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email: roadarch@outlook.com |
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| Illinois Signs (page 7) |
(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)
| Rudy's Liquor Store La Salle, IL |
Tom's Place Lemont, IL |
Tropics Restaurant Lincoln, IL |
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Rudy's Liquor Store opened in 1948 and this sign is probably from that time. [map]
Tom's Place opened in 1924. These mass-produced Blatz Beer signs are much more common in Wisconsin. This page shows some examples in Milwaukee. [map] The Tropics Restaurant opened in 1950 and was a landmark on Route 66. The name originated from the owner's military service in Hawaii. The sign is believed to have been built in 1956 when the restaurant was sold to new owners. The restaurant closed around 2005 and the building remained vacant. This photo is from 2009. In 2014, the property was sold and the sign was removed. It was put in storage. In 2018, the sign was replicated by the Ace Sign Co. with new panels and installed near the site of the demolished restaurant. For more, see this website. [map] |
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More La Salle:
Daniel's Motel [map] Larson's |
| Pedian Rug Co. [gone] Lincolnwood, IL |
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| The Pedian Rug Co. was founded in 1906. These photos are from 2006. By 2014, the building and sign were gone. For more, see this website. |
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More Lincolnwood:
Lazar's Juvenile Furniture |
| Vic Suhling Gas for Less Litchfield, IL |
Highland Manor Motel Lombard, IL |
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The Vic Suhling Gas for Less was part of a local chain of four gas stations. It is believed that only one sign was built like this. It was built in 1957 and measures 12 foot wide and tall. The station closed in 1973 and the building was demolished in 1990. The sign continued to stand on the vacant lot. In 2012, the Litchfield Museum & Route 66 Welcome Center was built there. The museum and the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program split the bill for the sign's $22,550 restoration in 2013. The sign features 75 chasing bulbs on each side. For more, see this website. [map]
The Highland Manor Motel has been here since at least the early 1960s. [map] |
| Ariston Cafe Litchfield, IL 2010: |
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| The Ariston Cafe is located right across the street from the former Vic Suhling station described above. The Ariston Cafe opened in 1924 and moved to this location in 1935. These signs were installed at that time. In 2019, the signs were restored by David Hutson of Neon Time with a matching grant from the National Parks Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. The Budweiser sign may be the oldest and only sign of this type still on public display. It was produced by Claude Neon Federal and features white glass inserts at the top with the Anheuser-Busch logo in fused paint. The Ariston Cafe sign below was restored to its original paint job with dots around the border. During this restoration, the interior neon window borders which had been missing since the mid-1970s were also restored. The third photo above is of the sign on the other side of the building. I don't know when it was installed. It may have been restored at the same time. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map] |
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More Lombard:
Lombard Pines Shopping Center |
| House of Bottles Loves Park, IL |
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| House of Bottles Belvidere, IL |
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| The House of Bottles pole sign in Loves Park probably had the same neon popping cork like the sign in Belvidere. The Marengo location may have had a sign like these, too. There is a plastic sign there now. There may have been other locations. I believe these are the only two locations with neon signs. [Loves Park map]; [Belvidere map] |
| Masonic Temple Macomb, IL |
Ford Hopkins Drug Store Macomb, IL |
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This Masonic Temple sign is probably from the 1950s. [map]
Ford Hopkins Drug Store features an embossed porcelain enamel sign with neon. It closed in 2011. The store houses another business but the sign remains. For more, see this website. [map] |
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More Macomb:
Purdum Electric |
| Monroe Cleaners Marion, IL |
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| Monroe Cleaners opened in 1924. The business moved to this location in 1950 and this sign is probably from then. For more, see this website. [map] |
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| 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. |