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email: roadarch@outlook.com |
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| Welcome Arch Signs (page 2) |
(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)
| Welcome Arch Golden, CO |
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| This Welcome Arch was built for $7,500 and installed in 1949. Originally, the 58-foot-wide panels were lit with neon and the lower panel read "Where the West Remains." In the early 1970s, there was a panel installed at the sign's center which read "Howdy Folks." It featured a clock and a painted scene of a stream, a miner panning for gold, and cattle. That panel disappeared around 1975 when the sign's neon was removed. Individual, backlit letters were installed instead. In 1979, the lower panel's text was changed to "Where the West Lives." In 2009, the sign's steel panels were replaced with aluminum versions. Since it was first installed, painted panels of Santa in a sleigh being pulled by four reindeer have been installed above the sign during the holidays. [map] |
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More Colorado:
Welcome sign (Canon City) Welcome Arch (Denver) [gone] Welcome sign (Manitou Springs) Florida:
Iowa:
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| Veterans Memorial Arch Dixon, IL |
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| The original Veterans Memorial Arch was built as a temporary structure with wood in 1919. It was replaced with a permanent version in 1920. In 1949, a new wooden arch covered with aluminum was built. In 1966, when the road was widened, another wooden arch was built. In 1985, this fiberglass-covered arch was built and the neon letters were transferred from the old sign to the new one. In 2024, just before this photo was taken, the arch was restored. The neon was removed from the letters and replaced with backlit plastic faces. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map] |
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Indiana:
Welcome Arch (Linton) Welcome Arch (Marshall) Maine:
Michigan:
Missouri:
Mississippi:
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| Welcome sign Ronan, MT |
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| This Welcome sign was built in 2002 as a Ronan High School class project. In 2019, the logs were found to be unsafe and the arch was rebuilt. The signs were replaced in 2021. They include the Salish and Kootenai words for "Spring Waters." These photos are from 2022. [map] |
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Nebraska:
Welcome Arch (Cozad) Welcome Arch (Hastings) [vintage; gone] Welcome sign (Friend) Welcome arrow (Geneva) Welcome sign (York) |
| Welcome Arch Reno, NV |
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| Welcome Arch Reno, NV 2014: |
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Reno's Welcome Arch has been rebuilt and remodeled many times. The first one shown in the first two rows above, was built in 1926 to celebrate the completion of the Lincoln Highway. The letters on the sign read "Reno, Nevada's Transcontinental Highways Exposition, June 25 - Aug 1 1927." The freestanding letters were installed on the curved steel scaffold and lit with white bulbs. The sign was topped with two multi-colored bulb-lit torches. After the Exposition, a contest was held to come up with a slogan for the sign. The letters were changed to read "Reno, The Biggest Little City in the World."
Around 1935, the sign on the scaffold was replaced with a neon version. Larger "RENO" letters were installed along with a horizontal porcelain enamel slogan panel. When this sign was replaced in 1963, it was moved to a couple of different locations until it was moved into storage. It came out of hiding during the filming of "Cobb" in 1994 and was then installed permanently on Lake Street. [map] The 1963 welcome arch featured two overlapping arcs, backlit plastic letters, and a revolving sputnik. When this sign was replaced in 1987, the steel support structure was moved to Willits, CA (see below). New panels were added to create a welcome arch there. The 1987 welcome arch sign shown in the bottom two rows above was built by YESCO (Young Electric Sign Company). The sign was updated in 2018, replacing the neon with LED. The colors of the sign and supports were changed from red and gold to blue and silver. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map] |
| Welcome Arch Willits, CA |
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| This Welcome Arch support structure came from the welcome arch in Reno, NV. That sign was built in 1963. When Reno replaced that sign with another one in 1987, this sign was donated to Willits. It was reworked and installed in 1995. The spear-like sign poles also came from Reno. The sign now reads "Gateway to the Redwoods" on one side and "Heart of Mendocino County" on the other. [map] |
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More Nevada:
Welcome sign (Las Vegas) New York:
Ohio:
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| It's the Climate Grants Pass, OR |
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| The It's the Climate was preceded in the early 1900s by some short-lived versions which read "Orchards Vineyards - Josephine County Oregon," "Mines Timber," and "Finest Climate." When John Hampshire moved to town in 1917, he came up with "It's the Climate" slogan based on the city's mild winters with little snow and dry summers with cool evenings. He promoted the slogan to the city and even donated the sign in 1920. It was built by the Novelty Electric Sign Company. The sign was strung over Sixth Street with wire. The letters were originally backlit opal glass. The sign may have been painted green originally with red letters. The two torch panels at the sides continue to have internally lit globes on top. The two pennant panels at the top were not part of the original design. They had been added by 1931. In 1941, the sign was moved to a nearby park. It was neglected and disappeared in 1958. This replica sign was built in 1976 and installed the following year at the original location. The glass letters were replaced with backlit plastic versions. In 2007, the panels were refurbished and the electronics were replaced. In 2017, city councilors were considering adding "Welcome to Grants Pass - Established 1887" panels to the top of the sign. However, nothing had changed by the sign's centennial in 2020. For more, see this website. [map] |
| Welcome sign North Bend, OR |
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| This Welcome sign was installed in 1936. It reads "Come Back to North Bend" on the other side. It originally read "Entering North Bend" on one side and "Come Again" on the other. The original sign had white neon. The sign was rebuilt in 1990 and again in 2011. The current sign cost about $50,000 and has red neon. The photo above is from 2015. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map] |
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More Oregon:
Welcome Arch (Bandon) Welcome sign (Granite) Welcome signs (Lakeview) |
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Welcome Arch Signs page 1 |
Welcome Arch Signs page 3 |
Main SCA Article Companion Page |
Main Signs Page |
| RoadsideArchitecture.com |
Copyright. All photos at this website are copyrighted and may only be used with my consent. This includes posting them at Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, other websites, personal use, etc. Tips & Updates. If you have suggestions about places that I haven't covered, historical info, or updates about places/things that have been remodeled or removed, I'd love to hear from you: roadarch@outlook.com. |