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: The Neon Wonders of New Mexico

If you're in with Instagram, you might have noticed that the better part of a wacky tacky road trip is dedicated to searching out the coolest in vintage signs - neon, figural, hand-painted, animated, you name it.  It is a pastime infinitely more pleasurable than spying out-of-state license plates and decidedly less painful than hours of slug bug/punch buggy (a brand of family "fun" for which I am still nursing decades-old bruises).  Freshly rehabilitated, completely defunct, or merely operational, we go nuts for the gravity-defying wonders rising from America's dusty byways.  Our recent road trip across the state of New Mexico yielded a bumper crop of dazzling signs; here are some of our favorites.

Century 21 Motel - Las Cruces, NM
The mid-20th Century was so full of bright ideas and optimism for the 21st Century,
I can't help but feel that we let our forebears down; our contemporary signs are lackluster
and we don't have hover cars!!!

Tommy's Roller Rink - Las Cruces, NM
Apparently, Tommy's was a small chain of roller rinks that
went belly-up after an employees-conspired murder. 

Pancake Alley - Las Cruces, NM
We tried to taste the fruits of Pancake Alley at least three times
but were greeted each time with the worst kind of sign -  "CLOSED."

Cattleman's Steak House - Las Cruces, NM

Royal Host Motel - Las Cruces, NM
Las Cruces' crowning glory!

Town House Motel - Las Cruces, NM
Semi-detached 

(Or)Gan Mountain Lodge - Organ, NM
This is the only game in town for the yearly Harvest Festival.  If you wake
up in a bath tub full of ice, you might be at the Organ Harvest Festival. 

Satellite Inn - Alamogordo, NM
Atom-powered! 

Thunderbird Plaza - Alamogordo, NM

Mr. W. Fireworks Gorilla - Alamogordo, NM
"Mr. W Rules!"

White Sands Motel - Alamogordo, NM
"You don't belong in a place like this!"

Western Scene Motel - Santa Fe, NM
We tried to make the "scene" but there was no vacancy.

King's Rest Court Inn - Santa Fe, NM
Where Santa Fe royalty rests their heads.

Santa Fe Lodge - Santa Fe, NM

Cottonwood Court - Santa Fe, NM
Bless this lil' ol', cotton pickin' sign! 

El Camino Family Restaurant - Socorro, NM
Now this is a sign with balls!

Roadrunner Lounge - Socorro, NM
Roadrunners are kind of "thing" in New Mexico.  Meep! Meep!

Butterfield Stage Motel - Deming, NM
Animated horses at full gallop?!!  SIGN me up!

The last photos in this group are two of my very favorite signs from our journey.  In the interest of full disclosure, I will readily admit that they were taken not within New Mexican state lines but rather in the fair city of El Paso, Texas, where the signs at night are just as big and bright as the state's infamous stars.

Charcoaler Drive-In Restaurant - El Paso, TX
Even if the menu offerings were not delicious (incidentally, they were), this sign left our mouths watetring!

Sunshine Bakeries - El Paso, TX
We almost died twice figuring put how to get close to this sign but it was so worth it!

Knowing that the sum of a state is greater than its signs, we also commit ourselves to learning about the history, the culture, the food, and the people of the places we visit.  But in a world ever more darkened by drab, humorless signage, we'll continue to count on the glorious glow of vintage neon to show us the way.  Can't you read the "Signs?"

"Signs" - Five Man Electric Band

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Signs of the Times: Cupid's Burgers & Tacos

As this will be my 35th consecutive Valentine's Day without a valentine, I suppose I should be bitter.  I should be resentful.  I should be resigned to the fact that my heart was meant solely for utility, for the pitiful, life-sustaining function of pumping oxygenated blood through the veins and auxiliary vessels of this overgrown carcass.  And yet, I'm not...not yet anyway.

Nothing gives this lonely (not to mention enlarged) heart secondary reason for beating like a beautiful, big, blue sky playing backdrop to a novelty neon sign.  In this season of love, I'm practically palpitating at the charm of Cupid's Burgers & Tacos' chubby cherub taking careful aim at the hearts of generations of Corona, CA's most ardent burger-and-taco lovers.

Cupid's Burgers & Tacos - Corona, CA

Both the building and the sign have undergone makeovers since the
'60s - if only to keep up with inflation (24¢ hamburgers??? I'll take two
dozen!).  But we give much credit to the current owners for maintaining
the spirit and integrity of a sign that continues to brilliantly light up the
California night sky.
(Source)

Given all that we know about saturated fats and high-caloric intake, it seems easy to interpret Cupid's aim at our hearts all too literally.  As the poet laureate of New Jersey so eloquently stated, "Shot through the heart and you're to blame.  Darlin', you give love a bad name."  However "darlin'" it may be, Cupid's Burgers & Tacos is probably not the most heart-friendly where anatomy and physiology are concerned.  It is enough to have nay-saying heart surgeons everywhere shouting, "Stupid Cupid!"

But at wacky tacky, we know better, don't we?  In the very heart of town, the sign at Cupid's Burgers & Tacos has weathered the changing times, the changing attitudes, and the changing health fads.  We hope that when no one remembers what it meant to be "gluten free," those golden arrows will have sign lovers everywhere singing with one accord, "Stupid Cupid, START picking on me!"

"Stupid Cupid" - Connie Francis

Here's wishing you wacky tacky lovers a Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Cupid's Burger & Tacos
623 E 6th St
Corona, CA
(951)893-5523


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Signs of the Times: Guthrie's Alley Cat

Guthrie's Alley Cat - Bakersfield, CA

The thing about an alley cat is that it hangs out in alleys.  Duh, right?  Well, unless you are the type that also frequents an alley cat's native habitat, then you just might miss said alley cat and therefore, what is arguably Bakersfield's greatest neon sign, Guthrie's Alley Cat (est. 1940).

The wagging blue tongue, the flash of bulging eyes, and the twirl of
animated, windmill tail indicate that this pretty kitty is as high as a kite!

Set back from downtown Bakersfield's major thoroughfares, the Alley Cat is the very definition of a hidden gem...or at the very least a slightly-obscured gem.  Given the sign's total lack of discretion, it is hard to believe that one could ever miss it.  Needless to say, old four-eyes over here drove by that darn cat at least three times in one afternoon without a second glance.  It wasn't until our pals, and fellow wacky tacky adventurers, told us that we mustn't miss it, did we set our coordinates for the gorgeous glow of Guthrie's gleaming neon marvel.

"Alley Cat" - Al Hirt

In actual fact, the secret to Guthrie's Alley Cat is not its back-alley location.  The real secret is found on the interior of this Streamline saloon, in the form of a multi-paneled mural by famed artist and wacky tacky icon, Al Hirschfeld.

Just look at how many luminaries are captured in only two of the
mural's panels.  How many of the well-known figures can you name?
Ms. Dietrich, is that you?

Cocktails?!?!!
Ever the tacky teetotalers, we merely cased the
joint without ordering so much as a soda water!

The pleasant bartender didn't seem to mind our sober loitering as he could tell that we were getting plenty drunk off the "sparkling burgundy brew" of his fine establishment.  Oh, Alley Cat, you go to my head!

"You Go to My Head" - Marlene Dietrich

Guthrie's Alley Cat
1525 Wall St.
Bakersfield, CA
(661)324-6328


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny