October 2025 — The Pillsbury A-Mill, completed in 1881 on the east bank of the Mississippi River, was once the largest flour mill in the world and a symbol of Minneapolis’s dominance in global grain production. Designed by architect LeRoy Buffington and engineer William de la Barre, the mill harnessed the power of St. Anthony Falls to grind over 5,000 barrels of flour a day at its peak. Its innovative use of water turbines, reinforced limestone walls, and massive storage elevators represented the cutting edge of 19th-century milling technology. Today, the restored complex — now repurposed as artist lofts — stands as a National Historic Landmark and a reminder of the city’s industrial ingenuity.

June 2025 — SoHo Cafe on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis during major road construction.

June 2025 — Patrons sit outside the Bryant Lake Bowl on Lake Street on a summer night.

March 2025 — Lighting on the Waldforf Towers Hotel in South Beach.

March 2025 — Colony Hotel sign in South Beach, Miami Florida.

March 2025 — The Starlite Hotel lit up at night during 2025 Spring Break in South Beach.

March 2025 — The Starlite hotel neon sign in South Beach, Florida.

July 2024 — Showboat Saloon in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

March 2024 — Whiskey Junction bar on Cedar Ave without the longtime Jack Daniels mural. The bar closed in 2017 and was bought months later by The Joint Bar next door.

January 2024 — Orpheum Theatre on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. January 2024.

September 2023 — Beetlejuice at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis in September 2023.

September 2023 — Neon sign on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis.

May 2023 — Franklin-Nicollet Liquor Store in Minneapolis.

March 2023 — The iconic neon sign of Yodobashi Camera’s head store in Shinjuku is seen from street level, with its mix of Japanese and English lettering. The large retro-style signage, lined with anti-bird spikes, reflects the store’s long-standing presence as one of Tokyo’s biggest electronics retailers. Yodobashi Camera’s Shinjuku West Exit location serves as the flagship branch, anchoring the city’s vast camera and tech shopping district.

December 2022 — One of the few surviving original McDonald’s neon signs still standing in the United States is located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Installed during the era before the Golden Arches fully defined the brand, the sign features “Speedee,” the chain’s early mascot introduced in the 1950s to promote the company’s streamlined “Speedee Service System.” The illuminated red-and-yellow marquee—advertising hamburgers and boasting “Over 100 Million Sold”—reflects the rapid national expansion of the franchise during its formative years. Today it serves as both a functioning restaurant sign and a preserved piece of mid-century fast-food history.

December 2022 — The glowing neon “EAT” sign at Al’s Hamburgers stands out against the snowy backdrop of winter in Minneapolis. The sign, with its bright mid-century colors and bold lettering, has been part of the business’s identity since the diner opened in 1934. Its classic styling reflects the era when small neighborhood restaurants relied on eye-catching storefront signs to draw in passing traffic. Light snow gathers on the striped awning below, adding a seasonal layer to one of the area’s longstanding local landmarks.

November 2022 — Lyn-Lake Barber Shop on Lyndale Avenue in South Minneapolis.

July 2022 — A classic vertical “PARK” marquee glows in red and magenta neon, marking one of downtown Minneapolis’s older parking structures that date back to the mid-20th century. These illuminated signs were once a staple of the city’s core, guiding drivers through the dense commercial grid before digital wayfinding and modern garages became standard. Many of these vintage markers survive as quiet architectural artifacts, attached to early high-rise buildings constructed during the postwar retail boom. Their hand-bent tubing and heavy steel housings reflect a period when neon craftsmanship was central to the city’s nighttime identity, especially along corridors near Nicollet Avenue, Hennepin Avenue, and the warehouse district.

July 2022 — The large yellow “NSP” letters seen here belong to the historic Northern States Power Company generating station in Red Wing, Minnesota. Perched along the Mississippi River just north of downtown, the plant was once a key part of the regional electrical grid operated by NSP—now Xcel Energy. Although much of the facility has been retired or repurposed, the tall brick stacks and the weathered rooftop lettering remain some of the most recognizable industrial features on Red Wing’s riverfront. Built in the mid-20th century, the station reflects an era when coal-fired plants lined major waterways to take advantage of cooling capacity and barge-delivered fuel. The surrounding corridor, including the nearby railway and grain terminals, has long formed one of Red Wing’s primary industrial zones. Today, while the plant no longer plays the role it once did, the NSP letters survive as a visual marker of the city’s energy-production past.

June 2022 — Brit's Pub on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.

May 2022 — CC Club, Lyndale Ave in Minneapolis.

