The Pilsen neighborhood has a long history as an immigrant community, for the last 30 years as a predominantly Hispanic area. Most businesses cater to recent immigrants of limited means, with plenty of dollar stores, thrift shops and plain bakeries along every busy street.

Such humble businesses rarely support elaborate advertising, but if you look closely there are some small scenes of graphical interest, such as the dated clip art on the Love Fashion clothing store.

A barber shop where Lego figurines can go for a trim.

Three little cannibal pigs torture one another on the Carnitas Uruapan butcher shop. Do you feel hungry?

Get out your red-cyan 3D glasses to see these photos of signs along Route 66 on its way out of Chicago. The Castle Car Wash looks like its been closed a long time.

Crossing over into Cicero we pass the Cindy Lyn Motel, with its off-balance artist's pallette of a sign.

Henry's hot dogs are served with a pile of french fries on top.

On the edge of the country, Snuffy's Grill serves up fried eggs and burgers 24 hours a day.

Here are some signs spotted on a recent bike trip west down Armitage Avenue. First, a dubious clown on the wall of a storefront church.

La Perla bakery's sign pictures luscious cookies and cakes in soft airbrush graphics.

Is this sandwich shop a place to write home about? Or just a place to meet up with close food friends?

An auto repair shop with folksy mural painted on the wall next door.

The Groves Bakery sign is a real winner. But I wonder how the huge thermometer at the bottom fits in. Wouldn't it be more appropriate on an ice cream shop? Does a reminder of how hot it is outdoors encourage passersby to stop in for cakes or cookies? Sadly, even under Curlie's management the bakery has closed again.

I like the elaborate scaffolding structures used to hold up many small signs such as this one at A&R Foods. The cluster of word boxes and light strips is stitched together by bars and chains meant to be invisible behind the sign's message.

A short jaunt up Milwaukee Avenue brings us to an Old World neighborhood of Polish eateries and specialty stores. Many of the signs are solely in Polish, like this little fellow.

A beautiful mermaid lures customers into the Syrena seafood restaurant.

Nearby, the Animal Kingdom pet shop features a wonderful classic neon sign with a dramatic arrow indicating where happy puppies can be found.

The front windows of the pet store have been covered over by unpretentious but odd murals of pets of all types.

Some photos of the signs on the many furniture stores along Milwaukee Avenue:

Central Furniture has a nice old neon sign out front and lots of quaintly weathered hand painted signs above covering over the windows of the storage rooms of the upper floors.

Don't you want one of these '80s era stereo systems for your home?

Across the street, Milwaukee Furniture's sign looks like a plain retread of a classic old neon frame.

Some memorable signs of Chicago that are no longer there.

The tiny Angkor Wat Market

The Gas For Less sign was a great sight on Lincoln Ave.

I never saw it lit up, but I imagine those chasing arrows must have been fun when it was new.

A detail of the Demon Dogs hot dog restaurant that was demolished for CTA station expansion

The Continental Furniture store is no longer there, though I'm not sure if the sign is now gone, too.

Inspired by Bill Swislow's Gyros Project, here are a few of my photos of that delicious meat kissed by flames while rotating on a spit:

Chicago Carryouts, on Chicago Ave.

The sign at Hub's rotates on its axis just like the gyros served there

This huge gyro in the midst of an inferno was an impressive relic of a restaurant previous to Peralvillo's Mexican Food. Several years ago the whole building was torn down to build condos and a Walgreens.

I love signs with cartoon figures alongside the words. Many of these signs in Chicago are from the mid-20th century, when such characters were most popular.

Now thats a friendly Handee Car Wash

Mr. Steer looks happy to serve you beef

A downright diseased-looking tooth advertising dentistry? Wash me!

Mr. Snappy, looking pretty stern for an advertising character

No snickers, its just a beaver who sells hardware

This understated clothes pin is my favorite

A few skeletons of old signs, their business promises now nothing but empty air.

Little Quiapu, a Filipino restaurant not very long ago.

Handa's Hand Car Wash

A flower shop still struggling on

And the twisted remnants of a square

Chicago is not known for its coffee shops, either of the Seattle cappuccino type or of the Los Angeles diner type. But there are a few of the latter kind scattered around the city.

Manny's Coffee Shop, near Maxwell Street Market

Standee's Coffee Shop, with its amazing swooshing arrow sign

DeMars Coffee Shop on Chicago Ave, part of a small chain. Its no longer open.

And the good old Ohio House, a great little Googie-style motel and restaurant