. Of course about 15 other municipalities around the USA thought they were being unique as well. So what if Franklinton had gotten the nod to be capital? Maybe people around the country would know the largest city and capital of Ohio as just "Franklinton" instead of Columbus, OHIO. Who knows. Now Franklinton is just a neighborhood of Columbus. Anyway, there is some good neon in the area. Some almost prototype examples of urban neon, as street furniture/decor/advertisement, can be found in Franklinton. Combine leaving work slightly earlier than normal, with a quiet and cold Sunday night, and you get a short but sweet photo tour. All photos taken the evening of Sunday, 12/7.

The Spaghetti Warehouse, in a large former warehouse. This is part of a small chain of Spaghetti Warehouses, having been in this Columbus location on W. Broad probably 25 years or so. There is an actual train car INSIDE the building, which actually has seating. Good food, but somewhat pricey especially for dinner. A special occasion sorta place.

The Florentine, another Italian restaurant. More old world style than the Warehouse. Like TAT I believe this has been a family owned restaurant for years. A beautiful old school sign lights West Broad. I have the feeling I could have seen the same scene over W. Broad 30 or 40 years ago. I have never eaten here, but have always admired their neon sign!

Nothing wrong with a little phonetic spelling, but I hope they don't actually do this on people's skin! Cool neon work on this inner city shop, which usez their skillz and doez tattooz.

For catering from Milo's, call this number. A warm cup of cappuccino would have been nice on this freezing cold December night, perfect for neoning!

Another tattoo shop on W. Broad. Tattoo shops of course have some of the best installations of neon signage to advertise their art. While both are beautiful forms of art, I would not want a neon sign glass blower doing a tat and vice versa! Wonder if anyone has gotten neon skin ink? Would be pretty cool!

Harley Davidson dealership and souvenir store. I swear I have seen that sign before in a bar somewhere.

Ride the waves at a crowded dirty laundromat in Franklinton. I detest laundromats..unless they have some cool neon in or on the premises. And a cheap Coke machine. Nah, I'll drink big K cola and buy a washer and dryer. I hate laundromats! Glad I have a washer and dryer down about 11 stairs. And my neon beer sign is down there too!

Two missing link GEMS

2008-12-04T11:10:00.000-05:00

Yep..two gems in different geographic areas..caught within about 14 hours of each other! The 5th Avenue Floral Company sign..one of the top installations in the city. And remember a few weeks back when I was thinking that the Little Palace overhead sign went dark..well guess what!? I guess they only turn it on during business hours. Explains why it is rarely on when it is dark. This morning was cloudyt and dark enough to enjoy it..and it's also a mover. I taped some animation, which I will post soon. The 5th Avenue floral sign was taken the evening of Wed. 12/3. The Little Palace sign was taken the morning of Thu. 12/4.

The 5th Ave Floral Company, contrary to their name, is not on 5th Avenue, but a mile or two north, at the corner of Kinnear and Kenny Roads. I knew the sign was there, and was glad to have a little time to take it, a red light right in front of the building helped!

The Little Palace Restaurant does light their sign up. I am not sure when the sign dates, but I am guessing before 1970. Anyone notice the mistake on the sign? Point it out and you win a prize!!!

Main/270 Interchange

2008-12-04T10:45:00.000-05:00

This area is a busy, mostly commercial area on the east side of town between Whitehall and Reynoldsburg. Since I-270 is an outerbelt, it actually intersects many roads twice, including US 40, which on the east side is E. Main (it is W. Broad Street on the far west side..270 has two Broad/270 interchanges). Nothing fancy here, since most of this development is from the 70's and 80's, and chains abound. Still snapped a few shots in the area, since they really didn't fit the Whitehall/Bexley Main street corridor, nor Reynoldsburg. All pics taken the evening of Wed. 12/3.

I especially like the dual OPEN/CLOSED sign hanging in the window of City Barbeque.

The actual Main 270 Center. A typical 1970s strip mall. Seems to be doing ok now, but was a ghost town just a few years ago. Outback being here helps, along with a large appliance store. This sign seems refurbished too. The neon was barely visible at night and the time/temp section had most bulbs out. That part was taken down. Glad to see the sign looking good!

"Take Away"..Australian for "to go".

North High/Clintonville Revisit

2008-11-28T12:24:00.000-05:00

Keeping with the recent 'missing link' theme, I drove through Clintonville on N. High Street to see what I may have missed when I covered the area earlier this year. All pis taken the night of Friday, 11/21.

A FEW MORE MISSING LINKS FROM OTHER AREAS: The "sun" and "open" signs are in the Maple Canyon/Rt.161 area on the north end. The "cards" is from the Beer/Wine store on S. 3rd Street in German Village. Taken 11/21 and the "cards" photo taken 11/24 :

McNeon

2008-11-18T10:45:00.000-05:00

While most modern outlets do not, some McDonald's embrace their neon past. The 17th avenue location has speedy. The Morse Rd. location has their frontage signage all in neon. And this location on S. High Street near I-270 on the far south side has a little interior neon:

Also, I wanted to see if the Jesus Saves sign at Faith Mission on E. Long St. is lit at night. Surprise! I had been by that building before many times and never seen it lit, except in old pictures.

All pics taken Mon. 11/17. Yes, it was cold and it did snow last night. Good day for foggy neon images!

