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email: agilitynut@hotmail.com |
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| Donut Signs (page 2) |
(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)
| Donut Dip West Springfield, MA |
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| The Donut Dip opened in 1957. Its building, interior and signage all appear to be original. This place is a rare survivor on this strip of chain stores and modern hotels. For more, see this website. |
| All Star Donuts San Francisco, CA |
Donut Whole Wichita, KS |
Willard's Donuts Emporia, KS |
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All Star Donuts features a dramatic sign with donuts splashing into a cup of coffee. The neon has not worked for many years and there are no plans to repair it. The sign is from around 1951. The bottom part of this sign used to be yellow. It was repainted around 2006. In the 1990s, the sign read "Hunt" instead of "All Star". For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.
The Donut Whole opened in 2008. This is a reworked sign from a previous business. The Willard's Donuts sign appears to be from the 1950s or 1960s. |
| Donut Corner Oakland, CA |
Jolly Pirate Donuts [gone] Lancaster, OH |
Jolly Pirate Donuts Grove City, OH |
Honey Dip Donuts Columbus, OH |
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Neither the clock nor the neon work on the Donut Corner sign. For more, see this website.
This Lancaster Jolly Pirate Donuts opened in 1966. It closed and was demolished in 2003. I don't know if this sign was saved. The Grove City Jolly Pirate Donuts still has a nicely preserved neon and plastic sign. It is lit at night. There are still more than a dozen other Jolly Pirate Donuts in OH, WV and KY. However, I don't believe any of these locations have this style sign. This Honey Dip Donuts store has an adapted Jolly Pirate Donuts sign. It is partially lit at night. For more, see this website. There is another adapted sign in Columbus, OH for the Golden Donuts & Diner. |
| Spudnuts El Dorado, AR |
Daylight Donuts Tulsa, OK |
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Spudnuts are potato flour doughnuts. The nationwide chain was founded in 1946 in Salt Lake City, UT. The company no longer exists but there are still many remaining stores operating independently. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Daylight Donuts is a nation-wide chain with around 900 locations. The company was founded in Tulsa in 1954. This building on South Yale was built in the early 1950s as a Tastee-Freez. It was later an Arby's and a Shaw's Drive-in, before becoming a Daylight Donuts. Over the years, the building was expanded and the outdoor patio enclosed. This sign was originally constructed for Shaw's Hamburgers and adapted for Daylight Donuts. It has been renovated and repaired many times over the years with the last repainting around 1999. One of the poles with a star had to be cut off for power lines. The owners won't be fixing up the sign any time soon after they got an estimate of $20,000 to restore it. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| Donut Drive-in St. Louis, MO |
Country Inn Donut Drive-in St. Louis, MO |
California Do-Nut Co. St. Louis, MO |
Jack n Jill Donuts Waco, TX |
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The Donut Drive-in opened in 1952 with this sign. The original business name remains unclear. The neon stopped working around 1993 and the sign crashed to the ground from internal rot in 2007. The sign was restored in 2008 with grant money from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and the National Park Service. The three-way flasher creates the illusion of descending donuts on the side of the sign. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.
As far as I know, the Country Inn Donut Drive-in was not related to the Donut Drive-in. This sign may have been inspired by the Krispy Kreme design from the late 1950s and early 1960s which features the same round lettering pattern. It might actually be a reworked Krispy Kreme sign like this one in St. Louis which is now gone. The "Country Inn" plastic panel was broken in 2007 and later replaced. I suspect this portion of the sign was previously neon. The store may have gone by another name originally. There is also a plastic sign on the building. For more, see this website. The California Do-Nut Co. shop has been vacant since at least 2005 when this photo was taken. The storefront has been boarded up since around 2009. This Jack n Jill Donuts is part of a chain with other locations in TX. This neon sign is on the roof while a plastic box sign is on a pole in front of the store. This neon sign may have been originally installed on that pole. For more, see this website. |
| Sonrise Donuts Springfield, IL |
Mel-O-Cream Donuts Springfield, IL |
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The Sonrise Donuts shop has been vacant for years but this sign remains. I don't know if the spelling of the business was a religious or a family reference.
