Midwest Meanderer

Midwest Meanderer Route 66 and other Americana photography

What a stunner. And beautifully maintained. Anaheim.
05/25/2026

What a stunner. And beautifully maintained. Anaheim.

Not a muffler man, but still had to track this guy down. Roadarch.com says “The Carpeteria carpet store chain was establ...
05/23/2026

Not a muffler man, but still had to track this guy down. Roadarch.com says “The Carpeteria carpet store chain was established in 1960 in Santa Clarita, CA. The company folded in 1999. These statues are about 20 feet tall and have identical faces on both sides. The statue’s hands originally supported a Carpeteria sign with a graphic representation of a roll of carpet. I believe there are only five of these statues left. In addition to these Reno and Las Vegas locations, there is one in North Hollywood, CA and two statues at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, OH. The Las Vegas location had been closed for many years but the sign and statue remained. In 2016, a new flooring business moved in and the statue was repainted” .

Another from the Downey McDonalds, love this style with actual Golden Arches. Too many McD’s are now just bland grey box...
05/22/2026

Another from the Downey McDonalds, love this style with actual Golden Arches. Too many McD’s are now just bland grey boxes. The future is non descript 👎👎

While the giant neon of the Downey McDonalds had several pieces out, so I abstained from new pics, they just don’t look ...
05/21/2026

While the giant neon of the Downey McDonalds had several pieces out, so I abstained from new pics, they just don’t look good, I did discover for the first time a little museum they have off to the side with a lot of Mc History, some memorabilia including this life size Mac Tonight. If you watched TV in the 80s, you are familiar with him. He was a character used in a marketing campaign for McDonald’s restaurants. The character was known for his giant crescent moon head, sunglasses, piano playing, and crooner parody of “Mack the Knife”, which was made famous in the United States by Bobby Darin and character actor Doug Jones was in the costume. You may know him from What We Do in the Shadows, Hellboy and one@of@the recent Star Trek shows.

Reviews so far seem to be “eh, it’s ok, but feels like TV”. I’m still going but not here, it’s in LA. How cool is the ma...
05/20/2026

Reviews so far seem to be “eh, it’s ok, but feels like TV”. I’m still going but not here, it’s in LA. How cool is the marquee here?

High Hat Slang for being left out, condescended to, or otherwise being screwed out of what’s rightfully yours. The “High...
05/19/2026

High Hat
Slang for being left out, condescended to, or otherwise being screwed out of what’s rightfully yours. The “High Hat” can be either given or recieved. (or a motel north of “The Strip” in Vegas. VEGAS!!

Another from Kenosha. Props to them for keeping the sign. Mayer pharmacy still exists, but is no longer under the sign...
05/18/2026

Another from Kenosha. Props to them for keeping the sign. Mayer pharmacy still exists, but is no longer under the sign.

Another gem from Kenosha.
05/17/2026

Another gem from Kenosha.

Sadly still closed due to a fire. Rebuild progress looks slow 🫤
05/16/2026

Sadly still closed due to a fire. Rebuild progress looks slow 🫤

Many Big Boys still exist, though not here. This one stands watch over a parking lot in Mount Olive IL, just off one of ...
05/15/2026

Many Big Boys still exist, though not here. This one stands watch over a parking lot in Mount Olive IL, just off one of the many Route 66 alignments. I’ve done a similar one before, this might be a repeat. Whoopsy. fiberglassgiant ipulledoverforthis roadsideattraction everything_signage trb_members1 trb_rurex trb_ipoft_signs americana vanishingamerica fiberglassman usagiants style_and_decay pocket_hdr trb_ipoft_signs roadside_america RoadsideOddities americangiants insearchofquirk tgjmufflerman backroad_visions tgjillinois insearchofquirk oddballu tgjbigboy tgjones66

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1494 Miner St, Des Plaines, IL 60016-4603, United States
Des Plaines, IL
60016-4603

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