Fairgrounds /East of Campus area

2008-11-13T10:13:00.000-05:00

I thought I would start year two off with a small short post covering the large but neon-starved area near I-71 and E.17th Avenue. Sadly, I did not make it to the Ohio State Fair this past August, because that would have been a perfect opportunity for a whole genre of neon I have not even come close to covering: amusement neon. Carnival season is pretty much over here in Ohio with November brining typical late fall weather: dark, cool, and rainy. So I will have to probably wait til next spring to cover that. So the fairgrounds sit empty. But there is a little neon in the area, and I shot up N. 4th Street (another one of my old stomping grounds) to about Hudson then back down Summit. Not much neon at all, surprisingly, being so close to the neon of the campus and Clintonville areas. I also wanted to catch Speedy. Speedy was a feature of most McDonald's restaurants back in their early days. He was their mascot so to speak, before Ronald was even a sketch on a piece of paper. Speedy is seldom seem now, though he made a small comeback a decade ago when they started building those "retro" style restaurants. But he is still a relic of the past. This location, right off the I-71 exit to E.17th Avenue, is fairly new, and not retro at all for the time, with the typical red roof seen with McDonald's in that decade. This has to be one of the busiest locations in the area, off a major interstate, close to the central city, and across from the fairgrounds, which has a lot more than just the annual state fair. In any case, I snapped these stills of Speedy. Next time I am in the area, I will have my digital tape with me. I swear, I have seen at least four or five good animated installations but did not have any tape with me. That Buca sign in the Arena District? Bet your butt I will be back there! These pics were taken the cool, rainy, evening of 11/12.

While I was here I got a sandwich and shake and the lovely and beautiful Shaunica asked me to come back soon. Which I will!

Entrance to the Ohio State Fairgrounds and Expo Center, across from the McD's.

Glen Echo Service. I actually covered this area back in September when I did the Indianola/Clintonville tour. Their main sign, which is on the front exterior of the building, was in a state of disrepair, glowing very dimly. Two months later, the same :( I really hope they are able to fix their sign and restore it's glory. It is a beautiful sign. This picture was of the windowfront signs which hang just inside their front windows.

Jack's, just south of Hudson St. on Summit. It's Miller Time! I am trying to think..this is either the second or third business named after a Jack that I have covered.

A few folks have asked me about the 'end' of the blog. If I have covered every geographic neighborhood, isn't that the end of it? Nope, not by a longshot! Establishment specific sets, special retakes, projects, playing with the camera, new installations, additions, deletions, memorials to those who have gone dark, and will sadly, go dark. Road trips. I haven't covered all the suburbs and have yet to get to the exurbs. Delaware and Newark have neon, I am certain. So this blog should last a good long while.

We are 1 today! The Arena District, finally!

2008-11-12T09:40:00.000-05:00

It was one year ago today, I had a silly idea. See neon signs. Take pictures of them. Post to a blog. Boy that sounds silly huh? Growing up in larger eastern cities, I acquired some, let's just say, unusual interests as a kid. Unlike most kids my age, I loved living in the city. I loved the traffic, the street scenery, the people all around, going here and there, speaking various tongues on the T trains. Sure I liked playing baseball outside or riding my bike. But living so close to it, I considered the ocean and beach my 'outside'. I never felt the need for a large backyard as a child. As a teen when I moved away from the ocean, I still was fascinated with the city and urban life, including it's lights. As a kid I remember wanting to be older so I could go inside the cool (to me) bars, restaurants, shops, etc which were aglow with blue, red, and orange neon signs. Today, I still love city life, and I live right in the heart of the city, very close to some of those 'cool' establishments which hang their neon signs. As a sign of being a real adult, not the one of my childish fantasies, I had to sell a few neon signs I had collected to pay the bills. I hope to restart my collection one day. For now, my camera, my feet, and my car help me share my quirky interest with the world (of which I have many, but let's just keep this to neon for now!!!)

To celebrate the fact that I have been doing this for one whole year, I thought I would take the time to cover one of the areas I had been wanting to get to probably more than any since I started this blog. I have already covered the downtown area for the most part. German Village and Brewery District..done, except for establishment specific entries when I go inside those places. Campus and Clintonville, pretty much covered (though I still need to cover the Gateway/south campus). So what are the two areas of Columbus richest in neon? The Short North and the Arena District of course. They are pretty much next-door neighbors, with the arena technically located in the northwest corner of downtown Columbus. The Short North is located just north of downtown, mostly along N. High St and is the intermediary between downtown and the OSU campus area. Nationwide Blvd. pretty much is the dividing line between what is considered 'downtown' or central business area, and it also is the main drag of the arena district once west of N. High, to about Neil Avenue. I decided to focus on the Arena District, since there was no hockey game and being a Tuesday, not as many people out and about here. Tucked between Park Street and High Street is the North Market , which could be considered part of either area. Enjoy! All pics taken the evening of Tuesday, 11/11.

This large neon sign, with digital message board, tells you where you are!

This clock is part of the large sign and message board across from the actual arena.

This cool neon is located inside a building across from the arena. I did not want to appear suspicious, so it was hard to get a good view of this neon pointing the way to the elevators.

Various businesses across from the arena along Nationwide Blvd. Hope these restaurants do well after a game!

Wanna see a movie? What was commonplace decades ago is a rarity today: the downtown movie theater. This opened a few years ago, and along with the arena, a music pavilion, the restaurants and bars, and ballpark being constructed across Neil Avenue, this is a complete entertainment district. One really feels like you are in a big city here after a game, or a Saturday night out.

Most sports franchises have their practice facilities off premises, for various reasons. The Blue Jackets have theirs in the same building as the arena. It is called the Ice Haus and has had a few different sponsors since the teams inception in 2000, but has been sponsored by the Columbus Dispatch for the last few years.

