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Pennsylvania Signs (page 1)

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Abington:
Abington Pharmacy

Red Barn Bar & Grill
Allentown, PA		 Charcoal
Drive-in [gone]
Allentown, PA		 Fred's Divot
Ambridge, PA		 Mays Drive-in
Ashland, PA
The Red Barn Bar & Grill features a porcelain enamel bull, protected now behind plastic. [map]

The Charcoal Drive-in opened here in 1953. Although there was still a canopy, there hadn't been carhops since the early 1960s. Carl R. Bieber Tourways opened a bus terminal here in 1971 and shared the building with the Charcoal. Bieber later bought the property which included the restaurant. The Charcoal Drive-in closed in 2007. In 2014, it was announced that the building would be demolished. The building and sign were still there in 2018. In 2020, it was announced that the building would be adapted for a used car lot. The sign was sold at eBay. After the neon is restored, it will be displayed at the America on Wheels Museum in Allentown.

Fred's Divot opened in 1962. This sign might be from then. It has been there since at least the 1980s. It is lit at night. For more, see this website. [map]

Mays Drive-in features this cute ice cream sign. [map]

More Allentown:
Dave's Vacuum Cleaner Service [map]
Hess Windows
Kruper Brothers Appliances

Altoona:
Jones Funeral Home

Amity:
Rinky Dinks Road House

Squirt [gone]
Barnesboro, PA		 Bullfrog Inn [gone]
Bart, PA		 Ed's Steak House [gone]
Bedford, PA
This Squirt sign hung above Bonatesta's Tavern when this photo was taken in 2007. By 2009, the sign was gone. I don't know of any other signs like this still on display.

The Bullfrog Inn sign might have been from the 1950s or 1960s. This photo is from 2006. The sign was still there in 2008. However, by 2016, the sign had been replaced with a backlit plastic box.

Ed's Steak House opened in 1954 and features this huge rooftop sign. There was originally a neon martini glass on the left of this sign. It disappeared sometime between 2006 and 2009. The rooftop sign was removed in 2012 and scrapped. For more, see this website.

Belle Vernon:
Bill's Golfland

Bensalem Aquarium [gone]
Bensalem, PA
Len Davidson designed this neon mural in 1995 for the Bensalem Aquarium pet shop. I believe there was originally a second mural here as well. This photo is from 2007. By 2010, the sign was gone.

More Bensalem:
Giles & Ransome

Fritch Fuel Company
Bethlehem, PA		 Herbert's Typewriters
Bethlehem, PA		 DeSoto Holiday
House [gone]
Bradford, PA
The Fritch Fuel Company sign is mounted on a rooftop next to the Hill-to-Hill Bridge. Fritch's first sign was installed there in 1929. It was redesigned to its current look in 1954. Around 2020, the neon was removed and the sign now has backlit plastic letters. [map]

Herbert's Typewriters is still in business. The neon sign might be from the 1950s while the plastic sign was probably from the 1960s or 1970s. [map]

The DeSoto Holiday House supposedly opened in 1966 although the sign and buildings look older than that. By 2023, the sign was gone and there was a plastic Econolodge sign there. For more, see this website.

More Bethlehem:
Goodman Furniture

Boyertown:
C.S. Garber & Sons Well Drillers

Zippo Manufacturing Co.
Bradford, PA
The Zippo Manufacturing Co. has been producing lighters since 1933. The sign shown on the left above was installed in the early 1950s on the roof of the company's manufacturing and office building. It was built by the Ganoung and Sons Sign Company in Olean, New York. The sign is 31 feet tall while the lighter itself is about 15 feet tall. The sign's text and flame are sequentially animated. The lighter is outlined in white. The windscreen stays lit and flickers while the flame flashes back and forth between white, yellow, and red. "Home of" and "Windproof Lighter" are lit in green. "Zippo" and "They Work" are lit with pink. A blue circle overlaps the text and lighter from behind. The sign has always been maintained and had a major restoration in 1996. A smaller replica of this sign was built in 1997 and is installed inside the nearby Zippo/Case Museum.

The giant lighter over the manufacturing and office building entrance (shown above right) was also built in the early 1950s. It is engraved with "GGB" as a tribute to George G. Blaisdell, the inventor of the Zippo lighter. The parking lot next door features several Zippo-topped streetlights. There are more Zippo "street-lighters" at the Zippo/Case Museum. That building also has a giant lighter and a giant pocketknife over the entrance. Another Zippo plant in Niagara Falls, ON operated from 1949-2002. A rooftop neon sign was installed there in 1968. That sign is gone now. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. [map]

More Bradford:
Roll Arena Motor Lodge [vintage; gone]

Bridgeport:
Franzone's Pizzeria & Restaurant

Broomall:
Nicholas Smith Trains

Carlisle:
Massey's Frozen Custard

Chambersburg:
Franklin Equipment Rental [gone]
Molly Pitcher Waffle Shop

Chester:
Berger's Plumbing
M.J. Freed

Clairton:
Blue Flame Restaurant

Connellsville:
Aaron's Furniture [map]

Delmont:
Lamplighter Restaurant

Pennsylvania Dutch
Motel [gone]
Denver, PA		 Shankel's Pharmacy
DuBois, PA
The Pennsylvania Dutch Motel was probably from the 1940s or so. This photo was from 2006. By 2009, the motel had become a Knights Inn and the sign was gone. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

The Shankel's Pharmacy sign appears to be from the 1940s or 1950s. [map]

Danville:
Henry Voelcker Distributor

Gallagher's Pharmacy
Duquesne, PA		 Do-All Industrial Supply [gone]
East McKeesport, PA
Gallagher's Pharmacy opened in 1922. The store closed in 2009. The building was still vacant and the facade sign was still there in 2012. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

These Do-All Industrial Supply building and signs were from 1965. These photos are from 2003. By 2010, these signs were gone and the company had left this building. There was a Do-All location in Tulsa, OK that until recently had a sign like this on the building.

Easton:
Colonial Pizza

Pontiac [gone]
Ellwood City, PA		 Knoebels Amusement Park
Elysburg, PA
This Pontiac sign was located at McElwain Motors. There were many other automobile signs here in recent years. However, by 2012, this was the only one left. By 2013, this sign was gone, too. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Knoebels Amusement Park features many fun old signs including these two. For more, see this website.

Ephrata:
222 Dutch Lanes

Pennsylvania
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