Coca-Cola first arrived in Hopkinsville in 1916. This building was constructed in 1931 and housed a Coca-Cola Bottling Company plant. It appears to be mostly industrial looking aside from the distinct main entry surround and the great carved stone panel carrying the Coca-Cola logo. The building served as the central bottling operations until 1965. You will find it on East 9th Street in Hopkinsville, KY

The theatre opened in 1928 and then briefly closed in 1929 to make changes to transition to "talkie" sound films. The theatre was recognized for it beauty, versatility in serving early silent films, sound films, vaudeville acts and also had one of the city's first air-cooling systems. Today it serves as a community performance space. It's easy to spot on South Main Street in Hopkinsville, KY

This piece of local advertising history sits on top of the 1951 location of the insurance agency, which was founded in 1929, in the Cayce-Yost Company building which was constructed in 1894. The signs metal construction has aided it's survival through decades of weather and downtown remodeling. It stands as a rare artifact of mid-century advertising. You'll have to look for it, perched high on the back of the building on East 10th Street in Hopkinsville, KY

Built in 1894, this building was originally occupied by a business called The Racket. By 1897, F.A. Yost & Co. had moved in selling horse tack and other leather goods before forming the Cayce-Yost partnership in 1910. The F.A. Yost Co. ghost sign is a faded reminder of the 1897-1910 use of this historic building. You can see it, just barely, on East 10th Street in Hopkinsville, KY

This sign stands in front of the main location for this long-standing family-owned dry cleaning and garment care business. The cleaners opened in 1984 and has two locations in town. They stand as one of the few surviving traditional dry cleaners in the area. You can see this unique building and great vintage sign on South Virginia Street in Hopkinsville, KY

This building was constructed in 1898 by brothers Gus and John Young to house their new hardware company which operated for 120 years until closing in 2018. The sign has several layers with the Young's Hardware Co. name prominently in two spots along with "Has Stood The Test". You'll spot it on the side of the historic building on East 6th Street in Hopkinsville, KY

Above the S. Sacks ghost sign on this building is a sign advertising Red Spot Paints. The sign reads "For Every Purpose Red Spot Paints sold by Young Hardware Co.". The hardware store operated from 1898 until 2018 in a historical building a few streets over on 6th Street. You can see this piece of advertising history on East 9th Street in Hopkinsville, KY

There are layers of ghost signage on this building. The bottom of sign has what's left of an advertisement for "Saddles & Bridles S. Sacks". The S. Sacks building was constructed in 1908. Sacks operated an agricultural trade business where local farmers brought raw materials to merchants like Sacks to sell or trade. Some time after WWII the store transitioned to selling military goods and this was likely when the U.S. Army Goods portion of the sign was added which reads "U.S.

Serving hamburgers at this location since 1936 in their "Snappy Service" style. The chain began in 1929 and at it's peak had about a dozen locations. There are 3, including this one, surviving. The place is roughly the size of a generous walk-in closet, but the size of the building hasn't seemed to slow them down. It's roughly 647 square feet with a counter and about 8 stools where you sit at the counter and watch your food being prepared on a flat top grill. The burgers are

This historic sign is on a building that was constructed in 1906-1907 and houses the Hopkinsville Milling Company, the last active mill in the city of Hopkinsille. The "Sunflour It's Best" advertisement was placed in 1907. The large painted "Sunflour" building sign and towering grain elevators serve as a prominent landmark in the area. You'll find it on East 21st Street in Hopkinsville, KY

A rare surviving example of the retro "M" double golden arches with the classic Hamburgers served lettering. These signs were built from the early 1960's up until around 1970 and this McDonald's has been around since the 1960's. The building was updated in 2013 but the vintage sign was, thankfully, left standing. There aren't a lot of them left so if you are nearby, stop in and see it on Fort Campbell Boulevard in Hopkinsville, KY

This vintage advertising sign was likely added to this 1919 historic building around 1964 when the Furniture Store opened. The sign painted onto the bricks reads "Bill Beliles Discount furniture Nationally Advertised". The store closed in 2018 but the historic property and its classic signage remain. You'll see it on East 9th Street in Hopkinsville, KY

This restaurant opened in 1973 as the Lincoln Street Cafe by Don "London" Martin. He was nicknamed after his birthplace. Over time patrons began referring to the cafe as "London's place" and after an ownership change in 2009, the business was named to simply "London's". The restaurant is in a historic 1930's building which could have lead to the installation of the vintage sign. You'll see it on North Wall Street in Tullahoma, TN

I'm not sure how this classic pizza-holding mascot ended up in front of this Little Caesars store. The 12 foot fiberglass statues were introduced in 1962 in Michigan, but the company stopped producing them in the 1980's and this store did not open until some time in the 2000's. Maybe this is just a case of a franchise embracing it's history by refurbishing one of the classic statues or having one made. Whatever the case, it made me smile to see this cool piece of history on d

The Renaissance Hotel is housed in the historic 1925 Pere Marquette building. Keeping with the area's historic character the parking sign is a prime example of classic American vertical neon signage. You'll see it illuminated 24/7 on Common Street in New Orleans, LA

Three generations of a family produce business started by selling fresh produce from their family farm in the French Quarter and transitioned in 1983 into the current day A.J.'s Produce that operates today. They still specialize in local favorites such as the Creole Tomato. The building sign can be seen on Chartres Street in New Orleans, LA

This restaurant, Cafe Sbisa, was established in 1899 and is the third oldest in New Orleans. The 1820's building originated as a ship's chandlery and bordello when sailing vessels lined the nearby riverfront. It also functioned as a bank for sailors. You wouldn't know from the outside that one of the area's oldest fine dining spots is inside. You can visit on Decatur Street in New Orleans, LA

This restaurant, pronounced "two-jacks", is the second oldest in New Orleans. It began in 1856 and has been at it's current location since 1914. The restaurant is famous for introducing the world to several firsts including the Grasshopper cocktail, created behind the unique cypress bar that was shipped over from Paris in 1856. The restaurant also served a mid-day, multi-course feast known as the "butcher's breakfast." The restaurant essentially normalized eating a massive, h

This outhouse is one of many well preserved buildings, on the Laurel Valley Plantation, built between the mid 1800's to the early 1900's from local cypress trees. The buildings served enslaved families and later sharecroppers on the plantation that is still an operating sugar farm today. You can see it at the plantation on Laurel Valley Road in Thibodaux, LA

Similar to the neighboring Rock City's famous barn sign campaign, Ruby Falls owner offered farmers a free coat of paint in exchange for painting their advertisement on the barn roof. The same sign painter, Clark Byers, painted these signs beginning in the 1930's soon after the attraction opened. This one has a Ruby Falls ad on one side and a Rock City ad on the other side that is visible from Interstate 40. This side reads "Ruby Falls Lookout MT Chattanooga". You can see it o