Rolando's Roadside Roundup: Sept. 28
Anger over demolition of beloved 1960s "Firelite" sign; McDonald's happily tips hat to McDonaldland past; a visit to the lost Howard Johnson's in Times Square
Hi there, fellow Retrologists!
I have an update on the fate of a sign whose disappearance I first told you about last week. Plus, McDonald’s has a Happy Meal for adults that nods to the childhood joy McDonald’s has been squashing one mansard building at a time; and much more!
Destruction of Firelite Shopping Center sign angers Connecticut residents: Why was it not saved?
Last week, in my inaugural Retrologist newsletter, I brought you the troubling news that the Firelite Shopping Center sign in Orange, Connecticut, had been removed and was perhaps destroyed.
I held out hope that it was being repaired somewhere. False alarms like this are common, where an old, battered sign vanishes only to return, gleaming and ready to glow for many years to come.
This story, however, alas, is not one of those stories.
The Connecticut Examiner reports that the 62-year-old sign was indeed taken down and destroyed. The sign, Sophia Muce reports, was a holdover of a long-gone fireplace shop on Boston Post Road that was owned by John and Larry Gaetano.
The shopping center was sold several years ago, and the project manager of the shopping center’s redevelopment says they tried to restore the sign but that it was too far gone, the CT Examiner reported. They also said it could not stay there as it was blocking a space required for fire-truck access, the Examiner reports.
Residents who loved the sign and saw it as a symbol of Orange are upset by the decision. The Examiner quoted a resident’s comment on a Facebook post.
“So sad to see the disrespect for the town history by the developer,” wrote one resident. “When I was a child, John owned the beautiful shop where the current liquor store stands. His manufactured brass fireplace items were sold there and buyers came from great distances because of the quality and beauty of the merchandise.”
Frustration has also been directed at Orange town officials for not doing more to save the sign. One official, quoted by the Examiner, said he remembered the developer broaching the question of who might want the sign, but said he didn’t know where it could be kept. According to the Examiner:
[First Selectman James] Zeoli said he was aware of complaints directed at the developer and Orange officials, but that he had no ties to, or control over, the property.
The project manager said the developer had offered the sign to the town during the three years since the center was sold. The local historical society is also troubled by what happened and said they should have been notified. (And read the article as well to learn about what’s happening with the society president’s cell phone that’s owned by the town.)
Sadly, there are both individuals and groups, like the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati and Noble Signs in Brooklyn, who are focused on sign preservation, and may well have gone to great lengths to either save the sign off site, or work with the developer to restore it, even if it would have meant moving it to another place on the property.
I’ll keep an eye on this story and bring you updates as I get them. In the meantime, I invite you to learn more about Noble Signs, an amazing business that is not only creating nostalgically infused modern signage but rescuing old ones that, like the extinguished Firelite, would be otherwise doomed. Here’s a recent story about Noble Signs I worked on for ABC7 and Localish.
This Happy Meal for Adults looks like fun — and look, a MANSARD on the box!
There’s been a lot of social media speculation for weeks that McDonald’s was on the verge of bringing back its Halloween buckets for the first time in years.
Still no word on whether that’s happening, but McDonald’s surprised nostalgic fans by announcing that a limited-edition Happy Meal for Adults, featuring quirky takes on McDonaldland characters, would hit restaurants starting Oct. 3. Reports CNN:
The food will be served in a specially designed box that should trigger memories of Happy Meals from the old days. Toys include redesigned takes on McDonald's famous mascots, including Grimace, Hamburglar and Birdie, plus a new one named Cactus Buddy.
McDonald’s said in a news release:
"We're taking one of the most nostalgic McDonald's experiences and literally repackaging it in a new way that's hyper-relevant for our adult fans," said Tariq Hassan, McDonald's USA chief marketing and customer experience office in a release.
I’m lovin’ it, but now if the Golden Arches would just leave their old buildings alone! They are using a red-roofed mansard on the Happy Meal box for nostalgia’s sake … for goodness sake! Rant over.
Notes from the Road
Milwaukee’s last sit-down Polish restaurant, Polonez, has closed. [WUWM]
Speaking of neon, The Neon Museum of Philadelphia (which I HAVE to visit) is opening a new exhibit this weekend! “Philly Art Re/Collections” is described as a “personal exhibit of prints, posters, paintings, cards and crafts from Philly’s street art & gallery scenes circa 2005 to present.” Click for tickets, but walk-ins are welcome. And explore the museum’s collection virtually.
Tom’s Diner in Denver reopened today as Tom’s Starlight in a swanky “Palm Springs” makeover. [9News]
From the Retrologist Archive!
Join me as I explore the defunct Times Square Howard Johnson’s, with photos I took (on my old Treo 650! Boy, I loved that phone.) in July 2005. The full post is available to paid subscribers. Please consider upgrading and supporting my mission to document and preserve roadside Americana.