Signs of the Times: Gunther's Ice Cream

If nothing else, Instagram has taught me that there are many people who spend the bulk of their free time documenting interesting, historic, and beautiful signs.  One need only search the hashtags #coolsign or #vintageneon to see that #signgeeks are alive and well.  Never has the activity occupied enough of my time for me to consider it even much of an avocation.  A passing interest?  Maybe.  A road trip diversion?  Sure.  A whimsy?  Why not?

Gunther's Ice Cream (est. 1940) - Sacramento, CA

I suppose the time has come for me to reevaluate my place in the world of sign hunting.  However unpopular my stance, I must admit that I go for the big game.  Fancying myself an expert tracker, I sniff the winds for whiffs of neon and follow the telltale tracks.  If I could, I would triumphantly hoist one foot on top of the very best signs I bag, posing for the camera with a self-satisfied grin.  Among my prize trophies would be Gunther's Ice Cream in Sacramento, CA.

Gunther is all aglow and ready for action!

It can be challenging for a lactose-intolerant to justify embarking on a 1,000-mile safari to the ice cream epicenter of California's capitol, but that is precisely how I know that my devotion borders on the fanatical; I need no justification.  On one trip, I made my family drive approximately 45 miles out of the way (retracing our steps twice) because I got a hunch that there was a good sign I missed (and indeed there was).  I approach this endeavor with all the devotion of a newly-minted Hindu monk.

But if I'm going to worship at the altar of any multiple-
limbed deity, it will be Lord Gunther ...sorry Vishnu. 

Oh, yes.  Gunther's does serve ice cream.  If they didn't, they would have a quite a difficult time explaining the endless line that encircles the building.  Generations of Sacramentians, Sacramentites, Sacra-men's toes (or whatever you call 'em) have made Gunther's Ice Cream a favorite, sun-down watering hole - a truly ideal setting for observing the sign in its natural habitat.

Cherries on top for everyone!

And while I couldn't indulge in the dairy-filled delights, I was more than sated by one of my favorite pastimes - THE HUNT (and thanks to the wacky tacky adventure team, not a single Cecil was injured)!

Sometimes the only way to fit all the sundae-
stuffed wacky tacky adventure team members into
a single photo is to stack 'em - TRIPLE SCOOP!!!

Gunther's Ice Cream
2801 Franklin Blvd
Sacramento, CA
(916)457-6646

gunthersicecream.com


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Signs of the Times: DFW in Lights!!!

On our recent jaunt to the great state of Texas, I had to remind myself that every adventure need not necessarily be a wacky tacky fact-finding mission.  It's okay, I told myself, to to put down the camera and simply enjoy my surroundings.  It's perfectly reasonable, I concluded, to abstain from researching bowling alleys, bakeries, and beauty shops.  It is good etiquette, so I'd read, to connect on a personal level with local residents (particularly if those locals happen to be your awesome extended family members).  But sometimes it is also acceptable to acknowledge that the heart wants what it wants.  And this heart of mine, enlarged by too many trayfuls of good, old-fashioned, Texas barbecue, wants signage - crackling, glowing, neon signage! 

Blue Bonnet Bakery - Fort Worth, TX

The first sign we encountered was in the historic Crescent Heights neighborhood of
Fort Worth; the 80-year-old Blue Bonnet Bakery's new-ish sign added some roadside
whimsy to the 1922 Christian Science Church from which the bakery now operates.  

With a couple of exceptions, signs in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex defy the stereotype that everything is bigger in Texas.  In fact, most of the signs are relatively modest compared to, not just the businesses they advertise, but also the vast prairie country they inhabit.  Thank goodness that we at wacky tacky are not size snobs; new or old, meek or bold, we are of the opinion that when it comes to signs, even modest can be hottest.

Messina's Shoe Repair - Grapevine, TX

It doesn't get much more simple than Messina's sheet-metal & neon shoe.  And yet, there is nothing
so quaint and old-timey as hanging your shingle in the shape of the services/wares that are offered.

Coburn's Cafeteria & Catering - Fort Worth, TX

Unfortunately, the cafeteria inside Coburn's is long gone but they
continue to offer some of North-Central Texas' best catering.

Rose - Fort Worth, TX

I'm not sure what they're advertising but whatever they're sellling, I'm buying.

Leddy's Boots & Saddlery - Fort Worth, TX

You can keep your football; this is my kind of Friday Night lights!!!

Riscky's Steakhouse - Fort Worth, TX

Cool sign - no bull.

Theo's Drive-In - Grand Prairie, TX

Theo's Drive-In - Grand Prairie, TX

Don't you all of the sudden have a serious craving for Cre-Mel Root Beer...whatever that is.

