Could This Be An Alligator Sign?

No, this is not sign for strangely shaped alligators, it's actually a sign for shopping carts at a department store. I thought it looked better if I flipped the photo upside down.

That Explains It All

A sign located in downtown St Paul explaining how an energy plant works.

Tops and Bottoms Half Off

I managed to get out and do some shopping during Black Friday. Not something I normally do, but my kids wanted to experience this new shopping tradition. No, I was not one of those standing in line at 4:00 AM. to get the deal of the day. We had breakfast, got a couple things done around the house, THEN we ventured out to one of the smaller local shopping malls.

Really Fresh Fritzie Fresh

It was there when I took the photo, but this store at the Mall Of America has since closed.

Right Here, Right Now

This is the place to park....indeed it is.

Caution Livestock At Work

One of the many signs that can be found on the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. The State Fair starts this week on Thursday, August 27 and runs through Labor Day, Monday September 7. Attendance throughout the fair typically runs around 1.7 Million visitors per year. Photo contribution by swc.

Not Yet, But Soon

Currently it's for planting corn, but one day, the corn will be gone and a road with houses will be in it's place....

Newport Center

Along highway 61, in the city of Newport, this red, white, and blue Newport Center signage is hard to miss.

Fritz Company Inc

Based in Newport, Minnesota, Fritz Company Inc which you've probably heard the phrase "Fritzie Fresh", yeah, that candy company. I've been googling on some facts about the company as I'm under the impression it has closed, or parts of it at least. I'm fairly sure they no longer manufacture candy from this facility, but what part of it is still open, that info I could not locate at this time.

Don't Even Think About Parking Here

I loved this hand written message to those dropping their vehicles off to be repaired. "If you parked in front of our door get back in your car and move it". On the other windows, the written note read "If you park here, your car may be hit or towed". Message noted.

Downtown Hastings Developes

Signage of downtown Hastings which can be found on the waterfront of the Mississippi River in Hastings. It shows a couple of historical photos of the original downtown and the spiral bridge before it was torn down with the new bridge in place. In a few years, the current bridge, which is a two land bridge will be replaced. A much needed improvement for the city.

Decisions, Decisions

Oh the places you'll go, when your, downtown....

Spring Clean Up Day

Once per year in the spring, Cottage Grove has it's annual Spring Clean Up Day. You are welcome to bring your unwanted items, have it unloaded from your vehicle by the Public Works Employees and be on your way. There is usually a very long line on this day to drop off your junk as I've seen from experience. It's well worth the wait to get rid of items you cannot throw into your regular garbage. There is of course a small fee for most items, but nothing that wont set you back too much.

Gopher Liquors Sign

This is an interesting signs that I'd be interested in finding out about that is located on 7th Street in downtown St Paul. What I can tell you, really only based on my visual detective work, though I'm sure there is a lot more history involved with this location. The sign is a mix of a few different ownerships or partners. The Gopher Liqours sign looks like it was added to the Coney Islands sign with your Hosts: George-Cheri-Keith. Though there is a sign added under it reading: Andy-Phyllis-George. Are these new hosts? Is this the same George from the original grouping of names? Or are there now six different hosts [or owners]. What is the most current name of this business as there are several signs saying there could be many: Gopher Bar, Gopher Liquor, Coney Islands? Or is it several business in the same location? Too many questions right?

Incidentally, a couple blocks and around the corner sits a vacated restaurant called Original Coney Island Cafe which I featured a photo of back in January 2008, are these two locations owned by the same group?

Wash Em' Here

In the city of Saint Paul Park, on the corner of 3rd Street and Pullman Avenue, you'll find this convenient laundromat and car wash. The signs for this place is outstanding. "A clean car is a happy car" on the car wash side. The laundry side features 'large capacity washers'. Not only do they have Triple sized loaders, they have the grand daddy of them all, the ever popular 'Mega sized loader' available. Honestly, I don't know what the difference is between the triple size and the mega size. What does one wash in the mega loader, a room sized rug? What about dryers, do they also have mega sized dryers available to coincide with the massive washers? The good news is you'll go home with a clear car and clean cloths.