The Frog Bear and Wild Boar bar is a very popular hangout after a Jackets game. Often after a home game, the radio announcers go down here and field questions from the patrons or via phone and e-mail, and is usually broadcast immediately after the game as part of the post-game show. I grew up a Boston Bruins fan, and while nothing beats the old Gahden (which has since been torn down and replaced by a new arena), Nationwide is a great place to watch a game. The Jackets have been doing pretty well since starting their rookie goalie Mason. Maybe this will finally be the year they make the playoffs? Let's hope! I love OSU and the Buckeyes, but a city this size SHOULD be able to support a major league sports franchise. Lets hope the Crew and Jackets stay here for a long time to come!

Though a chain, I love this Italian restaurant! I have eaten at Bucca di Beppo a few times. It is served family style, which in Italian means "eat a lot"! Actually what it means is that instead of each individual person selecting an entrée from the menu, the 'family' picks usually one or two courses to be shared by all, as if it were made at home. Kinda pricey, but very good food, and lots of leftovers! Also, Beppo is down with the gas! All restaurants feature wicked cool, old world style neon signage, including this animated masterpiece which could be right out of Times Square! If you look back to my Worthington post from last March, you see they won the rights to install neon on their High Street/I-270 location, in a city which frowns upon neon. Yay Beppo, grazie!

Buca is roughly translated as 'basement' or 'cellar'. This location's dining area is actually below street level, so you walk downstairs to get in! Wicked cool! The newer suburban ones are not like this.

Another restaurant which shares the wide expanse of now densely populated land on which the arena sits. I would call this Nationwide Plaza, if not for the fact that the actual Nationwide Plaza is along High St., where the insurance giant's cluster of skyscrapers is located, a few blocks from the arena.

In the 'back' of the district, along Neil Avenue, immediately next to the new ballpark (which will truly expand the district as far as business density and acreage) is the Lifestyles Community Pavilion. With the demise of Polaris Amphitheater, many acts play here, with the biggest and highest price ones playing at Nationwide itself, or Value City Arena on campus. I guess there is a White Castle inside, which advertises being open 24 hours, but appeared very closed this particular evening.

Behind the arena, in the northern edge of the district where the Arena District starts to blend in with the Short North and Victorian Village, is Vine Street. These bars are located in a cool area near Vine and Park Streets.

Sugar and Spice (and everything nice!)

This small strip along Park St. between Vine and Goodale Ave seems pretty hip, way too hip for someone like me to be strolling along, maybe? That or they wanna be that way. I still enjoy their neon, even if I don't wanna spend $15 on an appletini, or whatever they drink.

The North Market. One of my favorite places to shop, eat, or just hang out. And photograph their large animated neon sign! Watch for a future post sometime from inside the building. Better Earth is located inside the North Market. This sign is on a window facing Park Street. The large sign by the main entrance faces Wall Street.

This bar is on High Street, though the foggy signs are on the side of the building facing Wall St., across from the North Market.

Well, thousands of snapped photos, almost six hundred posted photo files, videos, and slide shows, and such, and one year later, Columbus Neon is doing well. Hope year two is just as good. Look for better photos and more videos as we start our second year!

Missing Links

2008-11-10T10:05:00.000-05:00

Neon is a dynamic beast. I say that because while one would think most businesses would want their signs aglow for advertising purposes, business hours or not, many go dark after business has ended for the day. That, and I think some owners and employees just don't always flip the switch. Explains why you could go by someplace several days in a row, with the sign off then suddenly there it is, on in all its neon glory. So due to that fact, it is quite possible that I have missed or overlooked something in almost every photo tour done to date, which, believe it or not, is almost a year ago! I will just be doing some retakes..touchups..getting caught up on what I missed or overlooked until I do my next tour. This tour will coincide with the one year anniversary of the start of this blog. For now, enjoy these 'missing links', taken the evening of Sat. 11/9.

These are in the immediate downtown area. Darby's is inside the Hyatt Regency on State Street and the "restaurant" and tux shop are on S. 4th St. The restaurant actually has a much more interesting, much older sign that hangs over the storefront, but I think it may have gone dark or is just usually off for some reason. I would hate to put it in a new 'dark' post (which I will be doing shortly).

Parsons Avenue, near Planks Café. While I am saddened by the state of disrepair of the drive thru sign, at least it still works. I will have to check some history of the property, and see what sort of business used to occupy that land before it was a beer/wine drive thru. Close by is Ray's used car lot. Cool sign, but hard to get a decent pic. It is not the best of areas and I would not want to arouse suspicion by taking pictures close to the small building surrounded by for-sale cars. So I took this from across the street and zoomed in.

OK, I admit. I was wanting to tackle the Arena District finally when I got off work. I snapped these two pics and had hoped to park, get out, walk around with my cam. There was a hockey game earlier but had been over for hours. Note to myself: no neoning when there is a hockey game on a Saturday night. There was no parking to be found, so I drove home. But enjoy another preview..maybe this for the 1st anniversary post?