Mel-O-Cream Donuts was founded in 1932. They began franchising in 1964 and by 1980, they had 14 stores. Since then, they have focused on wholesale production. They have five locations in Springfield and another in Lincoln, IL but only this one on North Grand has the old signage and shop. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4. |
| Jolly Donut Sandusky, OH |
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| As far as I know, this Jolly Donut is no relation to the Jolly Pirate Donuts chain described above. It features homemade donuts and a great plastic sign. Hidden behind the brick is a well-maintained Mountain View diner (#414) from the early 1950s. |
| Honey Creme Donut Shop New Albany, IN |
Donuts Delite Rochester, NY |
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The Honey Creme Donut Shop neon sign is protected behind plexiglass. The sign is lit at night. For more, see this website.
Donuts Delite opened in 1958 and closed in 2005. After the building sat vacant for five years, it was then taken over by Salvatore's Pizza. Then, in 2010, Donuts Delite returned. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| Dutch Uncle Donuts Coldwater, MI |
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| Dutch Uncle Donuts looks like it's probably from the 1960s. The small windmill is gone now. I don't believe there were other locations. |
| Dutch Boy Donuts [gone] Denver, CO |
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| The Dutch Boy Donuts sign was built in 1948 by Gordon Neon of Denver. The store closed in the 1990s. Their main sign featured cascading donuts. It was covered up in 2004 (first photo above) when the Salsa & Soul restaurant moved in. I believe that sign is still there but remains covered. There were also two windmill signs on the roof which have been removed. One of them is now at the American Sign Museum and the other went to the Colorado Historical Museum. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4. [photos thanks Harry Grass] |
| Dutch Girl Donuts Detroit, MI |
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| Dutch Girl Donuts opened in 1947. As far as a I know, this was the only location. This skeleton, window sign is lit at night. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. |
| Kane's Doughnut House Saugus, MA |
South Paw Donuts Metropolis, IL |
Six O One Donut Shop Pittsburg, KS |
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Kane's Doughnut House opened in 1955. They are best known for their giant coffee rolls. This sign flashes on and off at night. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
South Paw Donuts features this giant donut sign. The store has been here since at least the 1990s. The Six O One Donut Shop is named after its address (601 South Broadway Street). The building is a former gas station. |
| Maple Donuts York, PA |
Maple Donuts Etters, PA |
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| The Maple Donuts chain started in 1946. As far as I know, of the four locations in Southcentral PA, only these two have the giant donuts. The Etters location also has this giant donut mailbox. |
| Top Pot Doughnuts Seattle, WA |
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The horizontal Top Pot Doughnuts sign was salvaged from a local Chinese restaurant. It originally read "Top Spot" but when the "S" fell off after several years in storage, the owners decided to go with "Top Pot" as the name for their new doughnut shop in 2002.
Their second location also features a repurposed sign. This vertical sign is from the 1940s and originally hung at Western Outfitters in Yakima, WA. In 2003, the sign was restored and the text adapted for Top Pot Doughnuts. The bucking bronco was left intact and the neon bounces back and forth between two mirror images. In 2005, Top Pot Doughnuts opened their third location in a former gas station. The giant doughnut on the roof serves as their sign. Top Pot opened two more locations in 2008 but I believe those are modern signs. For more, see 1, 2,3, 4, and 5. |
| Twin Donuts Allston, MA |
Dunkin' Donuts [gone] Quincy, MA |
Dunkin' Donuts [gone] Brighton, MA |
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Twin Donuts opened in 1953. The name came from the store owner's twin sons which were born that same year.
The Quincy Dunkin' Donuts opened in 1950 and was the company's first location. This reproduction of a 1950 photo was found at a Dunkin' Donuts in Wells, ME. Today, Dunkin' has over 5,000 stores worldwide. The Brighton Dunkin' Donuts sign was from 1957. It was the last of the original signs. In 2008, the sign was taken down and replaced with a plastic box sign. The last I heard, the old sign was in a sign yard waiting for a buyer. [photo thanks DinerFan] For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. |
|
Donut Signs page 1 |
Donut Signs page 3 |
Donut Signs page 4 |
Dawn Donuts | Mister Donut |
| Main SCA Page | Main Signs Page |
| RoadsideArchitecture.com |