Metro Jacksonville

Urban Thinking => Opinion => Topic started by: BackinJax05 on September 28, 2012, 09:43:38 PM

Title: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: BackinJax05 on September 28, 2012, 09:43:38 PM
There was alot of discussion about the old Krispy Kreme sign on Cassat Ave. KK plans to rebuild the store. YAY! Many of us, myself included, have emailed Krispy Kreme to restore the sign. That got me thinking: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE JACKSONVILLE SIGN?

As much as I like the old Krispy Kreme sign, my personal favorite is the Peninsular Pest Control Service sign on Phyllis Street, facing I-10.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: blizz01 on September 28, 2012, 09:55:56 PM
Maxwell House - hands down.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: acme54321 on September 28, 2012, 10:05:11 PM
Maxwell house is pretty iconic, but I'm going to have to go with peninsular pest control.  That thing is a beacon at night.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: If_I_Loved_you on September 28, 2012, 10:42:27 PM
So many too choose from but here I go. 1.Maxwell House 2. Peninsular Pest Control Service 3.The long gone Thunderbird sign that was off of Arlington Expressway 4. The Greyhound Bus Station sign 5. The old Krispy Kreme Sign off of Cassat Ave. here is the look at one from google http://didwelikeit.com/http://didwelikeit.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/DSC00125-1.jpg
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: blizz01 on September 28, 2012, 11:38:30 PM
You know, the Krispy Kreme in Gainesville still looks like that.....

2 more of my favorite signs (off of Philips Hwy.) - Chopstick Charley's & the Joe Motel.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: Timkin on September 28, 2012, 11:42:32 PM
Signs that exist now..

1. Maxwell House
2. Peninsular

Signs that are no longer

1. The 666 sign on the old Monticello Drug Company Building  that was once at the foot of the old Acosta.
2. The Sign on the River front side of the Downtown Sears 
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: If_I_Loved_you on September 29, 2012, 12:04:52 AM
Quote from: blizz01 on September 28, 2012, 11:38:30 PM
You know, the Krispy Kreme in Gainesville still looks like that.....

2 more of my favorite signs (off of Philips Hwy.) - Chopstick Charley's & the Joe Motel.
The KK in Gainesville has the same sign but doesn't have a drive thur. And I can't believe I forgot about the old 666 sign that was a true classic darn!
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: Timkin on September 29, 2012, 12:11:08 AM
;)
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: cayohueso on September 29, 2012, 06:09:27 AM
It's a two-fer: The Joe Motel with Chopstick Charlie's.
You know where it is...
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: cayohueso on September 29, 2012, 06:12:40 AM
Sorry, just saw blizz01 claimed those. OK...Chicken Koop and......Gator Lodge.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: Wacca Pilatka on September 29, 2012, 01:01:18 PM
Is it possible to count the 7UP/formerly Canada Dry can as a sign?

I like the Tom Trout sign, and the rooftop ones for 11E and the Carling; I miss, among others, the "home of Independent Life" one on the northside that depicted the building.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: coredumped on September 29, 2012, 01:47:03 PM
What's up jacksonville?  8)

(http://i.imgur.com/2UzR5.jpg?5038)
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: I-10east on September 29, 2012, 07:08:13 PM
Quote from: If_I_Loved_you on September 29, 2012, 12:04:52 AM
The KK in Gainesville has the same sign but doesn't have a drive thur. And I can't believe I forgot about the old 666 sign that was a true classic darn!

G-ville also has that nostalgic Arby's sign, there's something about the charm of an old school sign.

I vaguely remember the 666 sign; Does anyone have a pic of it by chance?
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: BackinJax05 on September 29, 2012, 09:09:00 PM
Quote from: acme54321 on September 28, 2012, 10:05:11 PM
Maxwell house is pretty iconic, but I'm going to have to go with peninsular pest control.  That thing is a beacon at night.

Bless you! And yes, the Maxwell House sign is cool, too. The dripping coffee almost makes me want a cup.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: Timkin on September 29, 2012, 11:45:03 PM
Quote from: I-10east on September 29, 2012, 07:08:13 PM
Quote from: If_I_Loved_you on September 29, 2012, 12:04:52 AM
The KK in Gainesville has the same sign but doesn't have a drive thur. And I can't believe I forgot about the old 666 sign that was a true classic darn!