The south side

2008-11-05T10:43:00.000-05:00

A few examples from Columbus' south side. This area is an older, more industrial area of the city, especially south of about Thurman Avenue and definitely around S.R. 104. Settled mostly by Appalachian "immigrants" from southern Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky..it sorta reminds me of Pittsburgh or even the older factory dominated areas of Boston. It also was a separate municipality called, appropriately, South Columbus, until it was absorbed and annexed by Columbus sometime during the previous century. It is though, the least and slowest developed section of town as far as businesses and homes go. German Village and the Brewery district are densely populated, though not usually considered part of the "south side". High Street south of Thurman..Parsons..Frebis..Innis..that is what is usually referred to as the south side. Not a lot of unusual or interesting neon here, BUT, like always, some excellent exceptions to the rule, including what is in my opinion one of the top ten or fifteen installations in the city. I also discovered a lot of neon whose glory days passed many decades ago. When I do another tribute to those that have gone dark, some from this area will undoubtedly be featured. Another thing this post, as well as my previous downtown post reminded me of, is that I will have to return, for makeup day. Remember when you were a kid there was picture day in school? But for kids who were absent that day, not properly dressed, or their parents didn't like the fact that their kid didn't smile , the photographers came back a month or so later for 'retake day'. Well I have to do some retakes. Not necessarily of stuff I already have taken and posted, but for those that were dark or hard to photograph. Quite a bit of that in downtown and the south side. And of course as businesses come and go, so goes their neon signs. What was here a year ago may vanish, especially in this economy. But that is why I always have a camera on me. A hidden gem may be just blocks away, or out of the way! All the south side pics were taken the early evening of Sat., 11/1, except the Goodwill pics, which I took a few weeks ago in October.

Planks Café, on Parsons Avenue. The other Planks, the Bier Garten, is on High Street in the Brewery District just around the corner from my house.

OK, a plain old text sign reading what the restaurant has. That's cool. Not a bad sign. I am sure the food is good too. But I wonder if there is any correlation between sign interestingness and quality of the food because...

Nice huh?? One of the very few classic Chinese food signs in Columbus. While the Peking Dynasty in Grandview probably takes top honors in that category, this is a beautiful example. This has been on my to do list for a while, since every time I have been past it the hour has been to late or too early. I had a rare Saturday night free so I figured the place has to be open around 7pm on a Saturday. I would have liked to have snapped it with a bit darker sky, but this will work. I will get back when it is darker but I am just glad to have captured what I consider one of the top ten or fifteen signs in the city. By the way, I have eaten here before..the food is excellent!

Like it's northern counterpart, South High abounds with places to get inked.

The Salvation Army thrift store. I can almost guarantee that this is the only place you will find the term 'bric-a-brac' in neon in Columbus.

Well kids , that is it for now. Look for south side updates, and any updates for that matter. Also watch for more bar/restaurant specific features..been a while since I have done that! I am thirsty. And congrats to our new President of the United States, BARACK OBAMA! I need to find some Barack neon!

Downtown II

2008-11-03T10:37:00.000-05:00

After spending most of the latter half of October packing, moving, and unpacking, I was definitely ready to get back to some neoning. One thing I have discovered about downtown Columbus is that it is a pretty inconsistent place, as far as neon goes. As a whole, it is fairly sleepy compared to other cities of comparable size. Most downtown businesses close up shop between 5 and 7pm when the office workers go home to their suburbs for the day. So it is hard to be able to catch good photo ops when a perfectly fine business with a nice sign is closed so early. Since I work late, by the time I get down there (now on my way home, since I live JUST south of downtown in German Village..see my G.V. photo entry from last March) most signs are dark. Other times I feel like I am in a bustling metropolis rather than sleepy overgrown college town. Now that we are back on standard time, the time is high for neoning, since business hours usually don't change for the season..meaning that a so-so 6PM photo op in September, and not a good one at all in July, becomes pretty good by November). Anyway, I concentrated on downtown NORTH of Broad Street. I did however, get back to the pawn shop on E. Main where the creepy people were standing around last time. Since there are so many buildings, I know I didn't catch everything, and like I said, many signs were dark, so look for future posts when these signs happen to be on and catch my eye. All pics in this set were taken the evening of Monday, 10/27.

And back to the pawn shop.. There is actually more neon inside the place not easily photographed from outside. I wonder if any is for sale? Hmm..I may have to check it out sometime!

And a little teaser for an upcoming tour..one of the top areas for neon..

Downtown I

2008-10-14T09:50:00.000-04:00

I finally made it downtown..for neoning purposes anyway. While the area of course, like most major city's downtowns, has some great examples, it is not the most concentrated area of neon. That honor probably belongs to the short north or campus areas. But downtown does have some great neon, and a lot of it. I had been wrestling how to best cover the area. I decided to just head down after work, but before MOST signs would be off (like the previously covered Ho Toy restaurant..sure enough, at 10:30pm, it was as dark as a black hole). I roughly decided to cover the downtown area from Broad Street south to approximately Livingston. The borders of downtown are sorta rough but basically from the Scioto River to I-71, and from Livingston to Goodale. So I figure I can cover downtown in roughly thirds, south, middle, and north downtown. And the Arena district gets it's own coverage, hopefully soon! Since there is a large amount of neon in a relatively dense area, I may miss a few things here and there, and can come back and place them in future 'downtown' tours. And there is the "downtown sleep at 6pm" effect, which means probably the best time for neoning is later in the fall and winter, which is why I tend to do more neoning in fall and winter, with the sun setting early and by December, basically still business hours before the sun goes down. All pictures taken the evening of Mon. 10/13.

Close to I-71, on E. Broad Street.

The Columbus Dispatch sign. One of the most famous and photographed neon signs in the city; in fact two other people were snapping pics of the sign while I was there! The paper is no longer actually printed here, at the corner of Broad and 3rd Streets, but retains some offices in this old building.

Another gem of downtwon, probably tied with the Dispatch sign for most well known neon icon, the Palace Theater sign. One of the oldest theaters in Columbus, it is actually part of the Leveque Tower, which was the tallest building in the city for nearly fifty years, and is probably still the city's signature skyscraper, though no longer the tallest. Many famous actors have graced the stage of the Palace before moving to the bigger and brighter neon of Broadway.

