Vintage neon signs

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[Fading Fast]

Rob

While they were ten to twenty years old - and most were a bit tired even then - there still were a bunch of places like this operating when I was a kid in the '70s.

 

[Fading Fast]

While they were ten to twenty years old - and most were a bit tired even then - there still were a bunch of places like this operating when I was a kid in the '70s.

Do you ever do this, start a post to make a point and then not even get to it? My (small as it may be) point in this post was to note how much I loved these somewhat rundown places as a kid. They had a homey or comfortable feel to me that the - at the time - newer chains or slicker-looking places didn't have. I had no real Golden Era perspective then; these places just appeal to something inside of me.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Sadly, the newer chains still don't have that feeling.

The closest to come to that 'homey' and well-worn feel is probably Waffle House...it still has that dive/dump vibe to it, and honestly, the food isn't too terribly bad.

Rob

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[BobHufford]

When you need a barber NOW and yours is in another town what do you look for? Neon! Didn't hurt that the barber had been there forty years.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[BobHufford]

This one is still in Cuba, MO on Rt. 66.

 

[Fading Fast]

Rob

I really like this one. I'm assuming it's ripping off McDonald's and maybe even Chef Boyardee (the owner is not the most original thinker), but it's got that over-the-top, of-the-period feel.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Burger Chef was actually a viable chain, back in the day...I remember seeing them here in Florida (even ate there, as a kid).

They were actually second in the league of fast food restaurants (behind the juggernaut of McDonald's) for having a large number of national locations... BC invented the kid's meal, and patented the flame broiled burger system.

They eventually sold out to rival Hardees in 1982.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burger_Chef

Rob

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[Fading Fast]

Rob

A "Chicken Basket" restaurant and a "Cocktail Lounge" are not two things I usually associate as working harmoniously under one roof.

That said, I believe you can sell booze anywhere and make it a success - but that doesn't mean you don't get some odd pairings ⇧ in how it's done.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[Matt Crunk]

Here's a fairly new neon sign (purposely made to look vintage) that a friend of mine built for a local drive-in restaurant in Florence, Alabama. Pretty cool that some people are returning to stuff like this, if only for the sake of nostalgia.

 

[Matt Crunk]

Visited the classic Airline Diner in Queens during my recent time in NY. It's now a Jackson Hole burger joint, but still very cool and serves a fantastic burger. This diner has been featured n many films including Goodfellas, and on the cover of Stray Cats "Gonna Ball" album.

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ My favorite part of the trip in from Laguardia is seeing that diner.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[Fading Fast]

Rob

Love the haphazardness of the sign. Also, while a penny meant something in the '50s, "buy 2 and save 1 cent -" really, was that even enticing back then?

I just checked my handy dandy internet inflation calculator and 1 penny then is worth about 9 pennies today. So, it is as if today the sign read:

"Hamburgers $1.62, 2 for $3.15"​

To emphasize, that's 2 for $3.15 versus 2 for $3.24 without the "savings -" zzzzzzzzzzzzz (although, the price of $1.62, if it's not teeny tiny, ain't bad at all).

Cool two-tone car - echoes the wagons we've been chatting about in the gas station thread