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Michigan Signs (page 3)

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Zehnder's
Frankenmuth, MI		 Flamingo Motel
Fraser, MI
Zehnder's, a hotel and restaurant, opened in 1929. The sign was built around 1936. For more, see this website. [map]

The Flamingo Motel sign is probably from the 1950s. [map]

Baars Pharmacy
Fremont, MI		 Gage Motor Mall
Grand Haven, MI
The Baars Pharmacy has been around since at least 1940. The store might have opened in 1920. This sign with embossed letters had neon at one time. [map]

The Gage Motor Mall Chevrolet sign was built locally and installed in 1965. The sign shop did the job in trade for a 1966 Chevy Caprice. The dealership was known as Miller Chevrolet then. The sign has been designated a landmark by the City. There are no other Chevrolet signs of this style and size known to exist. The blue and white bowtie shaped sign is 34 feet wide and 10 feet tall. It has 26 transformers and more than 1,200 feet of neon tubing. It was refurbished in 2012. By 2015, the dealership had been renamed Preferred Chevrolet. This sign is still there. For more, see this website. [map]

More Grand Haven:
Mr. Scrib's Pizza

Weatherball
Grand Rapids, MI		 Lannings' Restaurant
and Catering
Grand Rapids, MI		 Riviera Motel
Grand Rapids, MI		 Crystal Cleaners [gone]
Grand Rapids, MI
The Weatherball was installed in 1967 on top of the Michigan National Bank Building downtown. There were triangulated neon panels beneath the weatherball with the letters "MN." It was lit with different colors at night to forecast the weather: red for warmer, blue for cooler, green no change, blinking for rain or snow. The sign was removed in 1987 and stored in a junkyard. In 1999, WZZM Channel 13 bought the Weatherball. It was restored and installed on a 100-foot-tall pole in 2003. The same colors are used for weather forecasting. [map]

Lannings' Restaurant and Catering opened in 1941 as the Humpty Dumpty Restaurant. The name change and this sign are probably from the late 1940s or 1950s. The restaurant here closed in 2008. There was another location in town which seems to be gone now as well. The catering business is still operating but not in this building. For more, see this website. [map]

The Riviera Motel sign appears to be from the 1950s. [map]

The Crystal Cleaners sign was probably from the 1950s. This photo is from 2006. By 2011, the business and this sign were gone. For more, see this website.

Richmond
Stamp Works
Grand Rapids, MI		 Lazy T Motel
Grand Rapids, MI		 Dreswel
Dry Cleaners [gone]
Grand Rapids, MI		 Williams Used Cars
Grand Rapids, MI		 Dick's Fine Foods [gone]
Grand Rapids, MI
Richmond Stamp Works was established in 1907 and is still in operation. The sign appears to be from the 1940s or 1950s. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

The Lazy T Motel sign is probably from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

The Dreswel Dry Cleaners sign was probably from the 1950s. This photo is from 2011. The sign was still there in 2016 but gone by 2017.

The Williams Used Cars sign was adapted at some point from a mass-produced Buick sign like this one in Pottsville, PA. Although there is a different used car business there now, the sign remains intact as of 2015. Around 2019, the sign was repainted for Pyramids Auto. [map]

Dick's Fine Foods was long gone but this sign remained for many years. By 2018, it was gone.

Van's of
Grand Rapids [gone]
Grand Rapids, MI		 Konkle's Bar [gone]
Grand Rapids, MI		 Red Lion
Grand Rapids, MI
Van's of Grand Rapids was either a hobby, toy and game store or a party supplies store. Or maybe it was both? The business was long gone but the sign remained until around 2021.