Another of the three remaining major downtown theaters, the Ohio, located on E. State St. between High and S. 4th near the State House. Nothing was playing this evening so I was able to snap it fairly easily.

The only neon adorning the large, rotating, moving, ultradigital new fangled Times Square wannabe "4 on the Square" message system, which was installed last year. It is pretty cool, but sadly, only the Kroger outline and the beer logo are neon, everything else is computer graphix.

Some of the neon of S.3rd St. near E. Main.

Pawn shops, near Main and S. 4th. There are a few more interesting photo ops here, but a few creepy characters were staring at me.

Southern edge of downtown, near the courthouse and Franklin County government offices.

This is about where downtown becomes the Brewery District and German Village. I guess a lot of people get shot at this place.

Ho Toy

2008-10-12T09:02:00.000-04:00

Neon, of course, advertises many and varied industries..Worship. Drinking. Funeral arrangements. Saukraut Balls. If it is something you eat, drink, or spend any money at all on, neon can advertise it. Two of my favorite things in life make for some of the best examples of classic neon: bowling..and Chinese food. Accross the country Chinese restaurant neon signs have glown brightly pointing hungry diners the way to dim sum, General Tso's, fried rice, etc etc. Sadly, many of these signs have gone dark over the years as have many installations of the twentieth century. Few old fashioned neon Chinese restaurant signs remain in Columbus. This is one. The Ho Toy is located smack dab in the middle of downtown Columbus, Ohio. I have yet to eat here, but I am sure the food is fine. I don't come to this area for the food. That sign! Amazing, all I can say. And it faces three directions. Now I wanted to come at night for the downtown geographic photo tour. Problem with downtown Columbus, is that still, despite the growth and attempts to be a true 'big city', the city is somewhat dull after the workday. I have been in the area at night, to see most restaurants and businesses closed up as early as 7:00PM. That includes the Ho Toy, which last time I went by after dark, the restaurant was obviously closed and the sign was OFF. So I went by a few days ago when I had nothing pressing to do, but no money to do anything else and figured I could catch it while it was gloriously glowing. It was mid afternoon, but it was a cloudy, rainy day so it wasn't too bad. Taken on the afternoon of 10/8.

Morse Rd/Northland

2008-10-08T15:44:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I go by this area almost each and every day. I have pretty much covered the area extensively but I guess I neglected a few of the tucked in strip centers in the area that used to be dominated by Northland Mall, which was closed and demolished a few years ago. Northland itself had some cool neon if I recall, but by the end it was pretty dismal, like most dying and dead malls. Yes, dying and decaying retail is another one of my quirky interests. I definitely recommend a visit to this cool site dedicated to dead malls , as well as a visit to the northland area. It had been in decline for some time, but after Morse Road is reconfigured and the former mall site redeveloped, hopefully it will bounce back. All pics were taken the night of Tuesday, 10/7.

Gyro Express is a fast food restaurant located on an outparcel of the Morse Center strip center. I think they have more confidence in their wings, judging from the lit signage. Hair Plus is of course the place to go for all your fake hair needs. Yes, the mannequin head did almost scare me off for a split second.

Behind that stuff on the window the neon reads 'mattress'. When you already have neon, why overstate it with that stuff all over the windows?

Morse Center enterance sign. Like the strip mall itself, this sign probably dates to sometime in the late 70s. The Guitar Center located here was once a Big Bear supermarket. Older Big Bear stores had some cool neon gracing many of their facades, as did their warehouse in Grandview. Too bad the chain has been gone for nearly five years.

These were taken at a strip center at Morse and Karl Roads called the Patio Shops, which of course, dates to sometime in the late 70s. The ATM sign looks pretty old.

Hard to tell from this photo, but this once had very bright neon, with a neon motion arrow pointing the way to the building below. It is a Mexican-American supermarket now. In it's former life it was a fitness equipment retailer and electronic and appliance store called Sun TV, another defunct Columbus chain.

random sampling

2008-10-06T10:27:00.000-04:00

So last night on my way home to watch the ALDS I thought I may have had enough time for a quick neon tour but decided against a full tour. I really wanted to see the Sox game. I did watch the game, and they did lose though they are still leading the series two games to one. I caught a few surprises however.

The OSU campus garage signs. I like these because they go back to a time when neon was used for purposes other than advertising, namely as traffic direction. Not as cool as the neon pedestrian signals of 1950s California, or similar warning signs at pedestrian crossings in Baltimore, but cool nonetheless. I believe similar neon signs were at the garages when I was a student at Ohio State over ten years ago, but these seem sorta new.

WWCD, "CD101" studios, located on Front street at the cusp of the Brewery district and downtown. CD101 is an alternative rock station, which plays mostly alternative rock from the 90s and 2000s, and occasionally the 80s. It is also the FM home of the Blue Jackets broadcasts.

While not appearing very interesting at first, this neon 'RESTROOMS" sign actually may be one of the few examples I have of lit neon at a closed/abandoned location. Though I have driven by it literally hundreds of times, the former Fudrucker's on E. Main street near I-270 caught my eye this morning. I turned around and lo and behold, a neon sign was lit up inside! The place has been closed for nearly two years and it obviously is not being developed in any sort of way. Weeds and grass were taking over the parking lot and the labelscars are even starting to fade. It is not in bad shape, but probably not a prime retail/restaurant location. I wonder how long that sign will stay lit, and who is paying for the electricity to light it!

