Vintage Wall Ads for Pepsi-Cola and Uneeda Biscuit - Roanoke, VA

On the Left:

Virginia Carriage Factory inc.
Manufacturers of
Carriages, Buggies, Etc.

and then...

Fountains also in Bottles
Drink Pepsi-Cola 5 Cents
Delicious - Delightful



On the right:

The King of Wheat Foods
Uneeda Biscuit
Sold only in packages
5 cents
National Biscuit Company

Then, the signpainters...
The O. J.Gude Co. Va.Inc
Dixie Sign & Painting Co.



This is on the side of a building in downtown Roanoke, Va.

St. Andrews & Hotel Roanoke as seen from Mill Mountain

In Roanoke, the best view of the city is provided at Mill Mountain, where you can also walk around the base of the Roanoke Star. From the observation deck, I brought out my best telephoto lens to zoom in on downtown. St. Andrews Catholic Church is the gothic church building at the top. The historic Hotel Roanoke is the widest building in the middle. Across the bottom, you can see glimpses of the old N&W passenger station, the Taubman Museum of Art and the old Market Square building.

H&C Coffee neon sign - Roanoke, VA

This fantastic neon sign is in Downtown Roanoke, VA. A special plaque has been placed, not at the base of the building, but from a spot where the sign is easily viewable: The restoration and relighting of the H&C Coffee sign was a community effort funded through the generosity of the citizens of the Roanoke Valley and beyond. A Special tribute goes to Mark Jamison - "The Neon Man."

H&C Coffee company started in Roanoke in 1927, with the sign and local landmark erected in 1946. After non-functioning for a decade, the restoration was done in 2005 when the sign was also moved to a better location with the higher roof of the new art museum.



The sign is animated with neon and the scene cycles every 7 seconds. Briefly, everything is off. Then H&C COFFEE lights up (With the H& not working too well right now). Then, The Coffee pot lights up. Next, the the empty coffee cup, saucer and spoon come on. Finally, a stream of coffee alternates between upper and lower as if it looks like it is being poured and cup is full of neon coffee! It's a wonderful sign which definitely fits in the category of they don't make 'em like they used to.

Here's a video of the sign:
www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/6510068951/in/photo...

Mill Mountain Star - Roanoke, VA

The Roanoke Star is the World's Largest freestanding illuminated man-made star, which I am sure will give everybody goosebumps just thinking about it. It was constructed in 1949 and placed atop Mill Mountain, facing towards the city, causing Roanoke to get the nickname "Star City of the South"

It was placed at its location permanently in 1949 to kick off the Christmas shopping season. Once it proved to be popular, it was decided to be lit year round. At first, it was all white. Next, red was added, but only illuminated for one day to indicate a traffic fatality.

As part of America's Bicentennial Celebration in 1976, the current design was created, consisting of one red outer star, two white middle stars and two inner blue stars. Sometimes, the look would go to just a red star, like a flag being displayed at half-staff, or blinking-alternating colors. To commemorate September 11, 2001, the star has since remained at this same classic red, white and blue combination (with the exception of a temporary change in memory of the Virginia Tech shooting and also for routine maintenance. Starting Sunday, September 11, 2011 to mark the 10-year anniversary of September 11, 2001, the star went back to being all white again, except for special occasions.