Texas Liquor - Dallas, TX

Buck & Ruck - Dallas, TX

Stop n' Save Liquors - Dallas, TX

The reverse of Stop n' Save Liquors - Dallas, TX

Standard Spring & Brakes - Dallas, TX

Deep Ellum - Dallas, TX

Rollin' deep!

Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Dishes - Grand Prairie, TX

Deep Ellum - Dallas, TX

Adam Hats - Dallas, TX

Twisted Root Burgers - Dallas, TX

Even though this is the one and only time Pee-Wee has ever led us astray (the promise that every Texan we encountered would clap along with us given the appropriate prompting was left unfulfilled after many, many attempts), we still adore Mr. Herman and the signs of DFW.  Although we didn't stick around long enough past sundown to see any of these beauties in their full glory, that didn't dim the twinkle they left in our eyes.  To coin a new phrase, "the signs at night are small but bright, deep in the heart of Texas!!!"

"Deep in the Heart of Texas" - The Ranch Party Gang (1957)

(It should be noted that Town Hall Ranch Party 

was broadcast from Compton, CA - woot woot!)

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Signs of the Times: Mexicali Mexican Food

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you are probably aware of my abiding affinity for the desert...and also dessert (lots and lots of dessert, just to be clear).  There are few things as inspiring to my heart and as rejuvenating to my soul as a long drive through the sweeping, Joshua Tree-studded sand-scapes afforded by the desert...but also cookies and cake (do not forget the snacks).

Perhaps, I love the desert because the suburbs of Southern California seem to bleed together, offering very little visual relief from the great expanses of passionless stucco homes and shopping centers.  Perhaps, I love the desert because the air is clear and I can listen to the sound of silence.  Perhaps, and most probably, I love the desert because of the cacti.  I'll never forget my first long-distance drive through the American Southwest, feeling like the many arms of the great saguaros were waving to me as we zoomed down the lonely highway in our overstuffed minivan.  The cactus is such a symbol of the desert's solitude that even when it is transplanted smack dab into the middle of a city, I am sustained by a sense of peace...peace and the possibility that Mexicali Mexican Food's sign also means that desserts are available (preferably churros). 

Mexicali Mexican Food - Bakersfield, CA

Fans of vintage signage, including myself, often get hung up on the epic wonders of neon signs.  It is easy to eschew signs less ornate, less fantastic, less prone to the comforting hum and glow of neon.  Mexicali's sign, however, offers definitive proof that "fluorescent" need not be considered a dirty word where signs are concerned.  Signs, more "light-box" in nature, are worthy of our esteem, particularly when they are as dynamic to the landscape as this captivating cactus - by day and by night.

Should there be any purists present, be of good cheer; one needn't look too
far to find the glimmer of neon on the grounds of Mexicali Mexican Food.

Mexicali Mexican Food's sign might be shaped like a giant cactus, but it is definitely the heirloom rose in the well-tended garden that we call "Signs of the Times."

"Mexicali Rose" - Gene Autry 

Mexicali Mexican Food Restaurant
631 18th St
Bakersfield, CA
(661)327-3861

mexicalifood.com


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Chow Time: Andre's Drive-In

Now, usually, I am not one for making new year's resolutions - much less, keeping them.  However, as the circumference around my equator (on an anatomically-correct body I believe it is referred to as a "waistline"???) ever increases, the changing of the calendar year seems like a adequately-arbitrary time to reign in the chronic binge-eating of the past few months.

"Yay!  I'm a fatty!!!!"

Before 2014 officially comes to a close, we have just enough time left to savor the sweet, sweet, burger-flavored memories of our trip to Bakersfield, CA and Andre's Drive-In (est. 1955).

Andre's Drive-In - Bakersfield, CA

With all of the surrounding cars, and electrical poles, and wires, it was difficult to capture Andre's at its most photogenic; surely, to most people it is about as plain a hamburger stand as California's Central Valley could muster.  I'll concede that without the finishing touches, it would merely be a stucco-clad, burger-dispensing, beige cube.  It is the genius of those simple finishing touches (see the optimistic script of the sign) that transform it from bland box to atomic space crab!

Sure, those splayed beams both anchor the building to the ground and frame the drive-thru, but they also create all kinds of form and dimension as the scuttling legs of our space crab.  I can't help but love the improbable use of DIY, corrugated siding and the remaining hand-painted signage still adorning the windows.  Did somebody say, "FRIED PIES?!?!!!"

The real delight at Andre's is the free-form, al fresco, dining room.
Undulating amongst the encroaching landscape, the curving benches are punctuated by floating,
kidney-shaped tables; they are perfect for dining alone or cuddling up with your new steady.

If the food was as good as the paintings in the window led us to believe, we were in for a real treat.  Seeing as how we had eaten only a short time before, Mary and I decided to opt for something on the "lighter side."

We acted like we were exhibiting some kind of restraint by splitting Andre's famous "French
Burger."  The fact is, as the sign so clearly states, the French Burger is actually two ham-
burgers made indistinguishable by the large french roll on which they are served.  But, hey, we
didn't order french fries or fried pies...so that's a healthy choice.

The French Burger left us questioning our own patriotism as all we could muster between sloppy, mustard-tinged bites was, "Vive la France!"  At "a million francs or three," we would definitely go Dutch on another French should we again find ourselves in the burger-friendly climes of Bakersfield!  

"La Marseillaise" from Casablanca (1942)

Do you have any resolutions for the new year?  Do you lie to yourself by eating half of a double-burger and then telling yourself that you are halfway to a one-hundred-percent vegetarian, gluten-free, paleo diet?  Whatever your issues, whatever your resolutions, we wish you and yours a very Happy New Year!!!

Andre's Drive-In

1419 Brundage Ln.

Bakersfield, CA

(661)322-0044

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Chow Time: Bun 'N Burger

I have fallen off the "Healthy Eating" wagon so often that I've determined my best bet is simply to tether my cankle to the wagon and just get dragged behind, hoping for the best.  Predictably, the knot in the rope seemed to slip a little when I saw the neon wonder of a short-order cook proffering a hamburger in one hand and a piece of pie in the other.

Situated on a bustling corner of Alhambra's Main St, is an under-appreciated institution of Southern California's wartime gastronomy.  Looking from the outside like something straight out of a Hollywood movie's "Main St," Bun 'N Burger (est. 1941), is just shy of its 75th anniversary of serving America's greatest taste sensation, the burger ('n the bun too).

Bun 'N Burger - Alhambra, CA

The angled corner entry, the awnings, and that marvelous signage are all so wonderfully stereotypical of a burger joint of its vintage.  After countless disappointing, after-hours drives-by (why am I always in Alhambra after dark???), I was excited to finally get a chance to experience what lay beyond the locked doors of Bun 'N Burger.  

The obligatory red booths and counter stools are set solidly in place before formica tables and countertops.
I immediately fell head over heals for the gleaming, stainless-steel fixtures including that monstrous exhaust hood.
I would thrill to see the two-tone green color story of the exterior brought under foot in the form of linoleum tiles.

Quiet, quick, and courteous, the service at Bun 'N Burger is top notch.  I was so lost in snapping photos that the waitress finally had to snap me out of it just to take my order.  

Oh darn, I just missed menudo....

Convinced that I was making a healthy choice by ordering a grilled chicken sandwich with no cheese and no mayo (I might be the last person on Earth that foolishly does not consider bread the enemy), I realized that the waitress probably felt sorry for me and brought my sandwich with a side of guacamole (healthy fat and omega something something, right?) AND a side of fries.

Waffle-cut fries!!!
There would be no saving room for pie...

As well as "Professional Waffle-Cut Fry Connoisseur," one of my many dream jobs would be "Make-Under Artist."  As frequently and as fiercely as I tout the ideology, "Too much is never enough," I often think that what old-fashioned eateries could really tolerate is a heavy dose of good, old-fashioned decluttering - particularly where totally-unrelated miscellanea is concerned.  When will retro diners/coffee shops/et al. realize that were they all landmarks on old Route 66, the"Mother Road" would've been a highly-circuitous eight-million-miles long!

At some point in its history, Bun 'N Burger created an additional dining room by expanding into an adjoining space - as much to accommodate more guests as to accommodate the growing collection of reproduction Coca-Cola memorabilia, I'd wager.  Is it so wrong that I just want to see the streamlined bones of a streamline-era restaurant?  All Bun 'N Burger needs is a fair bit of curation by someone with a level head and a keen eye.  However, there are definitely a few select collectibles that I think should remain; I mean, who can resist a taxidermied swordfish?!!

And this loving tribute to the King...there's always
room in a wacky tacky environment for black velvet.

"Hot Dog" - Elvis Presley

What goes better together than hot dogs and hamburgers, I ask you?

Bun 'N Burger
1000 E Main St
Alhambra, CA
(626)281-6777


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Bowl-O-Rama: Gage Bowl

"Shop in Huntington Park: More shops than a shopping center"

What every city needs is a catchy slogan that takes less to time to dream up than it does to paint on the broad side of a five-story reservoir.  "More shops than a shopping center???" - brilliant!  If only the Huntington Park, CA Chamber of Commerce would do the PR for wacky tacky, we would be well on our way to super stardom...or at least solidly on our way to our own city charter.

Exploring local cities that get easily passed over for their brighter, shinier neighbors is a favorite pastime that almost always yields always a wacky tacky treat or two.  Realizing we hadn't devoted any time to Huntington Park, CA, I made the short journey, drawn mostly by the promise of a lovingly-preserved bowling alley, Gage Bowl (est. 1960).

