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Columbus Signs

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Homestead Motel
Columbus, OH		 Ho-Toy Downtown
Restaurant
Columbus, OH
The Homestead Motel had a couple of other signs before this one. The current sign looks very much like the Baker's Motel in Norwich, OH which is gone now. It was most likely produced by the same company. These motels may have been part of a chain and had the same name at one time. [map]

The Ho-Toy Downtown Restaurant opened in 1959 at a different spot downtown. The restaurant moved to its current location in 1980 and brought along this sign. For more, see this website. [map]

Haas Furniture
[gone]
Columbus, OH		 Mirage
Lounge [gone]
Columbus, OH		 Capital Motel
Columbus, OH		 Brookside Motel
Columbus, OH		 former
Gold Circle
Columbus, OH
Haas Furniture closed in 2003. The sign was removed in 2008.

The Mirage Lounge sign advertised for a strip club. This sign was removed in 2007.

The Capital Motel sign is probably from the 1950s. In 2014, this sign was repainted blue and yellow. [map]

The Brookside Motel was previously the Brookside Tour-O-Tel back in the 1950s. The top part of the sign revolved at one time. It now just blows around in the wind. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

This Kohl's department store sign originally advertised for a Gold Circle department store. This photo is from 2009. Kohl's closed in 2011 and the top part of the sign was painted over. By 2017, the sign read Franklin County Board of Elections. For more, see this website. [map]

Abbott's
Super Duper [gone]
Columbus, OH		 40 Motel
Columbus, OH		 Tommy's Pizza
Columbus, OH		 Rubino's Pizza
Columbus, OH
The Abbott's Super Duper supermarket sign was from 1955. It depicted an elephant balancing a bag of groceries. This photo is from 2009. Although the store closed in 2010, the sign remained. A vinyl tarp advertising other businesses covered the "Super Duper" panels. The paint was fading and much of the neon was broken. The elephant was still there in 2015 but gone by 2017. At one time, Super Duper had a chain of stores in Ohio and western New York. I don't believe any of the other elephant signs have survived.

The 40 Motel and sign are estimated to be from the late 1950s or early 1960s. The motel is named after its location on Route 40. For more, see this website. [map]

Tommy's Pizza was established in 1952. This sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. This location closed in 2015 and the top part of the sign had been painted over. Later that year, the text panels had been removed. The building now houses different businesses and the sign has new panels. [map]

Rubino's Pizza opened here in 1954. For more, see this website. [map]

Pierce Cleaners
Columbus, OH
Pierce Cleaners was established in 1946. The company moved to its current location in 1960 and had this 25-foot-tall sign built for $1,100. A message board was integrated into its design. The humorous and philosophical messages are changed weekly. Pierce Cleaner's original logo depicted the owners as saluting soldiers returning from war. This logo was included in the 1960 sign. In the 1990s, one of the characters was changed to a woman when the company's ownership changed from two brothers to a father and daughter. The "Bros." text of "Pierce Bros." was replaced with a neon hangar at that time as well. The first photo above is from 2005. In 2010, the sign was struck by a car. The neon was broken by the impact and the base of the sign was destroyed. The sign was restored. The second and third photos above are from 2012. [map]

5th Avenue Floral Co.
Columbus, OH		 Minelli's Restaurant
& Pizza
Columbus, OH		 Clintonville Electric
Company [gone]
Columbus, OH
The 5th Ave. Floral Co. was established in 1901. The entrance and sign are probably from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

Minelli's Restaurant & Pizza opened in 1967 and this sign is probably from then. The sign is similar to the Pierce Cleaners sign shown above. [map]

This Clintonville Electric Company's General Electric sign is protected behind plastic. The company moved around 2004 and then went out of business in 2008. This sign was still there in 2009 when this photo was taken. In 2010, the building was demolished and this sign was probably destroyed.

Carl Zipf Lock Shop [gone]
Columbus, OH		 Buckeye Motel
Columbus, OH
The Carl Zipf Lock Shop neon key sign has been bent like this since at least 2007. The sign was still there in 2015. By 2016, it had been replaced with a smaller, modern key-shaped sign. [map]

The Buckeye Motel sign features an outline of the state of Ohio and the "3" which refers to the motel's location on Route 3. In 2007, this sign was altered with the "Buckeye" portion painted over to reflect the new name of Hometown Motel. The second photo above is from 2009. [map]

Fireproof Warehouse
and Storage Co.
Columbus, OH		 Skully's Music-Diner
Columbus, OH		 De Santis
Florist
Columbus, OH		 Tee Jaye's
Columbus, OH		 E-Jay's
Columbus, OH
The Fireproof Warehouse and Storage Co. sign is three stories tall. The building was constructed and the business founded in 1906. This photo is from 2009. Around 2015, the sign was restored and relit. The building now houses apartments and Pies & Pints. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

The Skully's Music-Diner sign was built in 2002 when the business opened. [map]

According to the sign, De Santis Florist was established in 1927. This sign was probably built in the 1950s or 1960s. By 2014, the business had moved to a new location. The neon sign, minus the grid, was moved with it. [map]

Tee Jaye's giant arrow sign was built by Fred Ervin Neon Sales for Jerry's Drive in in 1961. Sister's Chicken and Biscuits opened here in 1986 after Jerry's closed. Tee Jaye's opened in 1992 and adapted the sign. In 2021, it was announced that the business was closing and a Chick-fil-A would be built on the site. In 2024, the sign was adapted with an LED arrow animated in the same pattern as the neon was. The other plastic panels were replaced with new wording. The readerboard at the bottom was replaced with a similar one. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

The E-Jay's Drive Thru towering arrow sign is encircled with neon. [map]

More Columbus:
Ater's Drive-in [gone]
Bambi Motel [gone]
Big Bear Warehouses [gone]
Capri Lanes
Coachbuilt Motors
Columbus Dispatch
C.R. O'Neil & Co. Realtors
Gentile's Wine Sellers
Honey Dip Donuts
Fiesta Lanes
Hillcrest Lanes [gone]
Jimmy's Restaurant [gone]
Johnnie's Glenn Avenue Grill
Lisska Bar & Grill
Peanut Shoppe
Plank's Cafe
Shope's Tires [gone]
Trophies Bar & Grill [gone]
Win-Circle Restaurant [gone]
Wonder Bread
former Wonder Bread Bakery

OH (page 1) OH (page 2) OH (page 3) OH (page 4) Cincinnati
American Sign Museum
(Cincinnati)		 Bob McDorman Chevrolet
(Canal Winchester)

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