Wednesday, October 27, 2010

A Brief Tour of Iowa

As I mentioned, I made a brief trip into part of Iowa over the weekend. Mostly Iowa City (home of the University of Iowa and its famous Writers' Workshop), but also Mount Vernon.

Engleart theater marquee lit at night
Sporting one of the nicest marquees I've seen, the Englert Theatre offers a range of programs.

Iowa City Gas & Electric name in dime tile floor outside a door
It's always worth it to look down when entering a business in a historic downtown.

B. Patterson in dime tile outside a business door
I love dime tile.

The Blank Honors Center sign at the University of Iowa
An inspired choice of names.

A yellow pumpkin cut as a jack-o-lantern on a porch
A nonconformist pumpkin.

Bridge Community Bank sign in Solon, Iowa
Aagh, my eyes, my eyes! What do all those swooshes mean, and why is the trademark symbol their final destination?

Lincoln Cafe in Mount Vernon, Iowa
If you're ever in Mount Vernon, be sure to eat at the Lincoln Cafe. It's the kind of place you always hope you'll find in a smallish town, where they make everything from scratch instead of waiting for the Sysco truck to drop off something that can be deep-fried.

Coverof a brown Living Bible - Paraphrased
Antique shopping in Iowa is different than it is in Minnesota. This Bible made me wonder if it was meant for those who take the great book literally. Guess not.

Wooden Radio Shack sign
Is it possible to make a quaint Radio Shack sign? Yes.

Antique safety pin box, named Defender Safety Pins with illustrations of knights on horseback
Those must be some extra-long and pointy safety pins.

Bright red barn
Welcome to the nicest rest stop in America, just south of the Minnesota border on I-35. There are two stories inside, with a gift shop, snack bar and tourist info upstairs. I think the Men's Room was in the base of the silo at left.

4 comments:

Michael Leddy said...

I love that movie marquee and the tilework. But what's "dime tile"? A Google search points me back to your post. :)

Daughter Number Three said...

That's so weird! I learned back in the '80s that small white hexagonal tiles are called dime tile, but no one seems to call it that on the Interwebs (except me).

I always assumed it was because the individual tiles were about the size of a dime, but I'm not completely sure if that's the correct reference.

43 and getting it back said...

Why the negative blog on tbe bridge bank sign?

Daughter Number Three said...

Hi, 43 and getting it back. Thanks for stopping by.

It's just a minor commentary on the bank's logo. Swooshes such as these generally have no connection to what the bank does or its identity, so that's one strike against of them. In the case of this logo, they also are visually directing the eye right to the trademark symbol -- not the most important part of a logo, from a content standpoint.