Vintage Signs of South Broad Street

2018 Update: Added the Bambi Cleaners Sign, Dolphin Tavern (redone!) and Musician's Mural (we helped paint Eddie Fisher's hand!)

Bambi Dry Cleaners is at 2439 S Broad. 

This backlit plastic sign with its cheery colorful font and (probably trademark infringing) fawn add some flair to an otherwise monolithic corner building.

Heading north from Bambi, check out the the Philadelphia Gas Works sign  before you cross Tasker Street to see the (recently restored but oddly shaped) Dolphin Tavern sign at 1539 Broad. The once nice (Al Martino sang here!) then sketchy (stripper bar!) is a now nightspot for hip folks who want to dance to DJ’d music.

Though not a sign proper, Mod Betty MUST point out the mural across the street from the Dolphin, celebrating many of Philadelphia’s musical icons. This is the “replacement” mural for the crumbling one located near Pat’s & Geno’s cheesesteaks (9th & Passyunk) and we helped paint some of it! 

2017 / Boot and Saddle Sign updated! Scroll down to see it!

Mod Betty took a different route home after dropping off Retro Roadhusband at the airport the other day, and with the sun shining it seemed like a perfect opportunity to snap some photos of the vintage signs lining one of Philadelphia's main thoroughfares.

You never know when these things will fall down or be demolished, so remember Retro Roadmap Readers - snap those photos while you can!

Meglio Furs

At the corner of Broad and 1400 Wharton, at this time of year the leaves almost obscure this bright and colorful sign from the Meglio Furs store that closed over a decade ago. According to this article on Naked Philly the family owns the real estate and has no intention of selling it.

From looking at different photos that people have shot of the exterior windows, I know someone goes in there occasionally and moves things around a little. Part of me wants them to tidy up the place, and part of me loved peering in the windows and seeing what was just left there, like it was just abandoned for a mysterious reason.

Philip's Restaurant

Two blocks up from Meglio's I discovered the Phillip's Restaurant story when I was researching the Boot & Saddle sign (coming up next) and was fascinated by it. Much like the Meglio's, this long closed restaurant is family owned with no intention of opening up or selling. Just leaving it like this.

This interview from Hidden Philadelphia with Phyllis Muzi, the former proprietess is an interesting glimpse into the restaurant - and I find the part about the fact that the tables and chairs are still set up ready to go, kinda creepy, kinda cool. While I love those stained glass windows I sure did want to peer in and see what it looked like!

While I appreciate the fact that these folks stubbornly won't sell (my Bostonian roots) I do wish they would take care of their places a bit. C'mon folks, this isn't any way to treat your legacy!

Boot & Saddle

Update! Sign has been restored here's the After, scroll down to see the Before:

Here's what it looked like when we first did our sign tour:

From in front of Philips just look north and just on the other block up you'll see the Boot & Saddle sign. While it looks as sadly derelict as the other two, there's good news here, in that the business just reopened as a music venue not even a month ago. You may remember me getting the scoop on this from Len Davidson of Davidson Neon (who we hoped might be able to rehabilitate the sign), but they've decided to keep the sign looking the way it is for now. We wish them luck and thank them for keeping the sign. Maybe their reopening will inspire their neighbors!

So there you have it - a different route home, and all sorts of new old things to discover. Why not try it yourself and see what you come up with!  

Vintage Signs of South Broad Street
(start at the Broad Street Diner and you can walk to them all)