June 9, 2011

Neonopolis

...a.k.a. 25 neon signs part iv...

1.
harmony wedding chapel neon sign
Houston, Texas

I begin this episode of Neonopolis with a sign I drove by for many years without stopping. Part of the problem was the fairly intense traffic along Interstate 45/the Gulf Freeway. This Harmony Wedding Chapel is on a feeder road off of I45, and one of those times, I finally pulled over and got its weathered old neon sign.


2.
heights theater neon sign
Houston, Texas

This is from the Heights Theater, a theater built in 1929, remodeled in 1935 in its current Art Deco design.

3.
henry hotel neon sign
Mineola, Texas


4.
herfort diamond ring factory neon sign
Richmond-Rosenberg, Texas

The towns of Richmond-Rosenberg were on the way to (and from) my mom and dad's hometown, Eagle Lake. This is one of the earliest neon signs I can remember seeing, and I would have seen it a lot(!).

5.
herradura restaurant
Another one in Richmond-Rosenberg, Texas


6.
hicks shoes sign
I've heard this one in Marlin, Texas, is gone.


7.
hokus pokus liquor neon sign

A different shot of this one in Alexandria, Louisiana, got me published, so to speak. Great sign! The voodoo theme is very Louisiana.

8.
hollywood barber shop

Attached to the endangered (in fact, for all I know, it's been demolished) 1937 Art Deco Martini Theater in Galveston, Texas.

9.
home furniture co. neon sign
Temple, Texas


10.
horseshoe lounge neon sign
Austin, Texas


11.
hot dunuts sign, early morning
Shreveport, Louisiana


12.
houston lighting & power neon sign
Galveston, Texas (my hometown!)


13.
howard theatre neon sign
Taylor, Texas


14.
huston's drugs neon sign
Houston, Texas, c. 1954


15.
isaack restaurant neon sign
Junction, Texas


16.
joe daiches sign
Fort Worth, Texas


17.
joe koen & son jewelers without flash
Austin, Texas


18.
joseph's bar & grill neon sign
Santa Rosa, New Mexico

From Route 66 in New Mexico (Images of America) (p. 27):

In 1956, Joe Campos Sr. opened La Fiesta Café as a drive-in. It was enclosed in 1962-1963, and Jose passed it on to his son Joseph in 1985. It is now Joseph's Bar and Grill.

19.
keyhole klub
Port Arthur, Texas


20.
kruger's jewelers neon sign
Austin, Texas


21.
la cita neon sign
Tucumcari, New Mexico

La Cita opened in 1940, and the new building with the sombrero-shaped entrance opened right across Route 66 in 1961. It closed in 2004 but reopened in 2006.

22.
la loma motel neon sign
Santa Rosa, New Mexico

From the motel's website:

The La Loma Motel is an authentic vintage motel in Santa Rosa, New Mexico and has been a favorite rest stop for travelers along route 66 since the 1940s. You may be interested to know that the Campos family has run the La Loma since it opened, and we still do. We here at the La Loma believe that the route 66 traveler deserves a good nights rest at a great rate, so stop on by and experience the warmth and friendly hospitality of days gone by.

23.
larry's original mexican restaurant
larry's original mexican restaurant
Richmond-Rosenberg, Texas


24.
lasso motel neon sign
Tucumcari, New Mexico


25.
lee wright top quality automobiles neon sign
Houston, Texas

1 comment: