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email: agilitynut@hotmail.com |
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| Donut Signs (page 3) |
(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)
| The Krispy Kreme chain has been around since 1937. They have stores nationwide, as well as in Canada, the UK, Australia, and Mexico. This appears to be an earlier 1950s version of their signs. Krispy Kreme is now producing box-like buildings and plastic signs. For more, see their website. |
| Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Akron, OH |
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Chattanooga, TN |
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The Akron Krispy Kreme Doughnuts sign is the oldest one that I know of in existence. It is probably from the 1950s. The company had at least three other sign styles from the 1950s: 1, 2, and 3.
The Chattanooga location has an example of their sign that was developed in the 1960s. This location's building from the same time also has a rooftop crown. These crown signs are outlined with red neon. |
| Krispy Kreme Louisville, KY |
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Hampton, VA |
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This Louisville location features this old sign. There is no rooftop crown.
This Hampton location has an old building with a rooftop crown. The old pole sign has been replaced with a modern one. |
| Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Spartanburg, SC |
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| This Spartanburg building has been vacant since around 2006. There is a new location directly across the street. For more, see this website. |
| Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Atlanta, GA |
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Albany, GA |
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This Atlanta location on Ponce de Leon is open 24 hours. I believe this is the oldest location in Atlanta.
This Albany location is another example of the company's older building style with the rooftop crown sign. This location has a modern pole sign. |
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More Krispy Kreme Signs & Buildings:
Gainesville, FL: 1, 2 Jacksonville, FL [gone] Pensacola, FL [gone] Tampa, FL [building still there, sign gone?] Augusta, GA [modern sign] Macon, GA Savannah, GA Fayetteville, NC Raleigh, NC North Myrtle Beach, SC Bristol, TN [gone] Nashville, TN If you know of any other old buildings or signs, I'd love to hear about them. |
| Shipley Do-Nuts was established in 1936 and opened its first retail store in Houston in the 1940s. They now sell 63 varieties of donuts at nearly 200 stores in AL, AR, LA, MS, TN, NM, and TX. 86 of these locations are in the Houston area. For more, see their website. |
| Shipley Do-Nuts Houston, TX |
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| The Shipley Do-Nuts on Ella Boulevard opened in 1963 and is the oldest location left. The signs are the originals and the only neon Shipley signs that remain. For more, see this website. |
| Shipley Do-Nuts North Little Rock, AR |
Shipley Do-Nuts Terrell, TX |
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| Shipley Do-Nuts Tupelo, MS |
Shipley Do-Nuts Nacogdoches, TX |
Shipley Do-Nuts Nacogdoches, TX |
Shipley Do-Nuts Alexandria, LA |
Shipley Do-Nuts Alexandria, LA |
Shipley Do-Nuts Beaumont, TX |
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| Shipley Do-Nuts Vicksburg, MS |
Shipley Do-Nuts Hattiesburg, MS |
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The North Little Rock location has a plastic and neon pole sign. I have not seen another one like it. They mid-century roofline looks a lot like the old Tastee-Freez diamond-roofed buildings. The sign and building make me wonder if this was a pre-existing business that Shipley took over.
The Terrell location building appears to be a former Mister Swiss. For more, see this website. The Tupelo, Nacogdoches, Alexandria, Beaumont, Vicksburg, and Hattiesburg locations have examples of their later plastic signs. For more, see this website. [first Nacogdoches location photo thanks Exquisitely Bored in Nacogdoches] |
| Haskell Donuts Monroe, MS |
Starks Barbecue Shreveport, LA |
Irish Maid Do-Nuts Fort Smith, AR |
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I believe Haskell Donuts has two other locations in Monroe but I don't know if they have this same old sign. This metal sign might have been inspired by Shipley Do-Nuts' signs (see below). This photo was supposedly taken near Shreveport and I would assume this sign is from the same chain.
Starks Barbecue must have originally been a donut shop. Does anyone know what the name of it was? This Irish Maid Do-Nuts appears to be another adapted or inspired-by Shipley Do-Nuts sign. The shop moved to a mall location sometime between 2010 and when this photo was taken in 2012. This sign was brought along. The Irish Maid Do-Nuts in Pine Bluff, AR has this same style sign. I don't know of any other locations. For more, see this website. |
| Carl's Do-Nut Shop Pomona, CA |
Jessie's Donuts River Oaks, TX |
Dutch Maid Do-Nut Shop Haltom City, TX |
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Carl's Do-Nut Shop's sign might also have been inspired by other donut-shaped signs. This one has the wavy edge around the donut like the original Houston Shipley sign above.
The Jessie's Donuts also has a slightly wavy edge like the Houston Shipley Donuts sign. Perhaps this is an adapted Shipley's sign? Jessie's has been here since at least the 1970s. This Dutch Maid Do-Nut Shop sign is the only cruller shaped sign that I know of. It seems this was a local chain but I don't think there are any locations left with signs like this. |
| Fox's Donut Den Nashville, TN |
Harlow's Donuts [gone] Memphis, TN |
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Fox's Donut Den was founded in 1973. The store moved to this location in 1977. It was then that owner Norman Fox bought this sign for $1,200 from a Harlow's Honey Fluff Donuts in Memphis. The chain had other locations in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and possibly Illinois as well. This vintage photo of Harlow's is from one of their locations in the early 1990s. The name on the sign was changed to Fox's but the rest of the lettering and the Dutch boy were kept. The Fox's sign features animated, rolling neon donut circles which I believe were part of the Honey Fluff sign.
The Fox's sign was removed in 2009 when the strip mall where the store is located was remodeled. There were plans to replace the sign with an updated version. However, support for the old sign was so strong that it was refurbished and reinstalled (bottom photo). For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [Harlow's photo thanks Julie Wilson] |
| Gibson's Donuts Memphis, TN |
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| Gibson's Donuts opened around 1973 at this former Honey Fluff Donuts. The sign on the building was originally built for Honey Fluff. It probably had a Dutch Boy originally like the Fox's Donut Den sign above. The donut circles are animated. I don't know if the pole sign was built for Gibson's or was also adapted from Honey Fluff. Both of these signs were repainted around 2009 (first photo from 2007; right photos from 2010). This has been the only Gibson's location. It is open 24 hours a day. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. |
| Howard's Donuts West Memphis, AR |
Shelton's Donuts [gone?] Memphis, TN |
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This Howard's Donuts in West Memphis opened in the early 1970s as a Harlow's Honey Fluff Donuts. When the Harlow's chain folded in 1982, the name of the store was changed to Howard's. I don't know if this sign was built then or if it was adapted. Howard's opened about six or seven other locations over the years. There are still a few around but they are independently operated now. For more, see this website.
According to a Memphis history expert, the broken sign shown above is located at the site of a former Shelton's Donuts which is long gone. The design appears identical to the Howard's and Gibson's signs but I have not been able to find any evidence of a relationship. This photo is from 2007. I believe the sign is gone now. |
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Donut Signs page 1 |
Donut Signs page 2 |
Donut Signs page 4 |
Dawn Donuts | Mister Donut |
| Main SCA Page | Main Signs Page |
| RoadsideArchitecture.com |