Tag: neon

Massive Central Furniture Mart Sign Dangerously Low

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Central Furniture Mart
Central Furniture Mart in better times

Alisa Hauser reports:

WICKER PARK — The neon Central Furniture Mart hung dangerously low to the sidewalk late Tuesday afternoon. No one was injured and the street surrounding the sign was closed to pedestrians and car traffic as contractors eventually hauled the sign away. Larry Merritt, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman, said that fire workers responded to a call of a “dangerous sign” at 11:52 a.m. Tuesday. There were no injuries, Merritt said.

…

Candise Cho, owner of neighboring Mildblend Supply Co., said that she has “always been concerned about the safety of pedestrians.”

“I know I find myself taking a deep breath each time I walk under it. I had hoped with new owners, it would have been taken down or better secured,” Cho said.

Cho said she did not call 911, but when she looked outside her store shortly before 12 p.m. when officials were on the scene, the sign was “much lower” than it had been in the past.

“It was very low. It had dropped,” Cho said.

(click here to continue reading Massive Central Furniture Mart Sign Hung Dangerously Low, Witnesses Say.)

Passing Goldstar (Explored)

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A recent photograph made it into Flickr’s Explore (double click to embiggen).

Passing Goldstar

About the photograph: I was standing near Gold Star on Division St., admiring how afternoon light illuminated this long time resident of Wicker Park, waiting for the first person to enter my shot. However, when I entered my digital darkroom, I noticed the women was partially blurred. Often converting to black and white hides these flaws, I used a Tri-X 400 emulation filter (from Alien Skin), but then was sad about losing the golden hour light. I stopped working on the photo, however in the morning when I woke up, I had a new idea. I could use Photoshop to merge some of the color back in to the photo.

I processed the image again from the original Camera RAW file, using the same settings, except, obviously leaving the afternoon sunlight. With both images open, I used the Clone Stamp tool in Photoshop, and with my mouse, dragged over areas that looked like they needed color.

I started with just the neon Goldstar sign, then added the more of the building, then the doorway, then as a last touch, the woman’s feet and the shadow on the sidewalk. I’m not 100% certain if I like that, but I think so. I also could have re-colorized her purse, but it had reds and blues in addition to the golden palette of the rest of the image, so I left it black and white.

I goofed, slightly, when initially using the Clone Stamp tool by not exactly lining up the origin, but this gives the color aspects a subtle three dimensional look, so I left it as it ended up.

All in all, I’m happy with how this image turned out.

Jesus is π was uploaded to Flickr

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or whatever that says.

Of course, in the Old Testament, Pi=3, as Isaac Asimov points out:

"The exact function of the “molten sea” is not stated, though it seems most likely that it was a container for water used in the various rituals. The interesting point is that its upper rim seems to be circular in shape with a diameter of ten cubits and a circumference of thirty cubits. This is impossible, for the ratio of the circumference to the diameter (a ratio called “pi” by mathematicians) is given here as 30/10=3, whereas the real value of pi is an unending decimal which begins 3.14159… If the molten sea were really ten cubits in diameter it would have to be just under thirty-one and a half cubits in circumference.

The explanation is, of course, that the Biblical writers were not mathematicians or even interested in mathematics and were merely giving approximate figures. Still, to those who are obsessed with the notion that every word in the Bible is infallible (and who know a little mathematics) it is bound to come as a shock to be told that the Bible says that the value of pi is 3. “
via
Asimov’s Guide to the Bible

embiggen by clicking
http://flic.kr/p/GUMdmA

I took Jesus is π on May 28, 2016 at 09:04AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on June 04, 2016 at 02:18PM

Andrew and Phil in the Neon Light was uploaded to Flickr

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Lockhart, TX

embiggen by clicking
http://flic.kr/p/DncL9i

I took Andrew and Phil in the Neon Light on January 16, 2016 at 02:32PM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on January 25, 2016 at 10:54AM

Neon Cal’s Liquors Sign Can Be Yours For $8,500

Seth Anderson0 comment

Neon Signs for Sale

I don’t ask for much, but could someone purchase this neon sign for me, and find me a place to store it?

The Neon Cal’s Liquors Sign Can Be Yours For $8,500 – The Loop – DNAinfo.com Chicago: “The big, neon sign for shuttered Downtown dive bar Cal’s Liquors can be yours, thanks to the Internet.”

The sign, which adorned the tavern at 400 S. Wells St. for decades before it closed two years ago, was listed for sale Monday on Craigslist. The asking price is $8,500 or ‘best offer.’

