email: roadarch@outlook.com

Maine Signs

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Rotary Cleaners
Augusta, ME
The Rotary Cleaners gets its name from the fact that it is on a rotary (traffic circle). It has some great signage and nice plate glass windows. [map]

Broadway Coffee Shop
& Dairy Freeze [gone]
Bangor, ME		 Coffee Pot [gone]
Bangor, ME
The Broadway Coffee Shop & Dairy Freeze featured this rather greenish plastic cone on the roof. This photo is from 2009. By 2011, the sign was gone. The coffee shop is still open.

The Coffee Pot opened in 1930 and moved to this location in 1937. I can't tell whether the sign is new or very well-preserved. This photo is from 2004. The shop closed in 2009. In 2012, some of the employees opened a shop at a new location. The original location now houses another sandwich shop. This sign is gone.

Alex's Pizza
Biddeford, ME		 J&J Cleaners
Brunswick, ME
Alex's Pizza, aka Pizza by Alex, opened in 1960. This sign appears to be from then. [map]

The J&J Cleaners sign is part of the extended store canopy. The store opened in 1953 and this sign is probably from then. These photos are from 2003. By 2005, the building and sign had been painted white. The sign was still there in 2018. [map]

Columbia Falls:
Wild Blueberry Land

Maine Idyll Motor Court
Freeport, ME		 Warren's Lobster House
Kittery, ME		 Dairy Maid [gone]
Lisbon Falls, ME
The Maine Idyll Motor Court was built in 1932. [map]

Warren's Lobster House opened in 1940 as a six-stool seafood stand. They are now a huge operation and offer mail order and boat-docking for customers arriving by water. This photo is from 2003. The sign was repainted by 2008. [map]

The Dairy Maid was a vintage ice cream stand. This sign was outlined with neon. By 2018, the building and sign were gone. For more, see this website.

Lewiston:
Maine Motel: 1, 2 [map]

Lisbon:
Coin-O-Matic Laundry

Livermore Falls:
Chuck Wagon Restaurant

Lubec:
Welcome sign [map]

Starlite Motel [gone]
Old Orchard Beach, ME		 former Sardine Man (now Lobster Man)
Prospect Harbor, ME
The Starlite Motel sign originally had a diving woman piece above the plastic box. The stars at the bottom of the sign were once neon that blinked on and off. This sign was replaced by 2016 with a drab, flat sign. For more, see this website.

The Sardine Man is also known as Big Jim the Fisherman and the Stinson Man. The metal sign is 22 feet tall. Another source says it is 40-50 feet tall which sounds more accurate to me. The sign was originally located at an entrance to the Maine Turnpike, where the sign was painted on both sides and made of wood. When a storm severely damaged the sign, it was replaced with this metal one. By the early 1980s, the sign was destined to be torn down. It was then moved to the entrance to the Stinson Seafood plant and repainted. Stinson was the cannery for Beach Cliff sardines and was the last herring cannery in the country until it closed in 2009. These photos are from that year. In 2011, a lobster processor moved into the building. The sign was repainted and the sardine can was transformed into a lobster trap. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

More Old Orchard Beach:
Crest Motel [map]
Marcotte Motor Court [gone]

Portland:
Hub Furniture Company
The Porthole

Rockland:
EAT [gone?]

Saco & Sanford:
Dairy Queen Little Miss

Partners [gone]
Shapleigh, ME		 Key Real Estate
Shapleigh, ME		 Rocky Ridge Motel
Stockton Springs, ME
The Partners food stand featured a greenish plastic cone. I assume the yellow has faded to green in the sun. There may have been another business here before Partners since they opened in 1986 and this sign appeared older than that. This photo was taken in 2009. The business had been closed for many years. In 2011, the sign was still there but it was gone by 2018.

Key Real Estate was established in the early 1930s. In 1970, the business moved to this location. I assume this sign is from then. This photo is from 2009. By 2011, the name had changed to Exit Key Real Estate but the sign was still there. In 2023, the business moved. The sign was brought to the new spot and painted turquoise. [map]

The Rocky Ridge Motel sign appears to have been refurbished and repainted recently. Does anyone know if this was the original name? [map]

Drake's Island
Motel [gone]
Wells, ME		 Goldenrod
York Beach, ME
The Drake's Island Motel features an old pole sign and this sign on the roof. The motel was built in 1958 and the sign was installed then. This photo was taken in 2009. The sign was removed in 2013 and taken to the previous owner's home. For more, see this website.

The Goldenrod is a candy store, ice cream shop and restaurant which has been around since 1896. Goldenrod Kisses refers to their salt water taffy which is made on the premises. These signs are lit at night. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Westbrook:
Hawkes Plaza

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