A gratuitous shot of a neon sign, because there’s always room for more neon on the Internet

My sons and I explored Crossville, the small Tennessee town closest to our cabin in the woods, one afternoon. We drank chocolate malts at a real drug-store soda fountain and then walked the main drag. The proudest site on the street is this theater.

Palace Theater, Crossville, TN

As we drove through one evening in search of dinner, we found the sign lit. Isn’t it glorious?

Palace Theater, Crossville, TN

My uninterested sons stayed in the car while I shot this. Pity. By the time they’re my age, all the neon will probably be gone.

I stopped to photograph some lit neon in Logansport, Indiana, one evening a couple years ago. Check it out.

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Comments

10 responses to “A gratuitous shot of a neon sign, because there’s always room for more neon on the Internet”

  1. Lone Primate Avatar
    Lone Primate

    Wow! You’re right, what a fantastic difference… it’s almost a shame neon signs have to have daylight hours inflicted on them. :)

    1. Jim Avatar

      I know of a few signs that are sometimes lit during the day. For example, A BBQ joint sort of near my house has a great neon sign and it’s lit whenever they’re open. But it’s kind of hard to tell it when the sun’s bright!

  2. vanilla Avatar

    You gotta grab the opportunity when it presents itself. Neon is fast fading, so to speak.

    Nice day/night comparison.

    1. Jim Avatar

      Thanks! Neon signs make me happy.

  3. Susan Warren Utley Avatar

    We had a place in our little town called the Royal Dairy. It was around for decades and you could sit at the bar and have a chocolate malt any time of the day. Sadly they closed their doors and a sushi bar opened up in its place. Very nice photo. Amazing where you can find beauty.

    1. Jim Avatar

      You’re reminding me of a five-and-dime with a soda fountain near my childhood home. I drank countless chocolate malts there. That was a real favorite place of my youth. I miss it!

  4. Todd Pack Avatar

    Nice photo, Jim. We haven’t spent much time in Crossville, but they’re about to reopen the Franklin Theater in Franklin, Tennessee. They created the original marquee, neon and all, so maybe neon signs won’t become extinct anytime soon.

    1. Jim Avatar

      That’s great, that they recreated the original marquee! I know of a theater in Indiana where they did that.

  5. Tori Nelson Avatar

    Retro and lovely!

    1. Jim Avatar

      The best stuff is always off the Interstate!

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