Roadgeekin' in the Alleghenies - Part II

Yesterday it was back to the Pittsburgh International Airport for the flight back to Denver. Since we got a few shots from Pittsburgh to Morgantown on the way in, seems only fitting to get a few on the way back. As always, click the photo to see a larger version.


WVDOT loves big highway shields!


Mismatched Interstate shields. The I-68 has a big number font and no state name, while the I-79 uses a thinner, smaller font and includes the state name.


Driving west on I-68, approaching the end of the highway where you can go either north or south onto I-79.


There is no END Interstate 68 sign, but this is it! West end of 68.


Now we are northbound on I-79. That change in pavement is where WVDOT maintenance ends and PaDOT takes over...in other words the state line. This is also the Mason-Dixon Line that demarcates the borders between southern Pennsylvania and West Virginia; Pennsylvania and Maryland; and where it turns southward, the border between Maryland and Delaware. The defining of the line also finally settled for good the issue of dispute in Cresap's War, a shooting war in the early 1700s between Maryland and Pennsylvania.

I also call this picture, "Welcome to Pennsylvania, Land of Lots O' Signs".


Buckle up for safety!


Slow down partner! PA maximum speed limit is 65, instead of the 70 we could legally travel in West Virginia.


Finally! Pennsylvania sees fit to welcome me a few hundred feet into the state.


Nearing Washington, PA, we see where we will join I-70 for a short duplex of the two highways through town.


Clearview font in view.


La la la...just drivin' along.


Told you we were on a duplexed stretch of road! So there!


Interesting coincidence...Exit 19 is US Highway 19.


End of the duplex. I was tempted to keep going on I-70 on to Denver, but alas, I had a rental car that had to be returned to the good folks at Thrifty at Pittsburgh International. Oh well! Onto the ramp we go to continue up I-79 North.


Wow, I didn't know I was this close to Houston! The other town mentioned on this sign, Eighty Four, PA is famous as the namesake of 84 Lumber.

Long Live the Drive-In Theater!

A rapidly disappearing bit of American life is holding on in Grafton, West Virginia . . . the drive-in theater. There are not many of these outdoor movie venues still operating across the country, and even in Denver, the Cinderella Drive-In has met its demise just a few short weeks ago. Land is just too valuable in urban areas to make operating a drive-in profitable. Plus, there are so many other things that are vying for our entertainment dollars, including the ability to buy and rent movies at home.

Yet, the drive-in remains in a few places, and seems to particularly have its best chance in small towns. The Grafton Drive-In still operates to the best of my knowledge. However, it is closed for the season. This small theater is across US 119 from the Mail Pouch Barn in the previous post. Here are some pictures. As always, click the photo for a larger version. Enjoy.



Marquee for the Grafton Drive-In


Entrance / Box Office and "big" screen


Projection building and movie screen - Notice the red barn in the background

A Roadside Advertising Relic

Mail Pouch Tobacco barn just outside Grafton, WV - Click photo for larger view

One thing generated by a capitalist economy is advertising. I would not be surprised to learn that the Roman Colosseum could have had signs advertising "Flavius' Chariot Repair Shop". Wherever people are trying to reach markets and sell products, advertising is inevitable.

One place where advertising has been prevalent over the years is the American highway. Everything from the sequential roadside poetry for Burma Shave to billboards encouraging motorists to stop and see the two-headed calf, have graced the side of the highway over the last century. One such advertising medium has been the sides and roofs of barns.

I remember seeing such barn signs promoting Meramec Caverns (Jesse James' Hideout) in Missouri; to "See 7 States from Rock City"; to the product whose ad is still barely visible on this barn in Grafton . . . Mail Pouch Tobacco. For 102 years, starting in 1890, the Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company of Wheeling, West Virginia, advertised their Mail Pouch brand on barns across several states. The farmer lucky enough to have a barn near a highway would get his barn painted, along with a small payment, to allow the tobacco firm to use the barn as an advertising sign.

I don't know the vintage of the sign on this barn, but I imagine it has been many years, since the sign is so faded. Still, it was an interesting find. This one is visible on US 119 South just before you come to Grafton.

CLICK HERE to read more about the Mail Pouch Barns on Wikipedia.