S.R.256/Pickerington/eastern Reynoldsburg

2008-10-04T09:39:00.000-04:00

It was Friday and I was off work a bit early so I figured I could get some neoning in. A cool crisp autumn evening almost screams "SHOOT SOME NEON!". Getting out of the inner city a bit (which I will return to very shortly) I got out to suburbia again, to the State Route 256 corridor, in western Fairfield County. The commercial strip starts in Reynoldsburg near Livingtson (which is actually the 'end' of Livingston) and south into Pickerington. Typical for multilane commercial car oriented strips that circle Columbus, this was a two-lane rural road until ten or fifteen years ago, when the development boom that swept over the nation swept over the Fairfield/Franklin county line, about five miles outside the I-270 outerbelt. Not a heck of a lot of neon in the area, but enough to say I did a photo tour of the area. Perhaps the small old town of Pickerington has some examples, and I do intend of course eventualy to hit the other southeast suburbs such as Canal Winchester and Groveport, so I maybe I will check out other parts of Picktown when I get out there. For now, enjoy the meager but cool neon of 256. All were taken the evening of Friday, 10/3.

Not actually on 256, but Tussing, a cross street..this was taken from I-70 near the 256 interchange.

Hilltop, USA (and a few surprises)

2008-09-26T09:42:00.000-04:00

Last night was one of those beautiful mildly cool early fall evenings just meant for being outside. It was not cool enough to don jackets and hats, but one could tell that summer was definitely behind us. While I will miss summer, and am not looking forward to winter, I also enjoy the autumn with nature's own neon collection of yellows, golds, reds and browns. The evening though, shines red, lavender, blue, and green as the neon signs light up our longer and longer nights. So it was my usual night off work, but I decided to come in for a few hours for extra cash for my upcomming move. I didn't want to waste the whole evening working so I decided to get to an area I have been wanting to cover. Of course, yes, High Street, downtown, and the Short North are at the top of my list, but with this being the first week of classes at OSU, I want to avoid the throngs of college students clogging the street. Perhaps a Sunday evening when some of the students decide to start studying. But last night seemed perfect to get to the Hilltop. The Hilltop is a large, older neighborhood on the west side of the city. The area had a long tradition of being a while, working class neighborhood with mainly Irish and Itlian ancestries dominating the area. By the 1980s, blacks and some people of middle eastern descent moved into the area, diversifying of the largest poor white neighborhoods in the city. In the 1990s, the area became home to many, many Latinos, mostly Mexican immigrants, and large areas of the west side definitely have the appearance and feel of a large city barrio. Latino neighborhoods have sprouted up all over the city, as Latinos and Spanish speaking immigrants have been one of the fastest growing demographic groups to call Columbus home in the last ten years or so, but the Hilltop and west side in general probably still contains the largest concentration of latino owned homes and businesses. I also knew, that neon on this side of town is about quality over quantity. Two of the best examples of classic neon sit within blocks of each other on this side of town. I did find some other more hidden gems slightly off the beaten path. I also have a few surprises with this tour. There are some installations that just don't 'fit' into any geographic neighborhood, but are meant to be seen from a freeway or highway. These extras were snapped on my way from the north end to the hilltop along I-71, and Dublin Road. All pictures were taken the evening of Thurs. 9/25.

Rod's Western Palace, on Silver Drive which runs parallel to I-71 near Weber Road. This high horse can be seen from the freeway of course.

The City of Columbus Utility Complex, which is home to city run and operated utilities, including water of course.

COTA headquarters on McKinley Avenue, which is squished between Columbus' west side and Grandview. COTA is the Central Ohio Transit Authority, which operates the city bus system. And does not run street cars..yet.

Some examples of what the Hilltop has to offer. Get out of jail, then get a tattoo. Better than getting a tattoo IN jail.

The colorful swirls are inside of Cirilla's, formerly Priscilla's. Why the name change? Who knows. They still sell the same stuff..items to "spice things up" shall we say. The drippy Liquid Audio seems like a car audio business of some kind. It is at the far end of an otherwise empty and dilapidated strip mall. I believe it once was home to a K-Mart..one of those older, crowded, dingy ones and my guess is that if I were here 25 years ago, I could get a pic of one of those huge old blue and red K-MART neon signs!

Some Great Western neon. The Great Western Shopping Center was one of the earlier directionally named shopping centers designed by the Casto group in Columbus. Great Eastern is in Whitehall and was actually much larger, and was home to the Big Bear Plus I worked at in college. There is/was a Great Southern which I guess is somewhat different from the other two. Great Western had a very unique feature in it's early days that Columbus old timers recall fondly..scale replicas of the natural Wonders of the World incorporated into the parking lot. No trace remains now but I guess it was there from it's opening in the 1950's until sometime in the 70s. Why did all the cool stuff of the world go away right around the time I was born?? Seems to be a recurring theme when it comes to Americana like neon signs. Anyway, I bet the old Great Western of the 50s and 60s had some wicked cool neon adoring some of it's storefronts, in addition to Niagara Falls and Egyptian Pyramids.

If neon signs were a religion, this would be a temple! A store that actually sells neon signs! Not the best pictures because I was afraid of some Valleyview donut munching cop questioning me as to why I was taking pictures of a closed business. But one gets the idea! This is just north of Great Western on Wilson Road at Valleyview Road.

