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Kansas City Signs

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Ross Miller Cleaners
Kansas City, MO
Stephenson's Old Apple
Farm Restaurant [gone]
Kansas City, MO
Ross Miller Cleaners was established in 1928. The company has two new locations in Blue Springs and Lees Summit. This sign is probably from the 1950s and depicts a man pressing clothes. [map]

Stephenson's Old Apple Farm Restaurant opened in 1946. The restaurant closed around 2007 but this sign was still there when this photo was taken in 2010. The restaurant and sign were gone in 2012. The text panel will be displayed at the Lumi Museum in Kansas City when it opens. The apple panel is missing.

Main Street
Kansas City, MO
House of
Heavilin Beauty College
Kansas City, MO
4 Acre Motel [gone]
Kansas City, MO
The Main Street sign appears to be an adaptation of an older sign. It is currently mounted above the Carter Group, a real estate agency, on Main St. Does anyone know what business this sign advertised for originally? For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

House of Heavilin Beauty College was established in 1953. I believe this sign is from then. For more, see this website. [map]

The Four Acre Motel sign is probably from the 1950s. It was removed in 2019 and will be displayed at the Lumi Neon Museum when it opens. It is currently being restored at the Midwest Sign Company. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Frontier Motel [gone]
Kansas City, MO
Capri Motel [gone]
Kansas City, MO
Drum Room
Kansas City, MO
The Frontier Motel sign appears to be from the 1950s. The sign had three smaller box panels at the bottom originally which were removed sometime after 2008. There might also have been something on those poles above it. This photo is from 2010. By 2012, the neon panels were replaced with plastic panels. For more, see this website. [map]

The Capri Motel was built in 1962 and this sign was installed then. This photo is from 2010. In 2015, the building was demolished and the sign was removed. The sign is in storage at the Kansas City Museum.

The Drum Room opened in 1941. It is located on the corner of the Hilton President Hotel. The building was vacant from 1981 until it was restored in 2006. The Drum Room reopened at that time. This sign was probably built then. It appears to be a recreation of the original. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Robert's
Supermarket [gone]
Kansas City, MO
Mayfair Cleaners
Kansas City, MO
The Robert's Supermarket sign appeared to be from the 1950s. This photo is from 2010. The sign was gone by 2017. It is now in storage at the Midwest Sign Company.

Mayfair Cleaners was established in 1943. These signs appear to be from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

Sam's Bargain Town [gone]
Kansas City, MO
Sam's Bargain Town was long gone but these signs remained. They were still there in 2017 but gone by 2018. At least one of the Sam's head signs went to a private collector. Four of the plastic balls were still there. This was part of a discount department store chain with about four locations in the Kansas City area.

National Furniture
Kansas City, MO
Michael's Fine
Clothes for Men
Kansas City, MO
former Daddy's
Backdoor Bar
Kansas City, MO
Commerce Bank
Kansas City, MO
Gillis Sundries
Kansas City, MO
National Furniture is long gone but this sign remains. [map]

Michael's Fine Clothes for Men opened in 1905. For more, see this website. [map]

Daddy's Backdoor Bar was closed when this photo was taken in 2010. I believe the building housed Danny's Big Easy, a Cajun restaurant, before this. This sign is obviously repurposed. Does anyone know what was here originally or where this sign came from? In 2012, the building began housing Anton's Taproom Restaurant and the sign was reworked again. [map]

This Commerce Bank sign appears to be from the 1950s or 1960s. The time and temperature oval at the top still works and revolves. It probably had neon at one time. At some point, the digital panel showing time/temp replaced the original bulb lettering. Does anyone know when this sign was built and if it always advertised for Commerce Bank? [map]

Gillis Sundries opened in 1946 and this sign was installed then. The space has housed the Happy Gills Cafe since 2008. This sign remains. These Coca-Cola signs were mass-produced and there are still a number of them around the country. [map]

Teefey Flowers [gone]
Kansas City, MO
Teefey Flowers featured two 1950s-looking signs. The company either closed or moved sometime after 2007. By 2011, the neon had been removed from the pole sign and new panels were added for another business. The flower sign was disappeared between 2012 and 2014. For more, see this website. [left photo thanks Glenda Campbell]

Dentist
Kansas City, MO
Westport Cleaners [gone]
Kansas City, MO
The Dentist sign hangs inside American Jazz Museum's Visitor's Center. The sign came from an African-American owned business in Kansas City.

