Fun in the Bun

Some signs around 35th & Halsted

Careful Cleaners

A trio of funny businesses and a laundromat across the street.

The Ramova Theater

A crude script of bricks proclaims the builder of this structure, now only appreciated by pigeons.

And finally, a strange mural in the window of a martial arts studio.

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

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

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

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.