G-ville also has that nostalgic Arby's sign, there's something about the charm of an old school sign.

I vaguely remember the 666 sign; Does anyone have a pic of it by chance?


The Monticello Drug Company building ( aka the 666 Building)

(http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u370/timmycan/666buildingjacksonvillefl.jpg)

The old Downtown Sears

(http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u370/timmycan/Searsatnight.jpg)
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: I-10east on September 30, 2012, 10:36:30 AM
^^^Thanks Timkin.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: ben says on September 30, 2012, 11:07:20 AM
They aren't necessarily my favorites, but I love the following:

Midnight Sun (reminds me of a store you'd find in Haight-Ashbury)

Kostas (retro)

Oak on Laundry (if they alter the facade of that building during reconstruction, I'll be pissed)

Maxwell

Peninsular

Brunet-Garcia (maybe I'm mistaken..it's on Hendricks, and it's a huge blowup of a face)
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: Adam W on September 30, 2012, 11:29:34 AM
(http://imageshack.us/a/img443/8743/dscf0141w.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/443/dscf0141w.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: BackinJax05 on September 30, 2012, 08:53:23 PM
Quote from: Timkin on September 29, 2012, 11:45:03 PM
Quote from: I-10east on September 29, 2012, 07:08:13 PM
Quote from: If_I_Loved_you on September 29, 2012, 12:04:52 AM
The KK in Gainesville has the same sign but doesn't have a drive thur. And I can't believe I forgot about the old 666 sign that was a true classic darn!

G-ville also has that nostalgic Arby's sign, there's something about the charm of an old school sign.

I vaguely remember the 666 sign; Does anyone have a pic of it by chance?


The Monticello Drug Company building ( aka the 666 Building)

(http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u370/timmycan/666buildingjacksonvillefl.jpg)

The old Downtown Sears

(http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u370/timmycan/Searsatnight.jpg)

I loved the old Hotel Mayflower sign. It was almost 3 stories tall. At least it looked that big on the ground after the building was thoughtlessly imploded.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: KenFSU on October 01, 2012, 07:48:44 AM
Kind of an easy answer, but I'm still a sucker for the Jacksonville Landing sign.

(http://www.ch13jaxfl.com/the-jacksonville-landing.jpg)

The Carling and 11E, as well.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: fsujax on October 01, 2012, 08:29:05 AM
I like the Carling sign, 11E and the big I think it's a 7-Up can (used to be Canada Dry ginger ale) along I-95 near Bowden.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: finehoe on October 01, 2012, 09:39:12 AM
Quote from: If_I_Loved_you on September 28, 2012, 10:42:27 PM
The long gone Thunderbird sign that was off of Arlington Expressway

Agree.

(http://www.cardcow.com/images/set377/card00968_fr.jpg)
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: fsujax on October 01, 2012, 09:42:34 AM
what about the old Firestone sign that used to be in Lavilla. I remember seeing that as I child. Anyone have a pic to post?
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: RiversideLoki on October 01, 2012, 10:02:05 AM
Quote from: finehoe on October 01, 2012, 09:39:12 AM
Quote from: If_I_Loved_you on September 28, 2012, 10:42:27 PM
The long gone Thunderbird sign that was off of Arlington Expressway

Agree.

(http://www.cardcow.com/images/set377/card00968_fr.jpg)

I just nostalgia'd all over the place. The Thunderbird is my first memory of Jacksonville from when I was 8. We moved down from South Carolina and into Sin City. And our first few nights in town were spent there. And now I'm 33.. eeeuuufffff!
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: Mike D on October 01, 2012, 09:05:03 PM
These are great, especially the downtown hotels, the Thunderbird and the 666 building.  When I was a kid I thought the Thunderbird looked about as high class as a joint could be...and I think it was, in fact, a pretty nice place.  Fancy motels like that were what eventually put the downtown hotels out of business.  And then later, the years were not kind to the Thunderbird and its brethren either!  Speaking of downtown, how I miss those stacked neon signs on the top of the Mayflower, the George Washington, the Seminole, the Floridan, etc.  I also vividly remember the flashing neon of the "666" building as you came across the old Acosta bridge. The bridge was narrow...only three lanes wide...and the giant neon sign seemed to loom over you as you reached the downtown side of the river. The numbers flashed on one at a time, then the "for colds relief" part lit up.  Can you imagine an illuminated "666" over downtown these days?  Talk about people flipping out!!  Maybe people weren't taking every single verse of the Bible quite as literally in those days  I also remember, on the other side of the bridge from the 666 building, there was a big illuminated billboard for the Seaboard Air Line railroad.  I can remember asking my dad why they called a railroad an "airline".  After I graduated from UF, my career took me all over the country and there were periods of time when I wasn't in Jax except for once or twice a year.  Seems like I came home one day for a visit and realized all of those places had been torn down!!  Even the Acosta bridge!  Yipes!  It still takes my breath away.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: If_I_Loved_you on October 01, 2012, 09:09:15 PM
Quote from: finehoe on October 01, 2012, 09:39:12 AM
Quote from: If_I_Loved_you on September 28, 2012, 10:42:27 PM
The long gone Thunderbird sign that was off of Arlington Expressway

