Thursday, November 13, 2008

Bells & Vaughn Neon

I'm posting this because I like the sign. It says, "Bells & Vaughn Frame & Wheel Aligning." I don't know a thing about Bells & Vaughn, or about frame and wheel aligning for that matter. But get a load of that sign, willya?

I looked up Bells & Vaughn and they have a nice website. It's all about their collision repair facility on Allen Avenue. Thing is, this sign is at 1821 Walnut, a location not mentioned on the website, where they apparently don't do collision repair but frame and wheel aligning.

So I don't get it. But that's okay. Like I said, I don't understand frame and wheel aligning anyway, except to know it's necessary. In a car. I know that much at least.

31 comments:

USelaine said...

I like it too. I keep hoping our Rexall drugstore will light up its neon sign, but so far no luck.

Dina said...

I'd say the sign need aligning.
I love how you squeeze a whole smile-bringing post from it.

Anonymous said...

The sign is a lot nicer than most that I get to see around here for the finest shops and restaurants.

Pat said...

There are a lot of these signs in Seattle, and every time I see one, I snap away. I think they're great; remind me of when I was little. So that's telling you how old I am, almost!

Hope said...

I just love this sign...so very retro!

Thérèse said...

It must be even more striking at night. Did you notice it at night or during the day?

Sharon said...

That is a great sign. I'm finding that I've acquired a new appreciation for these old neon and bulb lighted signs.

Vanda said...

That is a great sign. I've come across a few good ones too in my journeys in the Valley. One just says "eat".

Katie said...

Love the vintage signage! And of course the blue Pasadena sky looks great too. I think old signs are like little trips back in time. Wouldn't necessarily want to live in the past, but it's always fun to visit.

Petrea Burchard said...

usElaine, do you have one of the old-fashioned Rexall signs?

Dina: maybe I could hold the camera straighter.

Abraham, Brookville looks rural through your lens, with birds and bugs and beauty, I don't think of it with signs!

Bibi, are you in Seattle now? If so, I hope you're having a great visit. I'll check blogs at Kim's and Chuck's to see.

Nice new shot, Hope.

Therese, I don't think it lights up at night but I'll go by to check for sure.

Me too, Sharon. Since I started photographing Pasadena, I appreciate certain details more than I did before.

There are some good ones in the San Fernando Valley, Vanda. You're just the person to photograph them.

Right, Katie. If we lived there it wouldn't have that retro chic!

Margaret said...

Is it just me, or does it remind anyone else of the In-n-Out signs?

Anonymous said...

I believe this is where the kid who bought my first car from me, took it the 3rd day he owned it, after parking it on a sidewalk and doing some decent damage to the frame.

Boy work is different than frame work, or wheel alignment. What they did to my first sweet car is put it on a rack, to get it as close to true as possible. Think about this---take a paperclip, bend it out so it is a square (ish, I nearly failed geometry). Then ram the clip into something and notice how the "frame" bends and what you have to do to get it back to "square".

That, is frame aligning in a nutshell.

John Sandel said...

I saw a guy do that to a typewriter once.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

ooops, don't know what happened with my typing.

Unknown said...

meant to say...I love it! Thanks for showing Petrea!

Pascal Jim said...

In the automotive arena, this is a well respected firm. In Pasadena many years. Neon not bad, could use some dusting....

Saretta said...

Very 1950s, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

I think there was a rule back in the day that all signs had to have a fabulous blinking yellow arrow pointing at the business. In case you were lost.

HERE IT IS! --------------->


(good rule!)

Profile Not Available said...

It is a good looking sign! Do they still light it up at night?

Anonymous said...

Did I miss something? do they keep lit at night? I came this close to needing their services last night. Heavy sigh!

T Thompson said...

Wonderfully retro - but they do need to get up there with a few new bulbs (and yellow one's this time!!)

Great pic.

Christie said...

Nice signage from the 50's, wouldn't you say?

They did know how to attract attention with signs then, didn't they!

Ms M said...

Very cool sign. And there's something poetic about "Bells & Vaughn" -- the way it sounds...

Laurie Allee said...

Oh, this is great, P. I'd lvoe to see it all lit up...

Petrea Burchard said...

It's that arrow, Margaret. Gotta be.

I think we're all agreeing that we like it but it needs a dust-up and some new bulbs. I don't know if it lights up at night but I guess I'd better go check it out, huh?

I'm thinkin' 50's. It's only a guess, but it's too retro to be 60's and too modern to be 40's, so...yeah. We have a consensus.

John Sandel said...

No, really, I did. Some underground typewriter repairtroll, in college. Clamped my old manual Olympia, which I'd dropped, onto his workbench, grabbed a rubber mallet and WHANG!—whacked it back into true.

"That'll be twenty-five dollars."

I don't know why you people don't believe me when I tell you these things.

Anonymous said...

bernie---reminds me of the story my mother-in-law told years ago.

The TV stopped working. She took it into the "TV repair shop".

She came back a week later and they told her it was fixed and it would be $88. She asked what it was they had done for her $88.

The clerk said "they put a wand inside of the TV and fixed it".

My m-i-l said "So you wanded it for $88?"

Yup.

Now anytime something is magically fixed, we "wanded it".

Too bad you can't take a mallet to laptops you drop!

John Sandel said...

Whoosez I can't—? Long's it's runnin' Vista, I'm ready.

John Sandel said...

BTW, I believe in wanding. Or dowsing.
Whatever.

Petrea Burchard said...

Sounds like they repaired your mother's TV with magic, Trish.