http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/ Chicago signs and graphics, outdoor advertising and neon. en Copyright 2010 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:26:08 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Some scans of photos I took while visiting Dallas in March 1995. I wonder how many of these signs are still around? A quick internet search for some of the business names failed to find much. Most of these photos were taken while walking around Deep Ellum, but I wish I could remember exactly where they were taken. ]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2010/07/like_nu.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2010/07/like_nu.html Dallas gone murals neon Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:26:08 -0600 A short bike tour along Chicago Avenue to photograph the old signs there. I like the lettering of the Cafe Central sign. Some fun details of hand painted signs and murals along the street. A cat dances on a table for a cockatiel and several sad-faced dogs who would rather be playing poker. At the Fashion Box, a palimpsest of a prior tenant. Instead of the transient lettering wearing away, this time it is the white ground that has been eroded to the plastic sign below. Across the street is Skippy's Red Hots, one of the smallest storefront businesses in the city. The tiny building looks like an afterthought. Perhaps the narrow gap between larger structures was once an alley? Alcala's Western Wear is well known for its caballero style, and advertised by plastic cowboys on horseback outlined in neon. Traveling farther west on Chicago Avenue into Ukranian Village, many of the businesses and signs switch languages and alphabets. I may adore pizza, but I hate that awful "Love Is" cartoon. At least the little guy kept his clothes on for dinner this time.]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2010/07/west_chicago_avenue.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2010/07/west_chicago_avenue.html Chicago Avenue neon Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:39:52 -0600 After 60 years, local landmark Standee's Coffee Shop closed its doors today. A Chicago Tribune article reports that the property owners intend to replace the diner with a "casual" restaurant serving "organic" food. Another article in the Lake Effect News tells more details of the restaurant's closing, and the many diners who have become fans of the little diner over the years. Hopefully the fabulous neon sign will be saved, but it will be sorely missed.]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2010/01/standees_closing.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2010/01/standees_closing.html neon coffee shops gone neon Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:25:30 -0600 I've just received several boxes delivered from the printer. Its the packaging for a new Wurlington Press project: 3D View-Master reels with photos of Chicago signs and roadside architecture. Each reel includes seven 3D photos, and comes with a small booklet telling the history of the signs and businesses pictured. The three subjects are: Motels of Lincoln Avenue, Chicago Hot Dog Stands, and Route 66 in Chicago. The three reels should be available for sale within the next week or two when the View-Master reels are ready. You can read more about the project at the Wurlington Press View-Master page.]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2009/12/roadside_chicago_in_3d.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2009/12/roadside_chicago_in_3d.html 3D hot dogs Lincoln Avenue Route 66 Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:33:59 -0600 Forgotten Chicago takes a look at some beautiful neon signs in the Chicago area.]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2009/12/forgotten_neon.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2009/12/forgotten_neon.html neon Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:56:35 -0600 Abandoned Dairy Bar. This one's not just closed for the season. Clementi Printing features a beaming advertising character. Renee's sign surely is a thing of beauty. The storefront on Addison is now occupied by Aurelia Beauty Salon, but thankfully they have retained the classic neon from the previous business. Too bad the White Star Cleaners sign lost all its neon tubing. The enormous arrow wedge looks similar to the old Tip Top Motel sign on Lincoln, but its hard to tell just what the lost neon might have looked like. ]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2009/10/salon_of_beauty.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2009/10/salon_of_beauty.html neon Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:52:31 -0600 On a recent neighborhood art walk I visited the studio of photographer Dan Zamudio and got a chance to see his photographs of Chicago neon signs. The photos are taken with a plastic Diana camera, which induces a bit of lo-fi distortion to the images from the plastic lens. Most of the photos are of lit neon against deep blackness, though some are of defunct signs shot in moody daylight, as if taken on a dreary rainy day. Some of the images are multiple-exposures of one or several signs, reminiscent of a film noir montage of some boozy spree from one cocktail bar to another. With the jaunty angles, blurry edges caused by the toy camera, and multiple exposures, the series feels more personal than documentary recording of all the remnant neon signs around the city. A book of the photographs was recently published by Wicker Park Press.]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/10/chicago_neon_signs.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/10/chicago_neon_signs.html books neon Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:16:10 -0600 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? ]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/10/pilsen_graphics.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/10/pilsen_graphics.html characters Pilsen Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:28:28 -0600 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. ]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/07/route_66_in_3d.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/07/route_66_in_3d.html 3D Route 66 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:02:18 -0600 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. ]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/06/armitage_avenue.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/06/armitage_avenue.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:27:39 -0600 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. ]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/06/polish_milwaukee_avenue.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/06/polish_milwaukee_avenue.html Milwaukee Avenue Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:13:08 -0600 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. ]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/05/furniture_row.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/05/furniture_row.html Milwaukee Avenue neon Tue, 06 May 2008 20:17:40 -0600 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. ]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/02/only_photos.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/02/only_photos.html gone neon Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:38:24 -0600 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. ]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/01/spinning_on_a_stick.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/01/spinning_on_a_stick.html gyros Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:19:12 -0600 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 ]]> http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/01/advertising_characters.html http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Marvelous/bun/2008/01/advertising_characters.html characters Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:22:12 -0600