New Neon

I'm always on the lookout for great vintage signage and was excited to find some "new" neon as I was returning from my son-in-law duty attending Mega church with Mrs. Ephemera's mother. I spotted this overlooked facade at Easter and brought my camera with me on Mother's Day to capture these images of the Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club. The first greyhound race was held there in 1935, and the Moderne building with the signage may not have been that old, but it was very vintage. Unfortunately only one of the neon greyhounds still lit up, but more than anything I'm excited that there are still discoveries to be made in my own backyard.

What I'm trying to say has been beautifully articulated in this blog: "Wonder is a lens through which you see the world, and cultivating a sense of wonder does not require exotic locales."

Close to home, part 1

I've written before about Debra Jane Seltzer who travels around the country in her van named Sparkle with 4 dogs and an insanely long list of roadside objects to photograph. Reading her travel blogs have helped me appreciate roadside architecture more and really pay attention to the buildings I would normally drive right by without giving a second look. So last weekend I decided to take off on my bike and document some of the roadside architecture close to home.

I started with this coin laundry sign, not really an outstanding sign, but rare for Central Florida because it still works! We have very little original vintage neon still in operation. And this one is right down the street from me.


Next stop was the amazing Beefy King. Originally a chain of more than half a dozen eateries, the one on Bumby is the lone survivor. Here's what it says on their website: "Beefy King - The Greatest Roast Beef/Ham/Pastrami sandwich you'll ever have. Opened in 1967, and family owned, Beefy King is a true Orlando landmark. Home of "The Beefy"! This unique, sandwich shop uses meat that is cooked on-site, daily. Then, they steam the meat, the bun and wrap it in aluminum. Add some tasty spuds (tater tots), their unique barbecue sauce, milkshakes and family atmosphere, and you are destined to have a great eating experience." As a veteran Beefy King diner, I can attest to fact that all these claims are 100% true!

Just up the street, however was some mid-century architecture in peril. I've admired the details of the perpendicular rows of red blocks as I've driven past for years. On closer inspection from my bike, it appears as this vacant structure is being worked on, or perhaps even demoed.

Nearby is this mid-century office plaza with this cool Googie-like archway.

Around the corner is one of the few examples of programmatic or mimetic architecture in Orlando, (outside of the theme parks), this hot dog stand that seems to have found a home next to a vegetarian restaurant.


Just beyond that is Vega's Cafe, an Orlando institution for many years that is known for their Cuban sandwiches. A former Phillips 66 gas station, the large modernistic awning that once covered the gas pumps now provides cover for Alfresco dining.

Similar style gas station in Texas

Across the street are three giant statues in front of an Asian grocery store marking the area known as the ViMi district (Vietnamese/Mills Ave.) For excellent Vietnamese and Thai food, this is the place to go in Central Florida.


One of my favorite Chinese restaurants, Forbidden City is nearby in this mid-century structure that was once the Chic-n-Pit restaurant. Thanks to Shannon Jones for her helping uncovering the true identities of both the Pit and the Phillips 66.

Ad from Shannon Jones' 1967 phone book

Just beyond is one of my favorite Streamline Moderne structures, now known as the Track Shack. I'm not sure what the building was originally, but I'm working on it. It is widely known that the this style of architecture was influenced by the streamline ocean liners of the time, but few are this obvious!

This dry cleaner used to have wonderful neon signage. I believe one of the signs is in the collection of the Morse Museum in Winter Park and is still operational.


In a commercial area nearby I found these tasty architectural details.


I used to live next door to this 195os era bowling alley. At the time it was used as storage, with wooden lane still obvious beneath stacks of furniture. Sadly, it has not been a bowling alley for a very long time...

I lived in these 1940s era apartments with Deco details for several years. Sadly I never used the shuffleboard courts and now they have placed a picnic table smack dab in the middle of them!