Welcome To Cottage Grove

Since my last photo was the Welcome To St Paul Park sign, I felt it was fitting to post it's neighboring town of Cottage Grove and their welcome sign.

Welcome To St Paul Park

The Stahl House

Back in the day, The Stahl House, on Como Avenue and Rice Street, was a smokey filled bar and bowling alley, or at least that's what I can remember. I know I had been in the place a time or two when I was under the age of ten with my Grandma. Today, I am told by my Grandma that the bowling lanes have been removed and have been replaced by a dance floor for receptions and various other dancing events. Driving by in my car, I didn't catch the difference between the Stahl House sign and the male and female shaped dancers sign on either side of the original sign.

The Three Circles....

A quick glance at the three small circles inside of a larger circle and you may think this is some fancy new logo for a game, toy or a store. True, it is a logo, but it's a very well known logo. Do you see it now? When you figure it out, it's obvious what it is.

Tin Cups 2

Back on December 5, 2008, I posted a close up photo of the Tin Cups sign that can be found on Rice Street and Maryland Avenue in St Paul. Today I am posting a broader view of Tin Cups.

Now For Something Really New

I passed this street sign on the West Side neighborhood in St Paul. I'm puzzled to the meaning of this sign. What possibly could a sign like this alert drivers or pedestrians for? Beware of a silhouette carrying a jacket and briefcase?

UPDATE: This sign is part of a money spending project of St Paul called 'Traffic Calming Art Signs'. Here is a link about the signs: http://www.stpaul.gov/index.asp?NID=2639

Tin Cups

Made a quick drive through the North End neighborhood of St Paul. More specifically, I drove down Rice Street. It has been a while since I've driven down Rice Street for as far as I did. I have a Grandmother that lives just off of Rice Street, so I get there from time to time, but typically I take a different route. As I drove south on Rice Street, there was so much that has changed, yet quite a bit of it is still as I remember it. Tin Cups and their great sign sits on Rice and Maryland Avenue. Attached to Tin Cup's is a liquor store and beyond that, there are a bunch of new or updated shopping stores that looked quite different from what I could recall.

Spoiled Kid Sale

One has to appreciate the honesty this parent has with this custom garage sale sign I drove past the other day. After I passed the sign and realized what it said, I had to turn around, go back and capture a photo. It was too good to pass up.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere A Sign

I'm not sure which sign was stranger to see:

A. "No Loitering" Because if I'm going to loiter, this certainly looks like the best place on earth to hang around.

B. "No Pets" Considering where I took this photo, downtown St Paul, I didn't recall seeing a park nearby.

Theme Day: "No . . ." signs

The first of the month and the City Daily Photo has elected for the Theme Day: No [fill in the blank] signs. You know the signs, "No Parking" "No Trespassing" something along those lines. Well, I went to great lengths for my sign. I went to the end of the road in Ely, Minnesota. Essentially, I went to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and snapped a shot of the sign in the photo. I wanted something different, something no one else would have, and something that wasn't easy to obtain. Granted, the timing was perfect as I had planned a trip to the BWCA in June and I knew ahead of time July's theme day. See some of my favorite BWCA photos I've taken.

Stop by the other cities participating in the July Theme Day via the links below the photo. Do remember that there are timezone differences between the other cities. Or you can head over to the portal page to see a thumbnail view of blogs that have posted their corner store photo.


