Paragon Chem-Flo (Gone)
Albany, NY
Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans

Cruising along Central Avenue, this towering Paragon Paint & Wallpaper sign would be hard to miss. With PARAGON stretched across the top and CHEM-FLO spelled out below, the giant signpost comes from a time when roadside businesses were not shy about advertising their wares.

Chem-Flo was the paint line being promoted, while Paragon was the longtime Albany paint and wallpaper store. The business began downtown as the Paragon Paint Distributing Corporation before moving to its larger location at 1121 Central Avenue. Out on this busy commercial strip, a normal storefront sign just would not have been enough.

Paragon remained a family-operated supplier for contractors and homeowners for more than half a century. The old sign was more industrial than fancy, but its huge letters and stacked panels did the job. Anyone passing the store knew exactly where to stop for paint.

UPDATE: The original Paragon Paint operation has closed and the Central Avenue property has changed uses. The large Chem-Flo sign is no longer standing. 08-26

S Bridge Cafe (Gone)
Triadelphia, W VA
Photo courtesy David R. Butler

Traveling along Route 40 near Triadelphia, drivers once came upon a giant S-Bridge Café Beer Bottle resting in a pile of oversized ice cubes. The fiberglass bottle advertised the nearby café and was promoted locally as the “World’s Largest Bottle of Beer.”

The fake ice was more than decoration. A doorway cut into the cubes served as the entrance to the bar. The café took its name from the historic stone S-bridge located beside the property along the old National Road.

The S-Bridge Café closed and was demolished by 2001, although the bottle remained on the empty lot for several more years.

UPDATE: The giant bottle was removed before 2010, and the former café property has been redeveloped. 08-26