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email: roadarch@outlook.com |
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| Florida Signs (page 3) |
(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)
| Maxwell House Jacksonville, FL |
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This Maxwell House sign's letters were installed on the side of the company's production plant in 1955. At that time, letters reading "Instant" with overlapping tubing representing a dripping cup were installed above the Maxwell House letters. The cup depicted the company's slogan "Good to the Last Drop." In 1971, the Maxwell House letters, each about 10 feet tall, were moved onto a screen on a different side of the building where they remain today. A porcelain enamel, 45-foot-tall dripping cup sign with neon was built and installed next to the letters. Three additional, animated neon drips were attached directly to the building below the cup.
Around 2016, the company's owner, Kraft Heinz Company, had the sign repainted. The red neon tubing on the cup and letters were replaced with LED tubing. The drips below the cup became stationary then. In 2020, there were plans for the General Sign Service Corp. to restore the signs The new LED would enable the letters and cup to be lit in a variety of colors. As of 2021, I don't believe that has happened yet. There was an earlier Maxwell House sign in Hoboken, NJ which was built in 1938. It was visible from New York City. That rooftop sign read "Maxwell House Coffee" in individual letters installed on a scaffold. It also featured a cup with two animated drips. That sign was removed in 1994. One of the drips is in storage at the Hoboken Historical Museum. There was another Maxwell House neon sign in Houston, TX which was built in 1988 and removed in 2006. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map] |
| Wash 'N Dry Clean Jacksonville, FL |
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| This Wash 'N Dry Clean laundromat was part of the nationwide Philco-Bendix Wash 'N Dry Clean Sunshine Center chain which was established in the early 1960s. Coin-operated, self-service laundromats were novel at the time. There are or were other locations with similar plastic signs in Lansing, MI, Oakland, CA, Birmingham, AL, and elsewhere. For more, see this website. [map] |
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More Jacksonville:
Bug Out Service [gone] Florida Bonded Pools Greyhound station [gone] Peninsular Pest Constrol Service Pepsi [vintage; gone] former Phoenix Lanes Wimpee Fuel Oil |
| A&B Lobster House Key West, FL |
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| The A&B Lobster House opened in 1947. This sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. For more, see this website. [map] |
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More Key West:
El Patio Motel Key Lodge Motel (now Orchid Key Inn) [map] Southern Cross Hotel (now Saint Hotel) [map] |
| Paradise Inn [gone] Kissimmee, FL |
Makinson Hardware Kissimmee, FL |
First Baptist Church Lake City, FL |
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The Paradise Inn was hard to miss with its towering sign and rockets. The sign and rockets were removed in 2016.
Makinson Hardware opened in 1884 and was the oldest operating hardware store in Florida. This sign was built in 1952 for $1,200. It originally had neon tubing. The store was also a saddle shop at that time. There was also horse statue at the store. The store closed in 2022. The building is going to be redeveloped for housing. The sign will supposedly be displayed on the side of the building. For more, see this website. [map] This First Baptist Church was built in 1926. This sign is probably from the 1940s or 1950s. [map] |
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More Kissimmee:
Fraternal Order of Eagles Orange Bowl Lanes |
| C&G Mobile Homes Lake City, FL |
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| Drive-It-Away Auto Sales [gone] Tallahassee, FL |
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C&G Mobile Homes must have had at least three locations. The business had closed their office by 2015. The company moved the neon sign to its warehouse location at that time. There is another C&G Mobile Homes location in Chiefland, FL but it does not have this sign. For more, see this website. [map]
The Drive-It-Away Auto Sales sign must have advertised for C&G Mobile Homes originally. The sign was still there in 2011. The business and sign were gone by 2013. |
| Pulse Bar and Lounge Lakeland, FL |
Prestler's Motel Lakeland, FL |
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The Pulse Bar and Lounge opened in 1940. The sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. It was originally known as the Green Parrot Bar. The text panel had neon then. The sign was updated with a plastic box but the parrot still has neon. By 2016, the parrot had been repainted. In 2020, the nightclub was renamed The Parrot. [map]
The Prestler's Motel was probably built in the 1950s. The sign was repainted around 2019. [map] |
| Performance Car Wash Lakeland, FL |
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| The Performance Car Wash sign was missing his upper torso on the other side when this 2009 photo was taken. It was repaired by 2011. In 2024, I was told that the sign was going to be repainted. Does anyone know how long this sign has been here and if it was always used for the car wash? [map] |
| Dick's Auto Sales [gone] Lakeland, FL |
Southside Cleaners Lakeland, FL |
Southside Cleaners [gone] Lakeland, FL |
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Dick's Auto Sales was established in 1945. This sign appeared to be from the 1950s or 1960s. This photo is from 2009. While the business is still there, the sign was destroyed by a tornado in 2011.
Southside Cleaners has two locations in Lakeland. The original building dates from 1954 when Florida Drive-In Cleaners was here. The original Lakeland sign was erected in 1962. It was designed by the then 12-year-old Greg Meyers whose parents owned the business. Greg and his mother put together the sayings on the sign, changed weekly, since the beginning. His mother passed away in 2015 and Greg carries on the tradition. [map] The second Southside Cleaners in Lakeland was built in 1992. Its sign imitated the style of the original. The photo above is from 2007. This location was still there in 2011. By 2016, the building and sign were gone. For more, see this website. [photo thanks Greg Meyers] |
| Sunset Motel [gone] Lakeland, FL |
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| The Sunset Motel sign appears to be from the 1950s or 1960s. This photo is from 2009. The upper part of the sign with the sun was removed in 2011. By 2022, the "Motel" porcelain enamel panel had been replaced with a plastic panel reading "Sunset Motel." The panel below that is now a graphic display board. For more, see this website. [map] |
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More Lakeland:
Canada Dry [vintage; gone] Jenkins Lincoln-Mercury Reececliff Family Diner Southgate Shopping Center Lake Wales:
Largo:
Longwood:
Marathon:
Marianna:
Merritt Island:
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| FL (page 1) | FL (page 2) | FL (page 4) | FL (page 5) | FL (page 6) | FL (page 7) | FL (page 8) |
| Main Signs Page |
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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. |