Originally opened as a small roadside diner in 1948, Clifton, NJ’s Tick Tock Diner has become a local institution. With its neon sign beckoning visitors to “Eat Heavy,” this greasy spoon has attracted the likes of Mick Jagger and Jerry Seinfeld. Photo courtesy of sign admirer Barbara “The Jersey Devil” Moss.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Children captivated by a Sylvan Drew Circus billboard, 1931. Photo by Jacob J. Gayer.

Gila monsters and gasoline. Albuquerque, NM, 1963.

Denver, 1950s.

Meet me in St. Louis, 1944.

If you grew up anywhere in the USA in the ’70s and ’80s, you’ve seen this sign: same distinctive font, same size, same position just off of the highway exit, all across the country. Also, an iconic selection of movies!

Petty’s Drive Inn, US Highway 80 between Dallas and Fort Worth, TX, 1942.

Vine Street, Cincinnati, 1925.

At the intersection of signs, celebrities and aliens: Here’s Sigourney Weaver at Tail o’ the Pup in Los Angeles, 1978, one week after shooting wrapped up on her new movie, Alien.

Let’s do one more ‘Then and Now.’ Miami’s Firestone Garage in its 1929 heyday, and today, serving as a Walgreens. Almost a century later, the sign superstructure remains intact.

Let’s set the wayback machine to North Carolina, 1939. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway.

Handlettering (Handbeschriftung), Hamburg, Germany, 1898. Credit: Color by Angelina.

This 1920 Packard van was transformed into a rolling billboard courtesy of a New York City sign-slinger’s impeccable hand-lettering skills. Wow, those really were the days!

Hungry? Let’s vamoose to Taco Bell in the ’70s. How’d you like to build that deluxe menu board today?!

A billboard on Santa Monica Blvd. introducing some new sandwich. Los Angeles, 1974.