Vintage neon signs

[kaiser]

I'm so glad to have given you that info. If you have any from when you owned the house, and feel like it, it would be great to see photos of the tile work. We are renovating a 1928 apartment and both the bathroom and kitchen will have "Sanitary Movement" tile work. We feel like we are giving the apartment back its heritage, its soul as the one still original bathroom has Sanitary Movement tile.

Hi Fading Fast, I will see if I have anything in a couple of boxes of old photos I still have. I doubt it though as I never really took photos in the bathroom. It was very good work that even then reminded me if Doctors offices when I was a kid in the early 60's. That might be a place for you to look as I suspect it would still be possible to find old medical facilities somewhere in New York.

 

[Fading Fast]

Hi Fading Fast, I will see if I have anything in a couple of boxes of old photos I still have. I doubt it though as I never really took photos in the bathroom. It was very good work that even then reminded me if Doctors offices when I was a kid in the early 60's. That might be a place for you to look as I suspect it would still be possible to find old medical facilities somewhere in New York.

You are absolutely right. Doctor's offices and some old schools, too, still have some sanitary tile bathrooms, exam rooms (doctor's offices) and kitchens (schools).

 

[LizzieMaine]

Sounds quite unusual today, but from what I understand it was a very popular moniker for food establishments and food products back in the 30s and 40s.

As Fading noted, "Sanitary" was everywhere at the time. There was a chain of grocery stores called "Sanitary Food Stores," there were "Sanitary Barber Shops," "Sanitary Hotels," "Sanitary Garages," and on and on. The humble "sanitary napkin" also was a product of that era, and is probably its most enduring commercial legacy.

 

[BobHufford]

This neon is outside of the Teamsters Local here in Springfield, MO.

 

[1mach1]

That's a great one, Bob!

 

[BobHufford]

Thanks Harv!

Here is another long time service station here in town that has not changed much over time.

 

[dh66]

Nice ones Bob!

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[1mach1]

Sweet, Bob!

This is an institution in DC, since 1950. The food is exactly what you would expect.

 

[BobHufford]

Thanks Dale and Harv. The Trio is probably like a place we used to have -- really good food at a good price. Sadly it is gone -- now a parking lot -- and the town is full of national chain restaurants. We did buy one of the commercial gas ranges from Hamby's and used it for years in our home kitchen.

 

[1mach1]

Sylvan Theater. Now closed. Washington DC.

 

[BobHufford]

The Arrowhead Motel in Springfield, MO. Now part of the Coach House Inn. The arrowhead shaped pool is still there. The lady sitting on the office roof patio is my late mother-in-law (or so she tells it). She worked there at the time.

 

[1mach1]

Fantastic, Bob!!

 

[1mach1]

Whitlow's on Wilson Blvd in Arlington, VA. The area is referred to as Clarendon.

 

[BobHufford]

Our oldest existing Firestone store still sports a neon sign.

 

[Fading Fast]

Our oldest existing Firestone store still sports a neon sign.

Great neon sign and reminds me of going to buy tires with my father in the '70s: the man would negotiate calmly and impassively, but relentlessly, to the point where I thought they'd just give him the tires to get him out of the store (I would have). I haven't owned a car in almost thirty years (live in a big city), but I can't believe that kind of negotiation goes on any more as it seems that we've moved to a "this is the price" model in most businesses.

 

[BobHufford]

I always negotiate at a swap meet or flea market, but never think to do it at a retail store (other than an auto dealership). It might work.

When my son was 8-years-old he asked how much a pack of Pokémon cards was (they were being sold at the cigarette counter at Wal-Mart). He then asked if he could get two packs for the single quoted price. The older lady behind the counter was so shocked by the haggling that she let him have the two card packs for the price of one. I guess his hanging with me and his Great-Grandpa at weekly swaps taught him a thing or two.

 

[Fading Fast]

I always negotiate at a swap meet or flea market, but never think to do it at a retail store (other than an auto dealership). It might work.

When my son was 8-years-old he asked how much a pack of Pokémon cards was (they were being sold at the cigarette counter at Wal-Mart). He then asked if he could get two packs for the single quoted price. The older lady behind the counter was so shocked by the haggling that she let him have the two card packs for the price of one. I guess his hanging with me and his Great-Grandpa at weekly swaps taught him a thing or two.

Swap meets - something else my all-purchases-are- "bargainable" father frequented and was quite good at. While I kid a bit, I learned a lot about game theory and negotiating from a man who barely made it out of high school and had no idea what game theory was. I'll take a street smart person any day of the week. I was fortunate to have gone to a state university and learned an incredible amount from my "formal education," but can absolutely say the same about having watched my father navigate through life in our modest town. Sounds like you and your son, also, had a great education-by-example childhood.

 

[dh66]

Fife restaurant, in down town Birmingham, AL. Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, around here refers to it as Fife's, although as you can see, there's no S on the sign. Best soul food you can get, outside of Grandma's house.

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[Fading Fast]

My girlfriend and I were out early this morning and noticed this dry cleaners sign that is near us but for some reason we've missed in the past.

 

[1mach1]

Adams Morgan, Washington DC