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Plastic Vacuum-Formed Illuminated Signs

Wink – The Sassy One – Canada Dry – Sun Hotel – South Scranton, PA

© Frank H. Jump

© Frank H. Jump

Six weeks since the Sun went down, Scranton police Officer Jill Foley drove her cruiser through a silent South Side on patrol Wednesday night looking for some sign, any sign of crime. – Denis J. O’Malley – Times Tribune, July 3, 2011

Today, I was also looking for a sign on Cedar Avenue. I found several. Not the kind of signs for which Officer Jill Foley was looking. Apparently, this once bustling late-19th-century neighborhood is now safer and quieter since this hotel has closed. Reviews on Google for this hotel are hilarious.

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The guy in the front with the Harley-Davidson claims to have done the lettering on this sign “too many years ago to remember when.” Within one block, there were many signs of a previous life on Cedar Avenue that was not so nefarious and sleazy. The South Side, as it is called in Scranton, can use a comeback. But then again, so can the North Side and the Middle Side. Scranton has some great architectural and advertising remnant treasures which indicate it once had quite a hey-day. Like most of America’s cities, Scranton is waiting for a second wind.

Duke University Libraries

Vintage ad – circa 1966 – CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE

https://youtu.be/Tf87At_mQW8

“Get a POP POP tingle with Wink.” – Ann-Margret in a vintage 1960s Canada Dry Wink commercial.