Arc Tel Welding
Fairfield, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Check out the vintage sign at Arc Tel Welding in Fairfield. This one looks like a giant arrow that took root in the ground, giving the welding business a roadside marker with a shape all its own.
Arrow signs usually send the eye toward an entrance, but this hefty example is worth looking at in its own right. It has enough presence to get noticed even when welding work isn’t on the day’s errand list.
An everyday industrial business could turn up an unexpected sign like this. Another reason to watch the commercial stretches between the more familiar roadside stops.
UPDATE: The old view preserves Arc Tel Welding’s distinctive arrow sign, a reminder of Fairfield’s earlier commercial scenery. 09-26
Downtown Shoe Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Here’s an old Downtown Shoe sign recalling the days when footwear shops had their own familiar place along the shopping strip. A sign like this could announce the next stop before a customer got close enough to browse the window.
Shoe-store advertisements were once common sights among the department stores, repair shops, and other downtown businesses. Whether shopping for a new pair or just passing through, there was often something worth noticing above the sidewalk.
UPDATE: This old view preserves the Downtown Shoe sign, a little reminder of the specialty-store advertising that once filled local shopping districts. 09-26
Villa Trailer Park
Santa Rosa, CA Photo courtesy Devil Doll
An eye-catching entrance sign once greeted arrivals at Villa Trailer Park in Santa Rosa. Here’s another example of a practical roadside business giving its name a little extra flair out front.
The park belongs to the Santa Rosa Avenue corridor, where trailer parks, auto camps, and motels formed part of the roadside landscape. Signs helped distinguish one entrance from the next, giving travelers something to watch for while rolling through town.
Villa is managed alongside nearby Rosa Vista Trailer Park. Its layout includes 27 spaces and six apartments, continuing the residential side of a corridor with a long connection to roadside accommodations.
UPDATE: Villa Trailer Park continues operating as a long-term RV and residential community in Santa Rosa. The old entrance-sign view recalls an earlier look along the avenue. 09-26
Milk Farm (Closed)
Dixon, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
A cow jumping over the moon is quite a way to advertise a glass of milk. Check out the towering Milk Farm sign in Dixon, a familiar roadside landmark that outlasted the restaurant it once pointed travelers toward. Even with the dining room gone, this big sign keeps the name in view along Interstate 80. The tall sign is supposedly getting its neon redone, and will be part
of some 'Milk Farm Business Complex'. What ever it is that it's turning
into, it won't have short stacks or two eggs any style. At
least the sign will light up again some day. Many thanks to Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn for info.
The business traces its beginnings to 1924, when Karl A. Hess opened Hess Station along Sievers Road. In 1939, the operation moved to its better-known location along Highway 40, putting it in the path of motorists traveling between the Bay Area and Sacramento. Before the freeway became the usual way through, the Milk Farm was part of the highway trip itself.
Milk Farm
Dixon, CA Photo courtesy Tony Craig
The attraction wasn’t just the name. All-you-can-drink milk for ten cents gave travelers something to talk about, while home-style chicken dinners and apple pies offered good reasons to stay for a meal. A milk-drinking wall of fame added another bit of fun. Here was a roadside stop where the beverage could become as memorable as the dinner.
Then came the sign. Installed in May 1963 by the Electrical Products Corporation, the butter-yellow pylon rose just over 100 feet above the property. An animated neon cow jumping over a crescent moon topped the display, turning a nursery-rhyme image into a highway advertisement that was hard to miss.
The restaurant’s run ended in 1986 following windstorm damage to the roof. The original photo notes gave a 1984 closure date, but the later historical record places the final shutdown two years afterward. The building remained for a time before being demolished in 2000, leaving the tall marquee standing over a very different scene.
Milk Farm
Dixon, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
The smaller rooftop Milk Farm sign was saved during demolition and placed in a pasture across the road. A sign put out to pasture seems especially fitting here, although it’s a long way from its former job above a busy restaurant. Together, the two signs preserved pieces of the place after the tables, kitchen, and dining room were gone.
UPDATE: Here's a close up shot of the Milk Farm marquee and the detail of the cow jumping over the moon. 12-10
UPDATE: The Milk Farm restaurant was demolished in 2000, but its towering roadside sign was left standing as a local landmark.
Arc Tel Welding
Downtown Shoe
Villa Trailer Park
Milk Farm (Closed)
Milk Farm
Milk Farm
