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email: roadarch@outlook.com |
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| Bear Manufacturing "Happy Bear" Signs (page 2) |
(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)
| Hemi Hideout Brookshire, TX |
Turner Body Shop Holdrege, NE |
Liberal Safety Lane Liberal, KS |
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The bear sign at the Hemi Hideout is part of a huge sign collection.
The bear sign at the Turner Body Shop previously advertised for the D&T Body Shop. The sign was adapted for Turner around 2016. The sign is probably from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map] Liberal Safety Lane opened in 1951. This sign may have been installed then. It originally had neon. [map] |
| private collection Albuquerque, NM |
Autocraft Body Shop Springfield, IL |
Kinston Wheel Alignment Kinston, NC |
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The Bear sign in Albuquerque is part of a private collection. The rusting vintage sign's neon was installed by Evan Voyles of Neon Jungle in Austin, TX. The other plastic sign is probably from the 1960s or 1970s.
The Autocraft Body Shop opened in 1948. This one-of-a-kind sign was created around the mid-1950s. It was built from two porcelain panel wall signs that had been inside the shop. The panels were painted and a steel "can" was built between them. The neon that was added then has not been lit since about the mid-1990s. Painted bear signs that were on the building in the mid-1960s are long gone. [map] The Kinston Wheel Alignment sign was installed when the shop opened in 1952. [map] |
| Barton's Body Shop Alpha, IL |
Barnes Garage Bedford, PA |
Shaw's Antiques Hot Springs, AR |
Zumwalt's Garage Deming, NM |
Rosson Wheel Service Muskogee, OK |
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Barton's Body Shop opened in 1950. This sign is from 1965 when Barton's made an addition to the building. At that time, the shop added Bear racks and began offering Bear Alignment. [map]
This plastic, vacuum-formed sign at Barnes Garage is from the 1960s. These signs must have been mass-produced but this seems to be the only one left on public display. [map] The Bear sign was for sale inside Shaw's Antiques when this photo was taken in 2019. The Bear sign at Zumwalt's Garage looks like a single-sided shop sign turned into a projecting sign. [map] Rosson Wheel Service was established in 1970. I don't know how long this sign has been there. [map] |
| Shorty's Bear Safety Service [gone] Amarillo, TX |
Bridges Service Center & Wrecker [gone] Childress, TX |
Campbell Automotive Campbell, CA |
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Shorty's Bear Safety Service opened in 1960. Up until around 2013, there was a sign like the one in Springfield above with the flatter feet. This sign looks like it was put together with an aluminum "can" between the two flat panels like those on the building. The business closed in 2023 and these signs are gone.
The Bear sign at Bridges Service Center & Wrecker is similar to the one in Kinston, NC shown in the row above. By 2022, it was gone. The Campbell Automotive Bear sign appears to be a wooden sign. There were probably plastic panels here originally. The sign was covered up with a plastic sheet version around 2014. [map] |
| Clovis Safety Lane Clovis, NM |
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| Clovis Safety Lane is a full service repair garage. The shop opened in 1946. The pole sign outside is from around the mid-1950s. It never had neon. There are a couple of other Bear signs inside the shop. There is also some Bear equipment which is still in use. [map] |
| Zorn's Service [gone] Ida, MI |
Lindstad Alignment Belle Fourche, SD |
Weldon's Tire Service Yreka, CA |
Cruz Tire & Truck Repair Banning, CA |
Thomson Brake and Alignment Emporia, KS |
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Zorn's Service featured a rare, metal Happy Bear sign. The owner believed that the sign had been there since the early 1940s. Bear was definitely making hanging signs similar to this by the late 1940s. Many of these signs have been spiffed up with neon for collectors. I don't believe these signs were ever produced with neon originally. There have also been new reproductions of these signs made. This sign was gone by 2019.
Lindstad Alignment opened at this location in 1945 and is still operating. This sign is probably from the 1960s. [map] Weldon's Tire Service opened in 1936. The shop has the same style sign as the one at Zorn's Service. Note the hanger above the bear's head. These signs are about four feet tall. According to the owner, the sign has been there since maybe the 1960s. [map] Cruz Tire & Truck Repair has the same style bear sign as those in Ida and Yreka. It is installed on the roof. [map] This bear sign was installed on the Thomson Brake and Alignment building around 2009. There is another one on the side of the building facing the other direction. The panels may have been split up from either a projecting or pole sign. [map] |
| Bear Manufacturing Seattle, WA |
B&B Frame & Alignment [gone] Yakima, WA |
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This Bear Manufacturing sign in Seattle is installed in the window at Ball Graphics. This upper part of the sign was purchased at a swap meet and restored at a local sign shop. This sign is six and a half feet wide. [photo thanks Dennis Hicklin] [map]
B&B Frame & Alignment features a Bear Manufacturing sign. It appears to be from the 1950s. This photo is from 2015. The shop closed and the sign was gone by 2018. |
| Moe Allen Auto Body Shop [gone] Phoenix, AZ |
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| The Moe Allen Auto Body Shop opened in Phoenix, Arizona in 1955. The pole sign and painted bears which flank the service bay had been there since then. The pole sign and "Moe Allen" letters on the building had neon originally. In 2018, the shop closed and the building was demolished. The sign was put in storage. It will be displayed at the Ignite Sign Art Museum which will open in Tucson, AZ in 2018. |
| Jack's Auto Alignment & Brakes Phoenix, AZ |
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| Jack's Auto Alignment & Brakes features a sunken pit and plastic sign. The company has another location in Glendale, AZ which also has a pit and bear sign. [map] |
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More "Happy Bear" Signs:
Campbellsville, KY Corbin, KY Grand Rapids, MI Wolf Point, MT [gone] Albany, NY Brooklyn, NY [gone] Croton-on-Hudson, NY Long Island City, NY Naples, NY Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia, PA Seattle, WA Big Bend, WI Toronto, ON [gone] |
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Bear Signs page 1 |
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. |