Vintage Logos as Historic Preservation

As a native Portlander, there are lots of places from our youth -- Quality Pie, the X-ray Cafe, Metro on Broadway, Brasserie Montmartre -- that are now long gone. Even the 50's Kupie Cone sign that sat blocks from our home disappeared to make room for a Starbucks. But an article in the paper this week gave us new inspiration for historic preservation. Read how below the jump...

The Oregonian highlighted Vintage Roadside, a company that makes t-shirts emblazoned with the logos of long-forgotten hotspots of the ‘40s, ‘50s and early ‘60s. From motorcourts to drive-ins and roller rinks, the designs evoke old memories and keep alive locations that have since been bulldozed. Owners Kelly Burg and Jeff Kunkle take this seriously… they’ve set up a fiberglass A&W family in their own backyard and donate a portion of their proceeds to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

But as much as we like the tees, particularly the one for Portland's own Tik Tok diner, we really love the idea of historic preservation by logo, modified for our own home. We envision a collection of tiny framed logos from some of our favorite not-forgotten places -- think more ‘80s than ‘50s. Lined up in a kitchen (for restaurants) or office (for other businesses) we think this is a great way to document our own life and love of our hometown. Sure, finding the logos won’t be easy, but we echo Kelly and Jeff’s feelings: “With everything new and places being torn down, you lose your connection to the past. And…that connection is important for stability, for identity."

Check out more classic signage on Vintage Roadside’s Flickr here.

Images: Vintage Roadside, Vintage Roadside, Scout Seventeen

Comments (4)

A few related links:

ghost sign preservation in the Bay Area

American Sign Museum in Cincinnati collects, restores, and displays historic signs from across the US

Neon Museum is Vegas focuses on historic neon signs

Accidental Aphorisms is a brand-new series of prints [by my studio] that utilizes bits of vernacular typography from old commercial signs in my neighborhood [Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati]

Anyway, I'm so glad to see this posted! There is kitsch value in these old signs and logos [nothing wrong with that!] but, more importantly, they are community icons and connect the present with its past. In fact, Boston's Citgo sign is a great example of a commercial sign that's acquired cultural value over the years.