American Fork (UT), Anderson (SC), Ararat, Australia, Arradon, France, Ashton under Lyne, UK, Aspen (CO), Athens, Greece, Auckland, New Zealand, Austin (TX), Avignon, France, Bandung, Indonesia, Barrow-in-Furness, UK, Barton (VT), Belgrade, Serbia, Bellefonte (PA), Bicheno, Australia, Birmingham (AL), Bogor, Indonesia, Boston (MA), Brantford (ON), Brighton, UK, Brookville (OH), Bucaramanga, Colombia, Bucharest, Romania, Budapest, Hungary, Budapest, Hungary, Canterbury, UK, Cavite, Philippines, Chandler (AZ), Château-Gontier, France, Cheltenham, UK, Chennai, India, Chennai, India, Chesapeake (VA), Christchurch, New Zealand, Cincinnati, (OH), Cleveland (OH), Coral Gables (FL), Corsicana (TX), Delta (CO), Duluth (MN), Durban, South Africa, East Gwillimbury, Canada, Edinburgh, UK, Folkestone, UK, Forks (WA), Fort Lauderdale (FL), Gaia, Portugal, Geneva (IL), Grenoble, France, Gun Barrel City (TX), Hampton (VA), Haninge, Sweden, Hanoi, Vietnam, Helsinki, Finland, Hobart, Australia, Hyde, UK, Jackson (MS), Jefferson City (MO), Jerusalem, Israel, Katonah (NY), Knoxville (TN), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Kyoto, Japan, Lakewood (OH), Larchmont (NY), Las Vegas (NV), Lisbon, Portugal, London, UK, London, UK, Lynchburg (VA), Mainz, Germany, Melbourne, Australia, Menton, France, Mexico City, Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, Minneapolis (MN), Minneapolis (MN), Misawa, Japan, Monroe (GA), Monrovia (CA), Monte Carlo, Monaco, Monterrey, Mexico, Mumbai, India, Munich, Germany, Nashville (TN), Nelson, New Zealand, New Delhi, India, New Orleans (LA), New York City (NY), Newcastle, Australia, Newport News (VA), Norfolk (VA), Norwich, UK, Ocean Township (NJ), Oklahoma City (OK), Orlando (FL), Palos Verdes (CA), Paris, France, Pasadena (CA), Pasadena (CA), Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, Petoskey (MI), Phoenix (AZ), Poplar Bluff (MO), Port Angeles (WA), Portland (ME), Portsmouth (VA), Posadas, Argentina, Pretoria, South Africa, Quincy (MA), Ramsey, Isle of Man, Reykjavik, Iceland, Riga, Latvia, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Rouen, France, Saarbrücken, Germany, Saigon, Vietnam, Saint Louis (MO), Salem (OR), Salt Lake City (UT), Salt Lake City (UT), San Antonio (TX), San Diego (CA), San Francisco (CA), Santa Fe (NM), Seattle (WA), Seattle (WA), Selma (AL), Sequim (WA), Sesimbra, Portugal, Setúbal, Portugal, Sharon (CT), Silver Spring (MD), Singapore, Singapore, Sofia, Bulgaria, Springfield (IL), Stanwood (WA), Stavanger, Norway, Stayton (OR), Stockholm, Sweden, Stouffville, Canada, Stratford, Canada, Subang Jaya, Malaysia, Suffolk (VA), Sunshine Coast, Australia, Sydney, Australia, Sydney, Australia, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, Tamarindo, Costa Rica, Tel-Aviv, Israel, Tempe (AZ), Terrell (TX), Terrell (TX), The Hague, Netherlands, Tokyo, Japan, Torun, Poland, Toulouse, France, Trujillo, Peru, Turin, Italy, Twin Cities (MN), Victoria, Canada, Vienna, Austria, Virginia Beach (VA), Wailea (HI), Washington (DC), Wellington, New Zealand, West Paris (ME), West Sacramento (CA), Weston (FL), Williamsburg (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Willits (CA)

Keep Out!

See it, say it, fix it! Got it?

Which Is More Frightening?

When I first read this sign in my Cottage Grove neighborhood I did a double take. Was it because of gas being at $3.65 per gallon? Or was it $2000.00 dollars for a car wash! All right, it does read "unlimited" car washes for $2000 dollars, but still! Perhaps are they forgetting that silly little decimal point and the price is really $19.99? I personally read it as $2000 dollars for a car wash, there has to be others that have thought the same....right?

