Like Basho seeking out a willow tree, Tammy and I went hunting for the vintage neon sign park in Casa Grande. You’d think it would be easy but the top news articles did not post the address. Who does that? We scrolled until we finally found a location to drop into Google maps. Yay! Many of these signs belonged to places that had been on Arizona Route 84, a busy Tucson-San Diego corridor from the 1930s to 50s. So useful a drive from Tucson that in the 1960s, it was pulled into Interstate 10 with I-8 swallowing another chunk later. Now only a tiny piece of Route 84 still exists. Near the entrance of the Neon Sign Park, a mural commemorates Route 84. You can imagine how the road glowed at night with neons beckoning travelers to rest or have a bite. Before we worried about conserving gas and energy; the days when John Wayne rode the Silver Screen and a dime bought a cup of joe. Once upon a time when Chevrolet and Edison ruled America.
| Chevrolets roaring past neons twinkling cheerfully time rues fossils burned |
Chevrolets roaring past neons twinkling cheerfully Route 84 ends |
Chevrolets roaring past neons twinkling cheerfully coffee for a dime |
Gah! Obviously I had a hard time deciding on the last line. Which one do you like the best?
Highway 84 Mural painted in 2018 by Mew, Mark White, Bob Spille, Larry
Patterson, Cindy Patterson, Candy Hyatt, and Steve Hyatt in Casa Grande
| Casa Grande Neon Sign Park Arizona Plaza 408 N. Sacaton St Casa Grande, AZthere is a free parking lotIf you’re going, save this address because it’s not in Google Maps yet which makes it really hard to find |
it’s better to go to 403 N. Florence St., Casa Grande, AZ where Florence and W. 3rd St meet. Turn (west) on W. 3rd St. away from Paramount Theater. You’ll see the Route 84 Mural on your right and the Sunset Court sign. Just beyond that is the parking lot for the Casa Grande Neon Sign Park |
Arizona State Route 84, Wikipedia
Casa Grande, Wikipedia
Writing Challenge
Haibun Road : a haibun weekly challenge (wk 13) (reference to the willow)
Photography Challenges
Mondays Weekly Neon Sign Photography Challenge, Vintage Neon Signs : color red
May colors and letters : the 27th: grey blue (the top photo, the bottom half is grey blue)
May photo a day challenge : the 26th contrast (top photo again between the light and the dark, the 29th shine (the neon light photos), the 30th bench (the chevrolet bench)
Comedy Plus Awww Monday
Son of a Beach Which Way Photo Challenge (in the first photo, Hotel Sacaton neon sign has an arrow)
You can use the Amazon search bar to do any search at Amazon. Today I put in “highway motels”. I remember seeing a photography book on motels but it didn’t come up in the search. Now it’s going to bother me. You know how you almost remember a song. It’s like that. It’ll probably pop into my head when I’m doing the dishes or something.
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