email: roadarch@outlook.com

Michigan Signs (page 4)

(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)

Casler Hardware
Jackson, MI		 Roxy Cafe
Jackson, MI
Casler Hardware was established in 1939 and this sign is probably from then. For more, see this website. [map]

The Roxy Cafe opened in 1926 and is still in operation. This sign appears to be from the 1930s or 1940s. [map]

More Jackson:
Miller Shoe Parlor

Michigan News Agency
Kalamazoo, MI		 Holiday Motel [gone]
Kalamazoo, MI		 Great Wall of China Restaurant
Kalamazoo, MI
The Michigan News Agency opened in 1947 and this sign is probably from then. The top panel appears to be a replacement since it is pristine and the red is not a match for the sides and bottom half of the sign. The message board must have been added at some point. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

This Holiday Motel sign was built sometime after 1959. There was a different one here before that. The sign shown here was destroyed shortly after this photo was taken in 2006. It was replaced with a plastic box sign. For more, see this website.

The Great Wall of China Restaurant opened in 1978. The sign revolves. For more, see this website. [map]

Hi-Lo
Convenience
Store [gone]
Kalamazoo, MI		 Sackett Brick, Fireplace & Patio
Kalamazoo, MI		 Corkscrew Party Store
Kalamazoo, MI
The Hi-Lo Convenience Store opened in 1965 as the Hi-Lo Inn, a bar and restaurant. In 2000, it became a liquor store. The store closed after a fire in 2011. This photo was taken just a few months later. The building was demolished in 2013 and the sign is gone now.

The Sackett Brick, Fireplace & Patio sign originally advertised for a restaurant. I'm told the name was something like the Swedenborg Restaurant. Sackett adapted the sign sometime in the late 1990s or early 2000s. The store remained vacant for many years. Around 2023, the sign was adapted for One Well Brewing. [map]

The Corkscrew Party Store sign appears to be from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

More Kalamazoo:
Bruno's Pizza [map]
Howard's Liquor
Paris Cleaners

Kaleva Hardware & Feed
Kaleva, MI		 Dingman's Bar [gone]
Kalkaska, MI		 Gay's Plumbing & Heating [gone]
Kinde, MI
The Kaleva Hardware & Feed store is still in operation. These Hotpoint Appliances signs were mass-produced and there are still a dozen or so of them on display around the country. [map]

Dingman's Bar opened in 1952. This rooftop sign was probably from then. The place burned to the ground in 2018.

Gay's Plumbing & Heating was gone but this sign was still there when this photo was taken in 2011. It is probably from the 1940s. Timken is still producing heaters. These signs may have been mass-produced but I have never seen another one like it. By 2012, this sign was gone.

Lake Linden:
Lindell Chocolate Shoppe [map]

Capitol Fur Co.
[gone]
Lansing, MI		 Royal Motor Inn
Livonia, MI		 Awrey Bakeries
Livonia, MI
The Capitol Fur Co. was established in 1922. This business closed around 2007 and the signs were removed.

The Royal Motor Inn sign is probably from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

Awrey Bakeries was established in 1910. This sign appears to be from the 1950s. The blades of the windmill spun originally. They also had a light blue grid over the navy which has been painted over. For more, see this website. [map]

More Lansing:
Frandor Shopping Center: 1, 2 (East Lansing) [gone]
Gorman's Food Market
Zoobie's Old Town Tavern

Lincoln Park:
Flowers by Lobb

Little Lake:
Brown's Tavern

Sand Bar
Ludington, MI
The Sand Bar sign appears to be from the 1940s or 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

Star Motel
Manistique, MI		 Colonial Motel
Manistique, MI		 Bunny Bread
Marquette, MI
The Star Motel is probably from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

The Colonial Motel sign was painted yellow in 2008. This photo is from 2011. The sign was probably built in the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

This Bunny Bread sign was built around 1955 and installed at a Bunny Bread plant in Marquette. The sign is about 15 feet tall. When the bakery closed in 1991, the sign was removed and put in storage at a sign shop. In 1996, the sign was moved to the Upper Peninsula Children's Museum where it was integrated into the design of the building's entrance. The bunny head is still the original colors but the neon was removed. It is now lit with blue Christmas lights. There was a similar sign in Anna, IL that is now in a private collection. [map]

More Marquette:
Imperial Motel [gone]
Remie's Tavern

Buckhorn Bar [gone]
Mass City, MI		 Klich Tool & Die Company [gone]
Midland, MI
The Buckhorn Bar sign looked like it had been restored recently when this photo was taken in 2011. The bar may have gone by another name previously. By 2015, the sign was gone.

This sign is installed on the building of the Klich Tool & Die Company. It appears to be from the 1930s. This photo is from 2011. In 2015, the sign was sold to a collector.

Milford:
Arms' Men's Wear

Montague:
Lipka's Drug Store

Bel-Aire Motel
Muskegon, MI		 Lakeshore Tavern
Muskegon, MI
The Bel-Aire Motel sign is probably from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

The Lakeshore Tavern sign was installed on the front of the building since 2008 when the building was remodeled. It was restored at that time. Before that, it was installed on the ceiling of the bar for many years. It was probably mounted on a pole originally. [map]

City
Rescue
Mission
Muskegon, MI		 C.I.O. Headquarters
Muskegon, MI		 Acme Cleaners
Muskegon, MI
The building next to this City Rescue Mission sign had just been demolished when this photo was taken in 2011. The sign was still there in 2013. [map]

The C.I.O. Headquarters sign is probably from the 1940s or early 1950s. The neon was missing from the sign in 2006 but replaced by 2008. The C.I.O. stands for Congress of Industrial Organizations. In 1955, it merged with the American Federation of Labor to become the AFL-CIO. I believe the second floor of this building is still used by the organization. For more, see this website. [map]

Acme Cleaners was established in 1943. The sign might be from then or, more likely, the 1950s. [map]

More Muskegon:
Doo Drop Inn [vintage; gone]
Ernie's Motors [gone]
Sherman Bowling Center

Muskegon Heights:
Shepard Cleaners [gone]

Negaunee:
King Koin Launderette

MI (page 1) MI (page 2) MI (page 3) MI (page 5) MI (page 6) MI (page 7) Detroit

Main Signs Page