My Daily Photo Favorites: Brookeville, Ohio | Nottingham, United Kingdom | Portland, Maine

No Sticks Allowed

Happy Birthday Dad!

I've been having this tug-of-war in my mind with this sign in my neighborhood. As the sign reads, it's very self explanatory. Hockey sticks are not allowed on the general hockey rink. It appears to be an easy rule to follow. You can see the hockey rink in the background clearly marked with a 'red line' and two 'blue lines' on the boards around the rink. Now the problem I have with this sign and it's rule....if you walk around the park, looking in every direction, you could even get on satellite map site and view the park from the air. The rink that you see in the background is the ONLY rink in this park. You see, there is no general rink that one could ice skate on. The rink is clearly set up as a hockey rink, yet this sign says you're not allowed to bring hockey sticks onto it, if it was indeed the general rink. Perhaps I need to alert my city council about this confusing matter.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Rabaul, Papua New Guinea | New Orleans, Louisiana | Montreal, Canada

Not Sure Which Is Worse

This sign I found along the walking trail, we have vandals spray painting, a good sized dent, a missing bolt, one very sun aged sign, plus we have the apparent "danger trains" warning it is giving us. It's a sign with a lot of character.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Terrell, Texas | Seattle, Washington | Springfield, Illinois [****HUMOR ALERT****]

Interesting Links Of the Day:
Macro Photography - It's the little things that count
Looking Around You Pays Off
Make Money With Your Camera

Six Feet Maximum

Why six feet? Who decided a six foot leash was the maximum length allowable by law in St Paul? Why not five feet? Seven? What type of fine is there if you exceed the six foot leash length? What if your leash was six and a half foot long. Who is going to inspect this?

My Daily Photo Favorites: returning soon

I'm still on the Robert Street Bridge in St Paul, when you look to the west, you see the rail road lift bridge that also cross the river at this point. This is just a close up of one of the two cement blocks that help to lift the bridge with ease. When I really got a kick out of was, if you look closely at the photo, on top of the cement blocks are small trees growing. This is winter time, so no leaves are present, but you can clearly see the branches growing up there somehow. Another thing I like about the photo is the size difference between the two objects, yet from this distance, they look nearly the same size.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Pilisvörösvár, Hungary | Riga, Latvia | Haninge, Sweden | Stayton, Oregon |

You Are Here

There I was, standing on the white X mark on the map looking at what field I needed to be at. I felt it was appropriate to take a photo of this eventful occasion and share it with you all.

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites:
Maple Ridge, Canada
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Grenoble, France

Enjoy The Holiday Weekend

If you're in Minnesota, watch the speeds, stay between the lines. The state patrol is working the highways in force during the final weekend before schools begins. I was out and about this evening and can verify the increased police activity.

Don't Even Think About It

Nope, sorry 'bout that, don't come down here, not open for business. Was walking through an open field and found this sign on the ground. Why was it here? When was this path closed? What path was closed as there is a fence and then a wide open field. There was no walking path. My mind is still wondering about this sign and what it closed access to at the time. I thought it made for a great photo opportunity.

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites:
Torino, Italy
Novara, Italy
Coral Gables, Florida

The Streets Of Cottage Grove

I awoke this morning, looked out my windows....not my bedroom window mind you as that looks out into my driveway....and I saw a sign, hammered into the ground. Obviously I had to investigate at this new lawn ornament. The sign read that there was no parking due to a temporary police order. Confusion set in at this point. Why confusion you're asking? The sign is right next to a fire hydrant. There is no parking in front of a fire hydrant already enforced because of a city law. Does this mean when the sign is gone, I can now safely park my vehicle in front of the fire hydrant? I think not. I found humor in this sign and it's placement location and had to point this out to you all. In reality, there were several signs placed along my street as the city will be soon repaving the street with a layer of spray tar and rock. Someone wasn't thinking when they placed the sign in my lawn.

My 4 Daily Photo Favorites
Torino, Italy
South Shields, UK
Mumbai, India
St Kilda, Australia