The Konkle's Bar sign is probably from the 1950s or earlier. The neon had been missing for years but was restored around 2008. This photo is from 2011. In 2016, the sign was adapted with plastic panels for the Steel Cat Bar. For more, see this website. [map]

The local Red Lion Family Restaurant chain opened in 1921. The Bridge St. location opened in the late 1950s and this pole sign is probably from then. The restaurant had been closed since at least 2007 but these signs remained until 2018. In 2021, the pole sign was restored by Valley City Sign and is displayed next to Swift Printing. It is just a couple of blocks away from the sign's original location. The individual letters on the building are in storage. For more, see this website. [map]

Herkimer Hotel [gone]
Grand Rapids, MI		 DJ's Cocktail
Lounge [gone]
Grand Rapids, MI		 Anchor Bar
Grand Rapids, MI
The Herkimer Hotel was built in 1895. It has been converted into apartments. This sign appeared to be from the 1930s or 1940s. This photo is from 2011. The sign was gone by 2015.

The DJ's Cocktail Lounge sign was probably from the 1950s or 1960s. Around 2010, this female silhouette replaced a cocktail glass. This photo is from 2011. The sign was still there in 2016 but gone by 2017. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

The Anchor Bar opened in the 1930s or 1940s. I don't know if this sign is refurbished or brand new. [map]

More Grand Rapids:
Burton Foodland [map]
Clique Bowling Lanes
Electronic Sound
Fat Boy Burgers
Grand Motel [map]
Harris Sample Furniture [map]
Koffee Kletz Kafe [vintage; gone]
Princess Bake Shop
Wenger's Bowl

Stevens [gone]
Grayling, MI		 Reno Bar
Greenville, MI		 Kowalski
Sausage Co.
Hamtramck, MI		 Dom Zwiazkowy
P.N.A. Council [gone]
Hamtramck, MI
Stevens was originally a pharmacy with a soda fountain. This photo is from 2006. The building now houses Dawson and Stevens Classic 50's Diner. The Stevens letters had been removed by 2013. They are now in a private collection.

The Reno Bar sign is probably from the 1930s. [map]

The 30-foot-tall Kowalski Sausage Co. sign is installed on the company's sausage production plant. The company has been producing "Kowality" products since 1920. The sign was installed in the 1940s. This photo is from 2005. The sign was restored in 2015. It is now two shades of brown. [map]

The Dom Zwiazkowy P.N.A. Council sign was probably built in the 1950s. The "P.N.A." stood for Polish National Alliance. By 2019, the neon had been removed and the sign adapted for the United Community Center. [map]

More Grayling:
Bear's Den Pizzeria

Grosse Pointe Woods:
Indian Village Cleaners

More Hamtramck:
Day's Fashions

Nutini's
Supper Club
Hancock, MI		 Wooden Shoe Antique Mall
Holland, MI
The Nutini's Supper Club sign is probably from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

The Wooden Shoe Antique Mall opened here in 2004. The Wooden Shoe Factory operated here from 1957-2000. The signs were adapted for the antique mall. These photos are from 2006. By 2010, the windmill was gone. The men had been removed from the one sign and the other had been repainted more plainly with the neon removed. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

More Hancock:
The Flower Shop

Hazel Park:
joebar [map]
Sam's Auto Parts [gone]

Holt:
Crystal Bar

Houghton:
College Motel [gone]
Gazette Apartments

Houghton Lake:
Zubler's Indian Craft Shop [gone]

Cleary's Pub
Howell, MI		 Alpine
Motel [gone]
Inkster, MI		 Esquire
Motel [gone]
Inkster, MI
Cleary's Pub opened in 1987. This sign is obviously much older than that and must have been reworked. Does anyone know what was here previously? [map]

The Alpine Motel and the Esquire Motel signs were probably from the late 1950s. The Alpine Motel sign was replaced with a backlit plastic sign in 2017. The Esquire Motel sign was removed around 2013. It is now a Rodeway Inn. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Howell:
Bowl-E-Drome

Ionia:
Bar [gone]

Royal Motel
Ironwood, MI		 Olkie's Bar [gone]
Ironwood, MI
The Royal Motel sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

Olkie's Bar sign only had neon on one side. The "Olkie's" text covered the original name of "Stan's." The bar became Olkie's in the late 1990s. These photos are from 2011. The sign was repainted around 2017. By 2023, the sign being sold by a collector.

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