The Ding Ho Restaurant, on Phillipi Road near Westland Mall. Now this is actually a bit disappointing. The Ding Ho was in it's original location for years, on W. Broad Street across from Consumer Square West, near Great Western. A typical old fashioned Chinese restaurant, with a name that sounds funny to many Americans, that served 'cocktails' (most likely those cool old drinks that have smoke or whatever in them) and had a full bar as well as Chinese food. And of course, a small but amazing flashing neon sign which probably dated to the restaurant's opening in the 1950s. They moved a year or so ago to a former Ground Round which is their current location. Sadly, the faux Chinese font 'Ding Ho' did not move with the restaurant. This is their current sign. At least they decided to keep some neon. A photo of the old Ding Ho sign can be seen here

Saving some of the best for last. The 40 Motel on W. Broad. One of the best examples of old neon in the city, similar to the Capital or Brookside on the east side. The smaller sign flickers on and off like you would find in a movie that features an old motel. Cool stuff, cool signs!

Saving THE best for last, one of the signs I have looked most forward to photographing since I have started this blog. Hillcrest Lanes is one of the older bowling alleys in Columbus. And the sign has been there as long as the building has. Signs like this once were plentiful as bowling became more popular in the middle of the century. Now, not so much. Two of my favorite hobbies combined in one beautiful sign. Nice to see it still lit, and I am glad I snapped it when I did. Seems any old classic neon is fair game for going dark.

If I had more battery power on either camera I had on me, I would have covered Franklinton and the Bottoms, two more gritty inner city areas on the west side, closer to downtown Columbus, but alas, those areas will have to wait. Enjoy!

in memory of those that have went dark..

2008-09-24T16:44:00.000-04:00

I promised. This, I am sure, is far from complete. These were just a few examples of classic/older neon that have went dark in Columbus, to the best of my knowledge. The exact dates when they were last lit..I don't know. I don't know if I have ever seen some of these lit. The Super Duper sign on S. James Road, profiled earlier this month, can be part of this list as well. I will keep on the lookout for any other signs that have gone dark, or better yet, dark signs that have came back to life (as we see in this post). All pics were taken the afternoon of Tuesday, 9/23.

Mike's Carryout, Hamilton and Livingston. The top part of this sign actually is still functioning and can be seen in a post from last November, the Tommy's Pizza sign. It appears this could have been a drive-in sign, and looking at old property records, the small strip center that Mikes and Tommy's makes up is part of the same property that goes behind a gas station and onto Livingston Avenue, like an old drive-in theater would. But the property appears somewhat small. If anyone knows the history of this area better than me, please let me know!

The Livingston Theater. As long as I have lived in the Columbus area, this place has been closed shut and the sign dark. From the records I could gather it appears the theater was built and opened around 1947 and I have no idea when it closed, but it appeared to have changed hands in 1973 after being held by the same owner for over 25 years. Then it went through some sort of 'renovation' or addition in the later 1970s. Judging by the state of the building, my guess is that it closed sometime between 1973 and 1977. About ten years ago a fitness club that catered to gay men opended up in a refurbished part of the building, which also contained stores, and had been subject to threats and vandalism. Gotta love the open mindedness of pre-2000 Columbus, Ohio! This is in a densely populated mostly African American neighborhood known for a high crime rate. I was there to take the picture and I didn't feel in any sort of danger. It is a shame such a beautiful building
could just sit there to rot, though I know part of it has been used for medical offices fairly recently. And that awesome ancient neon! I would LOVE to go back in time to about 1955 to see what that place looked like lit up in it's neon glory!

Reeb's Restaurant, at the corner of Champion and Livingston. It is hard to find good information on businesses that have long been closed and in inner city areas of Columbus it seems. From what I can gather about Reeb's, is that the building was built not long after the turn of the last century. The Reeb family owned this property from as early as the 1920 (quite possibly earlier) until the 1950s. From looking around the internet and old Columbus themed literature, this was a popular restaurant throughout the 1940's, 50's and 60's. I have no idea when it closed but the last time it appeared in the city directory was 1986. So it is quite possible that the building has been abandoned and empty for well over twenty years. Very common in these older urban neighborhoods. My guess too, is that it had an absentee landlord and the property was forfeited to the state. Considering how long it has been vacant the sign is still in reasonably good shape. Like I mentioned before, I would love to hop in a time machine, take a stroll down Livingston Avenue in it's better days, and see places like the Livingston and Reeb's lit up brightly onto the street.

Well I was obviously wrong about this one being dark! The Lincoln Theater on E. Long Street was a cultural center of sorts for the local African American community in the first half of the twentieth century. The Lincoln (formerly called the Ogden, I believe) was opened in the 1920s as the Harlem Rennaisance was taking place in New York and across the country. This proud black neighborhood sadly started to decline in the 1950s and the theater of course went through the usual life cycle of classic American theater buildings: open, heyday, decline, porn, close, decay. The theater closed in the 1970s and was left for the birds, spiders, and vagrants. I remember hearing rumors here and there about the theater being restored as far back as the late nineties. When my daughter was in a daycare in the area, I would frequently pass by the theater and wish I had taken a picture of the building and sign before the renovations actually started. Which was last year, when the city of Columbus took ownership of the property for a sublease to a local theater company. I guess work has been slow and was scheduled to reopen about now, and has been delayed til spring of next year. The old neon sign, sadly, was taken down in favor of a new sign complete with digital video message board. While I am sad about the sign, I am not sad that this place may again be a thriving center of culture and may spur further development and restoration in the area, known as the King-Lincoln district (named after Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln). Now that I know that the theater is going to reopen and the sign functions, I will have to drive by after dark to see if the neon also lights up. That could be part of the Long Street/northern downtown photo tour I intend to do soon.

The Broadmoor Super Market, Broad and Weyant near Whitehall and the Town and Country shopping center. Cool neon and an interesting perspective on parking, as far as the orientation of the letters. While the market is very much open, the I have never seen the neon aspect lit.