Gage Bowl - Huntington Park, CA

Having recently enjoyed an earthy, full-color facelift, Gage Bowl is the city's go-to destination for bowling leagues and birthday parties.  As with most of these mid-century alleys, the scoring technology has been modernized from overhead projectors to digital monitors and some of the decor/carpet/artwork has been "updated."  It may not have the grandeur of bowling temples like Covina Bowl, but the tidy 22-lane operation still offers a glimpse into bowling's heyday and provides an ideal place to reflect on the epicenter of consumer culture that is Huntington Park.

Bowling, billiards, a barroom, and breakfast, the amenities at Gage Bowl 

provide a cozy round-the-clock experience; we would never have to leave!

We love the vintage lockers and the cases of endless bowling trophies!

Thankfully, Gage Bowl has their signage on lock!
Starbursts, neon, and googie letter blocks are speared
together by a fluted, boomerang beam that has been
towering above Gage Blvd. for over fifty years!

Open 24 hours a day and serving the community for the better part of six decades, Gage Bowl makes me think that I've got a new one for you, Huntington Park; how about, "Bowl in Huntington Park: More bowls than a bowling alley!"

Gage Bowl

3477 E Gage Blvd

Huntington Park, CA

(323)587-3211

gagebowl.com


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Signs of the Times: Thunderbird Lodge

It feels slightly disingenuous to issue complaints about how unbearably unseasonably warm it has been this week.  After all, Southern California is often the object of ridicule for its pathetic lack of seasonal changes; we have summer...and two or three days scattered throughout the year that try desperately to disprove the jibes of our climate-challenged neighbors to the north and to the east.  At this point, I suppose that I should be used to the blistering sun and chapped lips but it comes as a surprise every year.  And all I know is that it is HOT!  We're talking 100+ degrees!  Early May should be the time for blossoming trees and twittering birds and cool spring breezes.  Instead we are treated to wildfires, roadkill, and drought.

I know I shouldn't be complaining, but try telling that to my crimson complexion and puddles of perspiration.  Afraid to even switch on a light for fear of the additional heat output of an incandescent bulb (I guess we really should have switched to those corkscrew compact fluorescents), we oft take to the only space we have that has been blessed with air conditioning - the wacky wagon!  Everyone knows that the best distraction from flop sweats is a good, old-fashioned wander.

Thunderbird Lodge - Riverside, CA

Okay, so the A/C in the wacky wagon has seen better days but the windows do go up and down; as long as there is air circulation and incredible signage, I am far less inclined to weather-related whining.  Oddly beckoned to even hotter climes, I was completely refreshed by the coolness of the brilliant-blue letter blocks and neon thunderbird of Riverside, CA's Thunderbird Lodge (est. 1960).  Preceding the ultra-hip Southwest aesthetic of the last few years by several decades, the Thunderbird proves that a classic look will never go out of style.

Conveniently located near Riverside's many tourist attractions, I am now seriously second guessing my decision not to book one of Thunderbird Lodge's reasonably-priced rooms, if only for the sweet, sweet air conditioning.  Plus, when was the last time I had a proper "Continental Breakfast?"

Thunderbird Lodge
2711 University Ave
Riverside, CA
(951)683-2070

thunderbirdlodge.com


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Signs of the Times: The Sire Bar & Grill

Are you superstitious?  Do you carry a rabbit's foot?  Do you go into hiding on Friday the 13th?  Do you favor a lucky pair of underpants?  Well, I don't.

Ever the contrarian, I scoff in the face of old wives tales, myths, and conventional superstitions.  I mean, if I had a nickel for every "lucky" penny I found, the only thing that I might start believing is that I was six times as rich as those poor suckers who were happy with their pennies.  Instead, I gleefully open umbrellas indoors.  I earnestly seek out opportunities to saunter underneath ladders.  Completely ignoring my debilitating feline allergy, I diligently train black cats to cross my path.  I never, however, break mirrors; with a gorgeous mug like this the odds are solidly against me.  I joyfully step on each and every crack and, as of yet, I've never broken my mother's back - knock on wood (okay, maybe a little bit superstitious)!!!

The Sire Bar & Grill - Riverside, CA
(photo courtesy of B. White)

Apparently, The Sire Bar & Grill (est. 1955), is also a longstanding member of the ASL (Anti-Superstition League).  Having always been told that the horseshoe should be positioned open-end-up so as to retain all of the good fortune, I was surprised and happy to see The Sire's blatant disregard for that bit of folk fantasy.  In its 59th year of crackling, neon majesty, it is clear that this horseshoe makes its own luck!  "Superstition ain't the way!"

"Superstition" - Stevie Wonder

The Sire Bar & Grill

6440 Magnolia Ave

Riverside, CA

(951)683-7473

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny