Wayside Motel

Hempstead, Texas

A random street in Baird

I went through Baird, Texas, primarily because the tiny town was the county seat, and, therefore, has a county courthouse. The 1929, Classical Revival building wasn't all that unique, but the sky was a deep blue, and the clouds were white and billowy. So I think the pictures came out really well, despite the plainness of the courthouse.



But on a complete whim, I took a slight deviation from my planned route and made a sudden, left-hand turn onto what turned out to be Baird's main street. I was rewarded handsomely almost immediately with this stunning, repainted Bull Durham ad. These are usually "ghosts" when I find them.





The repainted Coca-Cola sign must be from 1923-1925, as variations of the "Refresh Yourself" slogan were being used during those years.



A ghostly Dr. Pepper sign.


At the end of the street was the reason for all of the ads, the 1911 circa Texas Pacific Railroad Depot.

Cisco, Texas, was a friend of mine

Big Spring (or is it "Big Sprang"?)*

*I prefer the twangy version.

This is a ghost sign on the back of the Ritz Theatre in Big Spring. It says: "West Texas' Finest Theatre."

Stuff I took pictures of in Eastland

Real sugar in Sweetwater

I was going to make a diabetes joke, but opted for a milder post title...

Abilene, Abilene - prettiest town I've ever seen

Today's history lesson, chitlins, is about Abilene, Texas. Now, first I must admit that every single time I saw the word Abilene, whether it was on a city limits sign or anywhere else, I was compelled forced to loudly belt out George Hamilton IV's 1963 single "Abilene" with a desperate, whimpering cry in my voice. After having been there, I could see why someone would write a song about Abilene, Abilene....

Queen Victoria

John J. Welder Home carriage stone and gate post

Grand Dame Edna

Right on Main Street in Edna, Texas, the 1950 Edna Theatre:

I sort of gorged myself on Cuero...

...and for that, I must apologize, because there's a whole lot of great stuff(!) I got for the hour and a half or so I was there. If you are one of those EBiN readers who thinks "meh" or "wtf?" whenever you see the latest post is one of those 100-year-old-houses-ghost-signs-and-vintage-neon-signs-kind-of-posts, you may want to move along. Sorry, there's nothing to see here this go around. The rest of you should prepare to receive a face full of Cuero.

Speedy return to Gonzales (ahreeeba areeeba underle)

Art thou familiar....st with the "Come and Take It" battle flag? This occurred in Gonzales.

So, I went and took. And I didn't even need no stinkin' badgees. No, seriously.

Something about loss, preservation, and obscurity

The drive to McKinney, Texas, turned out to be a bit longer (30-40 minutes; Garmin usually shaves at least 15 minutes off the Google time) than either Google Maps or Garmin told me it would be, so I was sort of dreading the drive back before I'd even arrived. But once I got there, it seemed to have all been worth it. I had a list of thirteen items to locate, tag and bag, the majority being Victorian-style homes. But I became bored by the houses after the third or fourth, which worked out, because I was soon reminded that McKinney has a handful of great, vintage neon signs (gems, really). Besides, old signs are far more interesting than homes built 130-150 years ago...

Nacogdoches has come unstuck in time

For anyone who happened to make it by the Hotel Fredonia in Nacogdoches this past weekend, it was very easy to imagine what it would have been like when the hotel opened back in 1955. And guess who went over, early, to photograph the scene and pretend as if there was nothing unusual about having a parking lot full of cars from a vanished time?

Settlements in Palestine

Distant morning view of Anderson County Courthouse

The post wherein Miss Havisham meets Judge Stephen W. Blount

The 1897 Judge Stephen W. Blount House in Nacogdoches
In her autobiography, A Kind of Magic (1963), Edna Ferber compared Galveston, Texas, to wealthy spinster Miss Havisham, the "gray, mournful abandoned bride of Dickens' Great Expectations."

Unburied treasure

This Coca-Cola ghost sign was uncovered last week by a crew working inside of a building at the corner of First and Shepherd Streets in downtown Lufkin. What a beauty! That slogan was used during 1907 and 1908 (wow!). And since it was just a couple of buildings down the street, I couldn't help but snap a quick one of this restored beauty:

The need for neon

That "SIMON" neon sign in April 2008....

The day after the snow fell in Alto

Ladonia! Ladonia!...

...What makes your big head so hard?

Honey Grove

Honey Grove, Texas