The 121-inch wide by 53-inch tall sign was previously listed for $1,000 less two years ago, according to Gapers Block, which first reported the new listing. The more expensive listing arrives amid a recent preservationist push to save vintage neon signs, which have fallen out of favor to cheaper, more environmentally friendly electronic ones in recent years. 

‘The antiques business is an interesting industry,’ said Erik Retzer of Architectural Artifacts, the North Side collector who acquired the sign after the bar closed. ‘As things become more scarce and rare, they become more valuable.'”

(Via.)

Cal's Liq
Cal's Liquors Open Xmas Eve

Domestic Tranquility of A Nation

Cops and Liquor Stores - Agfa Scala

You Say You Care was uploaded to Flickr

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decrepit neon, Lincoln Park somewhere (Elbo Room maybe)

embiggen by clicking
http://flic.kr/p/yMhBFz

I took You Say You Care on October 12, 2015 at 05:52PM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on October 13, 2015 at 03:13PM

White Way Sign files for bankruptcy protection

Seth Anderson0 comment

I trust White Way Sign will survive this bankruptcy, I couldn’t imagine Chicago without White Way Signs populating our common urban space, nor my Flickr feed either…

White Way Sign, a century-old company behind some of the most historic signs in Chicago, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The family-owned company has had a hand in everything from the landmark Chicago Theatre and Wrigley Field marquees to the U.S. Cellular Field and United Center scoreboards, iconic signage that has helped define the city’s image and evolution.

Marathoners race past the Chicago Theatre. White Way Sign didn’t build the original Chicago Theatre sign, but it fabricated and installed the most recent version of the canopy within the past decade, according to the company. (Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune) The company moved from Chicago to Mount Prospect in 2007, and recently has focused more on maintenance than manufacturing after divesting its North Clybourn Avenue facility. The filing Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago lists less than $10 million in assets and up to $50 million in liabilities.

“We expect to survive this,” said Jim Morgan, a Chicago bankruptcy attorney representing White Way. “We just need to retool and we will continue to provide the same service.”

White Way Sign was founded in 1916 by Thomas Flannery, an Irish immigrant who started the company by servicing electric signs. It made its mark by fabricating and maintaining marquees for such theaters as the Chicago Theatre and the Oriental Theatre. The company took its name from the New York theater district, which was known as the Great White Way for its brightly lighted marquees.

(click here to continue reading White Way Sign files for bankruptcy protection – Chicago Tribune.)

A few examples of White Way Signs I’ve snapped photos of over the years:

(Central) Camera - since 1899

(Central) Camera – since 1899

Ballin'
Ballin’

Fela - Oriental Theatre
Fela – Oriental Theatre

Meier's Tavern Package Liquors
Meier’s Tavern Package Liquors

Las Vegas Showgirls
Las Vegas Showgirls

Homosexuals at Biograph
Homosexuals at Biograph

Oriental Ford
Oriental Ford

Explosions In the Sky
Explosions In the Sky

Vintage Neon: Chicago Park
Vintage Neon: Chicago Park

Ramova Neon
Ramova Neon

There are probably more White Way Signs photos in my Flickr Signs Album, but you get the idea…

Neon – Phyllis Musical Inn was uploaded to Flickr

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Division Street at night. Phyllis Music Inn was allegedly established in 1954

embiggen by clicking
http://flic.kr/p/oAeBKo

I took Neon – Phyllis Musical Inn on July 13, 2014 at 10:52PM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on August 04, 2014 at 03:29PM

Zanzibar and Rye was uploaded to Flickr

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Yonge St, Toronto.

Wikipedia entry:
http://ift.tt/1ljhvUu

embiggen by clicking
http://flic.kr/p/ozKzED

I took Zanzibar and Rye on September 09, 2013 at 11:04AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on August 01, 2014 at 03:15PM

Ballin’ was uploaded to Flickr

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Lincoln Avenue

embiggen by clicking
http://flic.kr/p/k3GTed

I took Ballin’ on January 11, 2014 at 06:33PM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on February 13, 2014 at 03:10PM

Photo Republished at 12 Drool-Worthy Photos of Vintage Signs in the Valley

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Helms Olympic Bread

My photo was used to illustrate this post

Have you ever been to California? You should try it. Sure there are the beaches and the national parks and the movie stars and the big red bridge. There’s also the delightful consequence of near-perfect weather all year round. Stuff just doesn’t rust. Even when it rains.

… Final image via Seth Anderson.

click here to keep reading :
12 Drool-Worthy Photos of Vintage Signs in the Valley

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