Agree.

(http://www.cardcow.com/images/set377/card00968_fr.jpg)
Just think if the Thunderbird was still around as a working motel wow that would be sweet. And a couple of old Holiday Inn signs to boot life would be so much sweeter.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: Timkin on October 01, 2012, 09:20:20 PM
Wasn't the Thunderbird the Complex that is still located on the Arlington Expressway that is Sitting vacant ?  Can't think of the name of the place now but it has been unused at least a decade? (was also a Holiday Inn at one time? )  or am I mistaken?
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: Charles Hunter on October 01, 2012, 09:28:19 PM
Quote from: Timkin on October 01, 2012, 09:20:20 PM
Wasn't the Thunderbird the Complex that is still located on the Arlington Expressway that is Sitting vacant ?  Can't think of the name of the place now but it has been unused at least a decade? (was also a Holiday Inn at one time? )  or am I mistaken?


Bethelite Ministries - don't know that I've ever seen any activity there, though.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: If_I_Loved_you on October 01, 2012, 10:01:51 PM
(http://www.ziba.com/image_cache/assets/0000/8597/vintage_postcard_web.jpg?w=640)I miss seeing these old signs around.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: blizz01 on October 01, 2012, 10:11:35 PM
(http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/display/49e5c8bc-f012-4cbc-a986-ed34dbb707d1.jpg)

I suppose this one matters - I'm also partial to Ying's Chinee Takee Outee......
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: finehoe on October 01, 2012, 10:20:32 PM
Quote from: Mike D on October 01, 2012, 09:05:03 PM
When I was a kid I thought the Thunderbird looked about as high class as a joint could be...

LOL.  Me too!  I can remember riding in the back seat of my parents car and we would always pass it going to the beach or to a relative's place and I just thought it looked like the epitome of cool and swankiness.  I always wished we'd stop  so I could see it close up.
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: If_I_Loved_you on October 01, 2012, 10:26:06 PM
(http://www.highwayhost.org/Hornes/Locations/Florida/JacksonvilleFL/LarryPassaro/jacksonvillefl11.jpg)
I don't remember this hotel at 5331 Univ Blvd West in Jax Fl.?
Title: Re: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: BackinJax05 on October 17, 2012, 05:53:52 PM
Quote from: finehoe on October 01, 2012, 09:39:12 AM
Quote from: If_I_Loved_you on September 28, 2012, 10:42:27 PM
The long gone Thunderbird sign that was off of Arlington Expressway

Agree.

(http://www.cardcow.com/images/set377/card00968_fr.jpg)

I grew up only a few miles from the Thunderbird. Went to several formal parties there over the years. She was beautiful back in the day.
Title: What is your favorite Jacksonville sign?
Post by: BackinJax05 on October 17, 2012, 06:02:21 PM
Quote from: If_I_Loved_you on October 01, 2012, 10:01:51 PM
(http://www.ziba.com/image_cache/assets/0000/8597/vintage_postcard_web.jpg?w=640)I miss seeing these old signs around.

There was a Holiday Inn on the Arlington Expressway a few miles down from the Thunderbird. Today its the nasty Kings Inn.

As I recall, there were a bunch of hotels on that road with cool signs: Thunderbird, Quality Inn, Ramada Inn, Scottish Inn, & Holiday Inn.

Today, as far as I know, the Thunderbird is Bethelite (whatever that is), Quality Inn is an adult congregate living facility, Ramada Inn is the drug infested Regency Inn, Scottish Inn is the gross Travel Inn, and Holiday Inn is Kings Inn.