May 2022 — The Hi-Lo Diner’s stainless-steel façade and glowing neon sign stand out against the night along East Lake Street, where one of Minneapolis’s most recognizable retro landmarks continues to operate inside a restored 1950s Fodero dining car. The interior’s purple and blue lighting reflects off the ribbed metal siding, giving the building the classic mid-century glow that made roadside diners iconic across the United States. Originally built in New Jersey, this particular dining car was transported to Minnesota and fully refurbished before reopening in 2016. Its presence on Lake Street connects several eras of the corridor’s history—from early automobile culture and mid-century roadside design to Lake Street’s longstanding role as a diverse commercial spine lined with independent businesses, bars, and restaurants. Today, the Hi-Lo remains both a neighborhood gathering spot and a small architectural artifact representing the golden age of American diners.

May 2022 — Lowry Hill Liquor Store on Hennepin Ave in Minneapolis.

April 2022 — Dulono's Pizza in downtown Minneapolis

January 2022 — Liquor Lyle's bar & restaurant on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis.

December 2021 — Stella's Fish Cafe restaurant on Lake Street in Uptown Minneapolis during a December snowfall.

November 2021 — Treat Yo Self neon sign on Lake Street

July 2021 — Mill Ruins Park near downtown Minneapolis with Canadian wildfire smoke.

July 2021 — The former Pillsbury flour mill near downtown Minneapolis. It's since been renovated into condos.

September 2020 — Cowboy Slims bar at Hennepin and Lagoon in Uptown Minneapolis.

August 2020 — The former Pillsbury mills on the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis.

August 2020 — On the day Cup Foods re-opened, owner Mahmoud Abumayyaleh looks out at the memorial in front of his store where George Floyd was killed on May 25th, 2020.

June 2020 — Midtown Exchange, Minneapolis

May 2020 — Downtown Minneapolis as seen from Boom Island in May 2020. Gold Medal Flour and Northstar Blankets neon signs visible across the Mississippi River.

May 2020 — A neon sign in downtown Minneapolis that reads "PARK HERE".

May 2020 — West River Parkway and the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis.

May 2020 — The Nicollet Island Inn, a landmark along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, occupies a 19th-century brick and limestone structure originally built in the 1890s as an industrial facility. Converted into a hotel and restaurant in the 1970s, it retains its historic character with exposed stone walls and vintage architectural details. Illuminated signage and soft outdoor lighting highlight the inn’s distinctive facade, with the iconic Pillsbury’s Best Flour sign visible across the river, linking the scene to the city’s milling heritage.

March 2020 — A large Jack Daniels mural on the Whiskey Junction building on Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis. The bar has been closed since at least 2020

January 2020 — Ice covered skyway windows in downtown Minneapolis.

December 2019 — This neon sign once promoted the California Zephyr, one of the most celebrated passenger trains of the postwar era. First introduced in 1949, the train linked Chicago to the San Francisco Bay Area, offering panoramic views of the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada. The glowing red lettering, paired with imagery of a bridge, skyline, and streamlined locomotive, reflects the optimism of mid-20th-century American rail travel and the romance of crossing the continent in comfort and style.

December 2019 — A neon sign glows above the entrance to Felix’s Sea Foods. The restaurant is a well-known spot in New Orleans’ French Quarter, recognized for its oysters and casual seafood dining.

October 2019 — Ronny’s Original Steak House, a longtime fixture of Chicago’s Loop dining scene, glows under its vintage neon sign at night. Founded in 1963, the cafeteria-style steakhouse has served generations of downtown workers, theatergoers, and travelers from its no-frills location near the CTA Red Line and City Hall. Its tufted green booths, mirrored walls, and steady stream of regulars evoke an earlier era of affordable downtown dining—one of the few survivors of mid-century Loop eateries that once defined the city’s commercial core.

October 2019 — The illuminated marquee of the Jewelers Center glows along South Wabash Avenue in Chicago’s historic Jewelers Row District. Located at 5 S Wabash, this 1920s-era Art Deco building is home to more than 180 independent jewelers and gem traders, many specializing in custom design and repair. The tower, part of the landmark Mallers Building, stands within the Loop’s long tradition of craftsmanship and trade that dates back to the city’s early commercial boom. At night, the neon-lit sign continues to evoke Chicago’s mid-century downtown energy, linking the modern financial core with its industrial and artisanal past.

September 2019 — The First National Bank Building shown in Downtown Minneapolis.

September 2019 — Neon lights at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

September 2019 — A neon sign for Angelo’s Pizza glows against the brick facade of a building in Midtown Manhattan. The Italian restaurant, located near the Ed Sullivan Theater, adds to the neighborhood’s mix of nightlife and dining spots illuminated after dark.

September 2019 — The neon marquee of NBC Studios glows outside 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan. The sign, also advertising the Rainbow Room and the building’s observation deck, marks the entrance to the historic headquarters of the television network.

August 2019 — The iconic Pepsi-Cola sign glows in red neon along the East River waterfront in Long Island City, Queens. The landmark sign, originally installed in 1936, now stands in front of modern residential towers and remains a prominent feature of the New York City skyline.