While Orlando has few over-the-top, take your breath away, mid-century marvels, if one looks carefully enough, there are some little gems here and there. It's interesting what you see in your own neighborhood once you change the way you look at it!

More Mt. Dora and Eustis

The Donelly House is probably one of the most photogenic buildings in Florida and it anchors the cute little downtown section of Mt. Dora. Orlando historian Steve Rajtar has this to say about the Queen Anne style home:
"This house was personally built in 1893 by John Phillip Donnelly for himself and the former Annie Stone, whom he married on August 27, 1891. It shows a Queen Anne Style, with an octagonal turret and wraparound porch. In 1930, it became the Masonic Temple Lodge. J.P. Donnelly, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, laid out the town and served as its first mayor. He had homesteaded 160 acres in 1879, and by marrying the former wife of William D. Stone, he doubled his holdings. A building on the campus of the Montverde Academy is named after him, as thanks for his generous contributions. This home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975."

The house may very well be the work of George F. Barber, a prolific Victorian architect who created illustrated catalogs of house designs.


The hilly downtown area includes a 1915 Train Depot, now used by the Chamber of Commerce, and the beautiful Lakeside Inn, among other architectural gems.


A short distance away from Mt. Dora lies the little town of Eustis. According to the website of the Eustis Historical Museum, "In the early 1900’s Eustis was known as a vacation paradise, catering to many wealthy northerners that traveled here in the winter for rest, relaxation and the wonderful year-round sunshine." Evidence of this early 20th century prosperity can be found at the beautiful bandshell in E.L. Ferran Park. A side note, E.L. Ferran's descendant opened one of the first roadside motels in Orlando, Ferran's Turo-tel on US 441. The Alice B. McClelland Memorial Bandshell was built in 1926, relocated to its present site and enlarged in 1936 and placed on the Historic Register in 1994. This charming Mediteranean revival style structure, is not as elaborate as the New Deal era bandshell in Daytona, but every bit as impressive. I wish Orlando still had the original bandshell on Lake Eola designed by Ryan and Roberts....


Down US 19 in Eustis I found a couple of interesting mid-century roadside relics. First was the Lake Shore Acres Motel. I found images of the once cool sign on Flickr, it appears to me the sign has been repainted (with spray paint) since then. It's kind of sad, but it's a good example of what can happen when roadside resources aren't cared for, when times are rough financially. The pool had obviously been closed for quite some time and doesn't look to re-open any time soon.



Just down the street was the Colonial Inn Motel, (world's worst tripadvisor.com review), and the Cara Mar Motel. The owner of the Cara Mar came out while I was shooting and was very proud of having restored the neon on both his signs. He appeared to have fixed up the swimming pool as well and I appreciate the effort in trying to keep the place viable.



Headed home, after a quick stop for ice cream, we stopped at this wonderful little church, near the edge of Mt. Dora. This part of Lake County is full of places that reveal the spectrum of old Florida, beautiful Victorian homes, elaborate Mediterranean rival architecture, and roadside mid-century modern. Some painstakenly restored, others have seen better days...

Old Orchard Beach

Old Orchard Beach is the Daytona Beach of Maine. Or maybe the Panama City Beach. It's a place where the kitsch is overwhelming and the good taste, ever present in the rest of Maine, gets tossed aside to appeal to a steady influx of French Canadians tourists. A rare sand beach in Maine, Old Orchard has a rich history of entertaining vacationers and the campy eye-candy is everywhere.

The first boarding house for summer tourists was built in 1837. In 1853, the Grand Trunk Railroad connected Old Orchard Beach to Montreal, giving French Canadians easy access to the sandy beach. In the twentieth century, the long, crescent shaped beach was used a starting point for trans Atlantic flight attempts, based on the success of Charles Lindburgh, according to Old Orchard Beach website. Today visitors take flight in an assortment of rides at a beachside amusement park. Like so many beachfront communities in Florida, large chunks of quaint charm has been lost to condos. But enough is left over to get a glimpse into this city's colorful past.