This Westport Cleaners sign was there in 2007 but gone by 2010. It was replaced with a plastic sign. [photo thanks Glenda Campbell]

Dixie-Lan Bar-B-Que [gone]
Kansas City, MO
Broadway
Hardware Co. [gone]
Kansas City, MO
Dave's Stagecoach Inn
Kansas City, MO
Hyline Inn [gone]
Kansas City, MO
Rob's Cafe
Kansas City, MO
The Dixie-Lan Bar-B-Que restaurant opened in 1951 and this sign may be from then. It closed 1980. This sign remained for decades. It was still there in 2017 but gone by 2018. The sign was removed by the city and is now in a private collection. It is still owned by the city but it may be displayed at the Lumi Neon Sign Museum in the future.

Broadway Hardware Co. is long gone but this sign remained until it was removed in 2019. The business opened in 1917. The sign was built in 1937 by the Federal Brilliant Company. It will be displayed at the Lumi Neon Museum in Kansas City when it opens.

Dave's Stagecoach Inn opened in 1970. This sign was adapted from a former business. Sometime after 2008, the sign was damaged and replaced with a replica. This photo is from 2010. For more, see this website. [map]

The Hyline Inn sign was probably from the 1950s. At some point, the neon was replaced with LED rope. This photo is from 2010. In 2011, the motel was demolished and the sign was removed. It is now in a private collection. For more, see this website.

The Rob's Cafe sign appears to be from the 1960s or 1970s. It may have advertised for the Branham's Restaurant originally. The property is located next door to what was the Green Crest Motel. Therefore, the restaurant may have gone by the name of Green Crest Restaurant or Green Crest Cafe at some point. This sign probably had some neon originally. It advertised for Debby's Diner before Rob's Cafe opened here in 2009 and restored this sign. This photo is from 2010. By 2011, the name on this sign had been changed to Pop's Cafe. Around 2017, the business became a Latin American restaurant. I believe that place was closed in 2018. [map]

Cascone's
Kansas City, MO
Cascone's Italian restaurant opened in 1954. This sign appears to be an adapted Goodyear Tires sign. For more, see this website. [map]

Supermarket [gone]
Kansas City, MO
Royal Auto Trim
Kansas City, MO
Bill Russell Motor Co.
Kansas City, MO
Downtown Motors
Kansas City, MO
This Supermarket was long gone but the sign remained when this photo was taken in 2012. It was still there in 2017. However, in 2018, the building was demolished and the sign was gone. It was probably from the 1940s or 1950s.

The Royal Auto Trim sign is probably from the 1950s. I suspect that the Royal Auto Trim sign might have advertised for Rayco originally. [map]

The Bill Russell Motor Co. signs also appear to be from the 1950s. The sign on the right is gone now. The sign on the left has been painted black on one side and the other has a tacked on sign for another used car dealership. [map]

The Downtown Motors sign shown on the left originally advertised for the Downtowner Motor Inn which was apparently built in the 1960s. There were at least four locations that used the same signs (Albuquerque, Amarillo, Little Rock, and Kansas City). I don't know when the motel was demolished. The Ford "A-1" Used Car signs were made in the 1950s. This one must have come from another car lot. The blue sign on top of it was a later addition. Around 2018, the tall sign was painted black and the letters were changed to read Autozoom. The A-1 sign is gone now. [map]

Motor Cargo/Consolidated Freightways

York, PA
2010:

Kansas City, MO
2014:
This Motor Cargo/Consolidated Freightways sign was located right next to I-83 when it was installed in York, PA. The sign is about 40 feet long and featured animated neon which made the truck's wheels appear to move. There was also another panel depicting light coming from the truck's headlights. That panel disappeared at some point. In 2011, the sign was removed. It was donated to the American Truck Historical Society and has been restored. In 2013, the sign was installed at the ATHS in Kansas City.

The sign was originally built to advertise for Motor Cargo. The Consolidated Freightways panel was added later. The ATHS restored the sign with Motor Cargo on one side and CF on the other. The sign is lit at night but the wheels do not spin. An identical Motor Cargo sign like this was installed in 1958 in West Richfield, OH. I assume the York sign was also installed that same year. It is not known what became of the West Richfield sign. [2014 photos thanks Shelley Ruhlman] [map]

More Kansas City:
Acapulco Mexican Food: 1, 2 [now at American Sign Museum]
Bledsoe's Rental Service [gone]
Blue Vue Shopping Center
Brown & Loe
C-152 Lectra and arrow sign
Don's Liquor
Evangelist Temple
Gaety Theatre [vintage; gone]
Hotel Monroe
Johnny's Donuts
Scimeca's Supermarket
Sears Service Center [gone]
Seiden's Furs [map]
Strahm Automation and Mailing Services
Tension Envelopes
The Chesterfield [gone]
The Ship
Town Topic Sandwich Shops
Western Auto

Lumi Neon Museum

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