EAST POLARIS/MAXTOWN ROAD

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







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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the meantime..

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

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

PHONE FUN

I had several pictures left on my phone that I needed to dump. Since I don't have unlimited texting and messaging with my cell plan, I need to buy a special prepaid card to send text and picture messages. I finally did that. These pictures were taken throughout April and May.





These pics were obviously at Hooters (I go there for the beer and wings of course..) in early April.



Don Pablo's Tex Mex restaurant. Quite a bit of neon in the place, but mostly Corona and Dos Equis beer bottle outlines. I wish I had a better camera on me for the 'baños" shot though.




My dad was in the hospital and doing better, so he wanted a milkshake. These are pretty nice looking signs, and unfortunately we were there around 4PM so they didn't look so good in bright sunshine. I want to go back and shoot them at night, but the place closes so darn early and they unplug the lights when they leave. Maybe with summer about here they will stay open a bit later..or leave the lights on when they close at night! And YES that is me and my green monster (1998 Ford Escort Wagon) visible in the last pic!

been a while..but 2 leftovers for now!

I know it has been a while since I have taken any pictues or posted any Columbus neon sign photos. I have been quite busy with 'life' I guess you could say. Sad, because it has been a pretty nice spring so far, with many warm and sunny days. But I hope to get back out there, maybe Grandview, soon, as early as tonight maybe. The "Jeni's" and "Accent" pics were a leftover from the last time I went neoning. Oops, I somehow missed them after uploading the rest of the pics. I have a few photos on my phone I will upload later today after I purchase some messages (my plan does not include unlimited text or picture messaging). Look for those pics soon! I will be back!

Grandview Avenue: walking tour I

Last Tuesday evening I was off so I could take my daughter out for a special treat, seing Backyardigan Tyrone at Golden Corral (see one of my earliest posts for the neon sign) on E. Main Street. After dinner she went to mom's house and I had a rare extra night off. It was a beautiful spring day and a cup of coffee sounded good, so I thought I would start something I have wanted to do since starting this blog..neoning on foot, as opposed to how I usually have had to snap photos, from inside my car. Grandview is a suburb west of downtown Columbus, completely surrounded by the city of Columbus. It has a more urban feel to it, similar to many east coast cities. The main drags are W. 5th Avenue going east-west, and Grandview Avenue travelling north-south. I parked my car on W. 1st Avenue, camera back on shoulder, and proceded to walk northbound on Grandview. If you haven't been here, imagine a 1960ish style suburbia that you would see kids and their parents eating ice cream cones in suburban New Jersey, or someplace like that. This place is not poor by any means, and Grandview likes its neon thankfully. It was somewhat early, and almost too nice, since so many people were out and about, and sipping on coffee, wine, or eating French food on the sidewalk cafe style tables. I felt somewhat apprehensive about taking pictures with people sitting right there, so some of my photos may have suffered. I plan to go back for touchups when I do the w. 5th avenue stretch sometime soon. All these pics were taken the early evening of Tuesday, 4/8.









Just a note about the market..it is at the corner of 5th and Grandview. More to come from fifth and some touchups from Gandview Avenue as needed. Also coming soon: pics from inside a Hooter's, which have been on my phone for a few weeks and now just uploaded!

Worthington/Crossroads..ok, mostly Buca di Beppo

Worthington is a suburb on the northern part of Franklin County straddling southern Delaware County, almost exactly halfway between Westerville and Dublin. High Street..yes..THAT High Street, on the far northern part of the county, is the main drag though it has large intersections with Morse Road, Rt. 161, Worthington Galena Rd., and I-270. It is a quiet suburb settled earlier actually than Columbus itself, in 1803 by New Englanders looking for opportunities westward. While the street layout and architecture only vaguely resemble true New England, many side streets bear names such as Fenway and Lowell. Now Worthington is nice and all but there is a slighhht problem. Worthington has had a long standing city ordinance that PROHIBITS external neon signage! Other areas have limitations..but this is basically, with a few exceptions, a ban on neon! The 'downtown' area of Worthington is bustling with business most any weekend or evening, all without neon lights. Now there are some businesses that appear to be in the city of Worthington but because of the odd jagegd boundaries that cities, towns, and suburbs have around Columbus, they actually are in the city limits of Columbus. Often south of Morse, High Street is the dividing line between the two, with Columbus and neon on the east side of the street, and Worthington and NO neon on the west side. I honestly am not sure when the ordiance was ennacted, but I did find a couple exceptions to the no neon rule. A vingage Dairy Queen sign, outdoor, two-sider which has to date to the mid 1960s at latest. My GUESS is that the neon nazi clause was ennacted sometime after the sign was erected and was grandfathered out it, thereby allowing it to remain standing and lighting up N. High Street near Worthington Galena Rd. Another exception is much more recent, and was for the chain restaurant Buca di Beppo. The chain has opened up a few locations around here about five years ago, including one in neon friendly downtown (Arena district). A little news was made when they chose the locaction then learned of the ordinance. Long story short, an exception was made and I am sure there are some strict rules they have to follow but, at least they have the neon! I have only eaten from this restaurant once, at the Arena location..very good food..very large portions..very hefty bill! All pics were taken late afternoon on Sunday, 3/30. The vintage DQ sign, probably early to mid 1960s, before Worthington made neon signs a capital crime!This small sign is on a Mexican Restaurant in the Crossroads Center, in the northern part of Worthington at the I-270 interchange. There is some neon in this area, but really not much and not much interesting.

Another gift

A gift I recieved from my sister for my birthday earlier in the week!I am slowly but surely rebuilding a neon collection. May never be a huge one until I live in my dream house, but one has to start somewhere, right?



Well now that spring is here and hopefully some nicer weather, I hope to get some good photo shoots in, including some on foot on the nicer evenings in the nicer neighborhoods. I was on Grandview Avenue in the afternoon a few weeks back, but had my daughter and was only mid afternoon. A cool comfortable evening with the car parked with me, my camera, and maybe a cup from Stauff's strolling down Grandview Avenue and W. 5th Avenue sounds like a good night to me! I have been going out more this month and I have been able to get a few shots in of the various bars, restaurants, and venues..but nothing extensive. I have a few photos from my phone from inside Nationwide Arena I plan to upload, but hopefully will get some from the surrounding area when I start my downtown shots soon. Think Spring!