North of downtown/Victorian Village

2008-09-22T09:22:00.000-04:00

Not including the surrounding neon-rich areas of downtown itself, the Arena District, or the Short North. Not a ton of neon in Victorian Village, but enough interesting installations. Also I included a few examples that do not really fit anywhere good geographically, other than they are on the outskirts of downtown. The Wonderbread sign and the WBNS tower are Columbus landmarks, mainly due to their visibility from a large area of the freeway system north and west of the actual downtown. The Wonder bakery is also known for the wonderful (no pun intended!) smell that permeates the area in an otherwise sorta grimy area on N. 4th Street about a mile north of downtown Columbus. The WBNS TV tower is probably the tallest neon in the city, it's tower standing some nine hundred feet into the sky, the neon beacon of WBNS some two thirds up the tower. On a clear night the tall letters can be seen for miles as part of the downtown skyline. I am not sure as to when the Wonder Bread sign dates, but my guess is sometime in the 1970s maybe earlier or a bit later. I was going to get to the south campus/Short North areas last night, but I realized it was moving day at OSU and traffic was bad for a Sunday night. All photos were taken the evening of Sun. 9/21.

^This cool cat sits on the attic window of a Neil Avenue residence and watches the action below. No litter needed with this kitty!

Polaris II

2008-09-21T09:16:00.000-04:00

Some of the neon from the Polaris area. Note this is not actually the Polaris Fashion Place mall, which was closed at 11:30PM or so on a Saturday night. The Polaris area, for neoning purposes, extends from just east of the I-71 intersection, west to about Camden, and the Sancus/Lazelle areas. I covered the 'east Polaris' stretch several months ago, and the interior of the mall itself will be covered next time I am in the place. Most of the neon in this area is chain related homogeny, but there are a few hidden gems and surprises. All pics taken the very late evening of Sat. 9/20.

The night that the lights went out..

2008-09-18T11:56:00.000-04:00

While nothing like 2005 with the likes of Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and so on, this has been a particularly harsh hurricane season. Major hurricanes have hit much of the Carribean, The gulf coast of the southeastern US, and Ohio. Yep, I said Ohio. The month started with hurricane Gustav slamming into Louisiana with fears of another Katrina. It was bad, but not nearly as bad as feared. Last weekend, hurricane Ike hit the Houston and Galveston areas of Texas as a strong category two hurricane. This was not pretty. Millions are still without power, thousands lost homes, and dozens lost lives. And the unusual thing about this storm, when the remnants travelled north into the midwest as Tropical Depression Ike, it still packed quite a punch with wind and rain. It hit central Ohio just as a strong cold front was coming from the north and collided over central Ohio. It was probably the closest central Ohio will ever come to experiencing a hurricane. Trees, power lines, buildings have been damaged and some outright destroyed. And of course, power outages. The weather has been beautiful since that stormy Sunday but in much of the Columbus area, still powerless. I myself had power out for about 2 and half days. Of course, something we know and love neon runs on electricity that is not flowing in much of Ohio now..neon signs. I had hoped to get to maybe some more High Street and possibly the west side of the city for some neoning. Unfortunately, much of the power was still out in some of these areas. In 'honor' of the power (no pun intended) of Mother Nature and Father Time, my next post will pay tribute to neon that has gone dark..permanantly, yet still adorns the buildings and streets of Columbus. Today, I am showing a few bar specific neon signs from Gabby's Tavern on the north side of the city, which have sat on my camera for a while now. Watch for my next post. And perhaps by the end of the week, the lights will be on and glowing again for my next photo tour.

Peking in Action

2008-09-12T03:00:00.000-04:00

Enjoy!

Grandview II

2008-09-11T23:23:00.000-04:00

Way back when, around April, I walked along Grandview Avenue from W. 1st up north to W. 5th Avenue. I said I would be back. Well, some five months later, I returned! I walked a large part of W. 5th from about Fairview to Doten, and was in my car for everything else, including what I found on W. 3rd, Northwest Blvd, and King Avenue. Was a beautiful warm evening and I had a change of plans, so I thought, what the heck. I needed the exercise anyway! All pics taken the mid to late evening of 9/11.

I spotted these on King Avenue. Great old school neon at Gentile's. Old, Italian east coast type areas thrive on old fashioned neon!

One of the crown jewels of Columbus area neon signage. The classic Peking Dynasty, in all it's lit up glory. Actually there are four signs, the front facing sign is identical in both directions on W. 5th, and the parking lot sign in the back on the side street. Yes, this sign is animated and wait til my next post!!

Another Grandview classic. Rife's Market at the corner of W. 5th and Grandview Ave. I snapped this just under the awning and it came out great!

Yet more old school neon in Grandview. A.K. Menendian Rug. Beautiful and simple sign.

More West Fifth Avenue goodness! And HA! to the Subway at Northwest and Fifth..some Subways DO have neon, unlike their sister store on campus! The Mark Pi installation is still more interesting though, with it's faux Chinese character lighting up the night!

These were south of fifth avenue, mostly along W. 3rd. The sign at Glenn and W. 3rd makes me think I am in Jersey, not Ohio!!

This interesting installation adorns the main enterance to a recently completed (last year sometime) midrise condo building, at the corner of Northwest, W. 3rd, and Virgina Avenues. Right next to Byrne's Pub. NOt too often does one find neon advertising residential property!

Marshall's on W. 1st Avenue in central Grandview. I have had many drinks, and some food here, though it has been a while. Was a hangout of ours back when I worked in Grandview, which hasn't been for two years or so.

Be on the lookout for the Peking Dynasty sign in motion. And some more High Street fun before the weather gets wintery, which sadly, isn't too far off.