email: roadarch@outlook.com

North Dakota Signs (page 2)

(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)

Happy Harry's
Bottle Shop
Grand Forks, ND
Happy Host Inn
Grand Forks, ND
Happy Harry's Bottle Shop was established in 1944. I believe this is a modern sign. For more, see this website. [map]

The Happy Host Inn was built in 1976 and demolished in 2016. This sign remains. [map]

Rite Spot Liquor Store
Grand Forks, ND
Highlander Bottle Shop [gone]
Grand Forks, ND
The Rite Spot Liquor Store opened in 1955. This sign might be from then but it looks more recent than that. For more, see this website. [map]

The Highlander Bottle Shop opened in 1962. This sign may have been from then although it looked more like it was built in the 1950s. It appeared to have been hit by a truck and leaned at a considerable angle. It was removed around 2020. For more, see this website.

El Roco Lounge
& Bottle Shop [gone]
Grand Forks, ND
Big Daddy's Lounge
& Casino [gone]
Grand Forks, ND
Lucky Inn Motel [gone]
Grand Forks, ND
The El Roco Lounge & Bottle Shop opened in 1952 and this sign was probably from then. The building was remodeled and now houses the Rock Bottle Shop. The sign is gone. For more, see this website.

The Big Daddy's Lounge & Casino sign appears to be modern. My guess would be 1970s or even much more recent. This photo is from 2011. In 2013, the place became a Wild Bill's Sports Saloon. The Big Daddy's sign was replaced with a new one.

The Lucky Inn Motel sign was probably from the 1950s. This photo is from 2011. By 2018, the motel and the sign were gone.

Home of Economy
Grand Forks, ND

Home of Economy
Williston, ND
Home of Economy
Grafton, ND

Home of Economy
Devils Lake, ND

Home of Economy
Minot, ND
Home of Economy was established in Thief River Falls, MN in 1939 as an auto parts business. In 1940, the company opened a store in Grand Forks. It has evolved into a chain of home and farm supercenters with six locations in North Dakota.

This Grand Forks store opened in 1962 and this pole sign is believed to be from then. The store burned down in 1987 and moved to a temporary location until the store reopened in 1988. I assume that the sign on the building is from then. The pole sign was restored in 2012 for about $50,000. It is about 35 feet tall. The arrow's incandescent bulbs were replaced with LED bulbs during the restoration. The chasing pattern was retained. This sign was the first one built. For more, see this website. [map]

The Williston location also has a vintage sign. The sign on the building was originally installed on the roof. For more, see this website. [map]

The Grafton location has a vintage pole sign. I don't know if it ever had a bottom panel. [map]

The Devils Lake has a vintage pole sign and the vintage rooftop signs. I don't believe any other locations still have those. [map]

The Minot location had two vintage pole signs. The building was remodeled in 2012. The top part of one of the pole signs is now installed inside the entrance. The other pole sign is gone. For more, see this website. [map]

More Grand Forks:
Bronze Boot Steakhouse & Lounge
Lyons Auto Company
Red Ray Lanes

Golden Pheasant Bar
Hankinson, ND
Reno's Sports Bar
Hillsboro, ND
Gas for Less/
Jet Stream Car Wash
Jamestown, ND
Gordy's Grill & Fill
Lisbon, ND
The Golden Pheasant Bar sign might be from the 1950s or 1960s. It is now displayed inside the Hankinson Community Center. The bar was just a few blocks away. [map]

The Reno's Sports Bar sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. The bar closed in 2018 but the sign remains. [map]

Gas for Less/Jet Stream Car Wash might be from the 1960s. The readerboard below the panels has been replaced with a digital display box and the "For Less" has been painted over. [map]

This Dairy King sign is on the corner of the Gordy's Grill & Fill gas station convenience store. The sign might be from the 1960s or so. I don't know if it came from someplace else or if there was previously an ice cream stand here. [map]

More Jamestown:
Baker Boy Bake Shop [vintage; gone]
Red Owl Supermarket [vintage; gone]

Top Hat Lounge
Mayville, ND
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Mayville, ND
Arny's Lounge
Minot, ND
The Top Hat Lounge opened in 1946. This sign is probably from the late 1950s or 1960s. [map]

The Veterans of Foreign Wars sign might be from the 1960s. [map]

Arny's Lounge opened in 1956 and this sign appears to be from then. The bar is now known as Arny's 2.0 Lounge & Bottle Shop. For more, see this website. [map]

More Minot:
Charlie's

Jack & Jill Food Center
New Town, ND
Portland Liquor Store Bar & Grill
Portland, ND
The Kennbeck's Jack & Jill Food Center sign is probably from the 1960s. Jack & Jill is a supermarket chain in Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and other states. There are very few of these signs left. [map]

The Portland Liquor Store Bar & Grill sign is probably from the 1950s. [map]

Rugby:
Crook's Lounge [gone]
Hub Motel [gone]

Van Hal Mobile Homes
Valley City, ND
Nu-Bar [gone]
Valley City, ND
R&G Auto Supply
Valley City, ND
American Legion [gone]
Valley City, ND
Van Hal Mobile Homes is gone but this sign remains. The star at the top was gone by 2021. [map]

The Nu-Bar bar is still in business. The sign was built in 1957. This photo is from 2011. It was sold and removed sometime after 2012.

The R&G Auto Supply sign might be from the 1940s or 1950s. It appears to have been recently refurbished. [map]

This American Legion sign appeared to be fairly modern My guess would be 1960s or later. By 2021, it was replaced with a backlit plastic box sign.

More Valley City:
L&H Shoe Shop [gone]

Oasis Bar
Wahpeton, ND
Globe-Gazette Printing Co.
Wahpeton, ND
The Oasis Bar sign appears to be from the 1950s. The bar closed in 2018 and the sign was put up for sale. However, it was still there in 2022. [map]

The Globe-Gazette Printing Co. was established by 1908. The company is gone but this sign remains. The sign has been around since at least the 1950s. It is now tucked away behind a building in an alley. [map]

Sportsman's Lounge
Wahpeton, ND
2011: 2022:
The Sportsman's Lounge opened in the early 1940s. This sign was built in the 1950s or 1960s. In 2013, the bottom panel was broken in a hailstorm. It was replaced with a flat plastic panel with painted letters of a different typeface. The sign company told the owner that the original dimpled plastic material was no longer made. The neon around the shield stopped working around 2015. The bar owner got an estimate for about $3,000 to replace the transformer. He is hoping to get a matching grant from the City in the future to repair it. [map]

More Wahpeton:
Wahpeton Drugs

American Legion
Watford City, ND
Model Cleaners
Williston, ND
Mid-Continent
Supply
Williston, ND
This American Legion post was chartered in 1919. This sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

Model Cleaners opened in 1954. The original sign is in company storage. This sign is probably from the 1950s. [map]

The Mid-Continent Supply oil derrick sign was built in the 1950s. The company had other locations with these oil derrick rooftop signs which were lit with blue neon. Some other examples in Odessa, TX, Shreveport, LA, and Plainville, KS are all are gone now. In 2020, the neon on this Williston sign was replaced with LED tubing. This photo is from 2022. Since the 1970s, the building has housed Double EE Services. [map]

More Williston:
El Rancho Motor Hotel [vintage; gone]
Gaffaney's Stationery [gone]
Hedderich's [gone]
I. Keating Furniture World
Mel's Motel [gone]
Nite Cap Motel: 1, 2 [gone; private collection]
Sukut Office Equipment [gone]

North Dakota
(page 1)
Main Signs Page