Fairgrounds /East of Campus area

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.