One more batch from Champaign

 

Albert Eisner, Wholesale Grocer, opened a 

number of Piggly Wiggly stores, before

being consumed by what is now Jewel.

If there was a name of the company whose

motto is "Honesty Best Policy" we didn't

see it. Insurance best guess.

Stoltey Garage

 

Stoltey Garage, a full service auto 

care company in an 1898 building.

Checking Google StreetView, we see 

there's something under the vines too.

How do we know the history of this?

Info courtesy of the Mass Transit District

which does more than just run buses.

Playing Hard to Get

We spotted this from afar...

And alas, could not get a good view of it.

But, we're not disappointed as it probably

isn't very old to begin with.

However, on the front of the building, we made

some interesting discoveries.

We found out a little bit about Fred A. Finder.

And apparently he was a plumber, at least until 1950.

Sometime after that, the building housed antiques. 
It's empty now.

Historical Retail of Champaign

 

Can you tell what this one says?

Even with the zoom-in, it's difficult.

Cash

or

Credit

Then there's the Greenman's,

with the old sign sitting atop

something much newer.

Can you tell what this is?

Ms. J. Fiesta had to tell us.

Zooming in to the bottom

for a hint.

How about another angle?

A&P Grocery

(The sign is at 118 E. University.

We don't know where the store was.)

Another blast of Champaign

There's a lot going on on this one building, 

so let's zoom in to different sections.

At the very top: unreadable.

At the top: unreadable?

Followed by what appears

to be two vertical... COAL,

both small and large.

We're going to guess WAGNER and SON

On the eastern side of the building,

a giant arrow, pointing to the front.

We featured the southern face

of this same building yesterday,

but let's take a closer look.

Along the top

we found this.

And just a hint of a box.

Whatever was inside is gone now.

Champaign, Illinois

 

Let's just jump right in with a couple of refreshes.

(Although, this Twin-City Ice is actually in Urbana.)

What's the difference?

Well, it's only Champaign if it's a midwestern

city with a large university in it.

Otherwise, it's just sparkling Urbana.

Not every ghost sign here has been lovingly restored.

As a matter of fact, some are in downright poor shape.

But, there are plenty in good condition, and 

in the coming days, we'll visit them.

Reader submissions

 

First, this entry from Quebec, captured by Ms. J. Woll.

And then two sent by Ms. J. Fiesta in Chicago.

Last of the Vacation Shots

Downtown Marietta, Ohio

We found this completely by mistake, having missed the turn for the bypass.
 

The next entry should be your reader submissions...

Tobacco Road

 

We left Wheeling shortly after capturing all 

those Marsh Stogie signs, and heading south

off to the right we saw another complex of 

tobacco related buildings.

(They were distant, and we were moving, so these aren't 

the greatest photos, but trust us, they say

Mail Pouch from the Bloch Brothers.)

Little did we know what awaited us.

We followed the Ohio River back to Cincinnati,

and every few miles, we found a Mail Pouch sign.

By now, everyone knows the story

behind the famous Mail Pouch signs.

There were a couple we missed, because

they came up quickly, and there was

no room to turn around on this

two-lane highway.

But every few miles, we found another.

To back up a bit...

Long time readers will recall finding

Mail Pouch tobacco barns during a 

trip to Pennsylvania.

Thanks to Ms. J. Fiesta, we finally

captured the one we missed in 2022.