Old barn advertising

[Grumpy old man]

We used to see a lot of these old barns painted up with attraction advertising ,Not so many now as the old barns are being taken down and sold to city folk for accent walls and such . This one I pass by and finally stopped long enough to get a picture .Are there any in your area ?

[Red71gmc]

Not many and they are very old advertisements. Often for businesses no longer in business.
What we do have on I65 is a large grain bin that has advertisement on it. I believe it is a vinyl film and not painted.
I like the shingles spelling out farm names and such too. Again very old. Can't spell out words with modern metal roofs. No one can afford to shingle a huge barn anymore with the old lock tab shingles.

[special-K]

Rock City has them all over. I remember those back to my childhood. We still have one Chew Mail Pouch barn straight up on the ridge from me along state road. I guess the owner has kept it up. I've been wanting to get a picture of my truck in front of it.

[burnin oil]

Grumpy, you are south of me but we still have a few old barns with advertising on them. Lately the big kick has been the plywood or painted on barn quilts. Right up the road from me there is a barn with the whole side painted up in a TN mural that I love passing. Heading into Middlesboro KY there is a barn that is painted up for a current tube rental business. I pass both those barns every time I go to Tractor Supply.

All the Mail Pouch barns where painted by 2 gentleman years ago. When one of them died a few years back the local PBS channel had an hour long special about them. I wish I could remember the shows name. Odds are if you get Bluegrass Underground then the local PBS played it.

Red, I would not say that. I have seen a lot of painted metal roofs for advertising. Not in tin but the same concept. During my travels I even saw one with the Battle Flag done in tin. I would hate to try and seal that roof! Near my house there is an old barn that has the clay shingles spelling out the farmers name. It is almost a thing of the past at this point, if it hasnt fallen down since last time I was home. Sadly as the older generation moves off the farm or passes they just let the places fall into disrepair. They wont rent or fix them because they claim that they will eventually do something with it. Usually they just collapse after 20 years.

[Getter-Done]

My answer to your question is .
Yes there are.
I hope to stop soon and Take the pictures.
This will be a Good Thread.

[special-K]

I don't have a camera right now, so no truck in front of barn picture. But I found this picture of the barn up on the ridge above my place

[Popcorn W]

When Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Highway Beautification Act in 1965, this ended a lot of highway advertising. The practice of barn painting continued, but in 1974 the act was amended. The amendment allowed landmark signs painted on barns that were of historical significance. This amendment made the Mail Pouch Tobacco Barn an officially recognized historic landmark.

[In The Ten Ring]

There is a "SEE ROCK CITY" on a house roof close to where I live!

Those advertisements were for people that drove by, now advertising is all internet and no one actually looks up from their phones while driving now.

[Keith Seymore]

"See Rock City" advertising was kind of a running joke in our family, as a result of our many travels.

I had a "Rock City" birdhouse in my back yard (in Michigan!).

K

[burnin oil]

Rock City is like Wahl Drug (drugstore) in South Dakota. You see signs for it over a state away. Literally signs, barns, and even old trailers parked next to the interstate. When I was in Iraq Someone put a Wahl Drug bumper sticker up on a wall which gave me a big chuckle.

[special-K]

On a smaller scale, we had Barbara Fritchey Restaurant on US40 west of Frederick, MD. Frederick is the gateway into Western MD at the foot of the first mountain. Before the interstates you were getting "out there" by the time you got to Frederick and also lots of parks, camping, river, lakes, and other attractions. So Barbara Fritchey's thing was a big candy cane sign once there, but all along the road for miles and miles in all directions were posts with 4 or so round plates with any number of things like what they serve, how far, souvenirs, etc. painted on them. It was a game to see who spotted the next one first. Then you'd say, "Bar-bar-a FritCHEE!". They only just did go out of business last year. Our chapter of ATHS met there monthly... real bummer. One of those good home style cookin' style places that was never remodeled since 1960, but well kept up, with a big homemade pie case behind the counter

[87max]

This is my recently passed 2nd cousins place. I put a roof on it about 10 years ago. Iirc he got $200 for them to paint it on and it was repainted at least once. The estate is for sale now hard to say what will become of it. It sits on a main road (4 lane). When he bought the place it was a single lane dirt road.

[special-K]

That's quite a landmark now. Always was I guess. That was the whole point of them. Wow, dirt to four lane in one man's lifetime.

[The Rocknrod]

Originally Posted by special-K

That's quite a landmark now. Always was I guess. That was the whole point of them. Wow, dirt to four lane in one man's lifetime.

From earth dirt to moon dust. And probes on Mars.

[Easttennceeten]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

We used to see a lot of these old barns painted up with attraction advertising ,Not so many now as the old barns are being taken down and sold to city folk for accent walls and such . This one I pass by and finally stopped long enough to get a picture .Are there any in your area ?

Grumpy, where is this barn? I know that I've been by it several times, but I can't place where it is.

There's a few barns with the advertisements on them left around here. A couple of Rock City ones, and one advertising for a local hardware & furniture store.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by Easttennceeten

Grumpy, where is this barn? I know that I've been by it several times, but I can't place where it is.

There's a few barns with the advertisements on them left around here. A couple of Rock City ones, and one advertising for a local hardware & furniture store.

It's south of Kingston , click on the link for the Google map and take a look around ,This is rural Tn cattle country. And a beautiful ride between Kingston and Sweetwater. I think Tn has some of the best roads anywhere ..
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.7876...J4X8Mc10xA!2e0

[Easttennceeten]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

It's south of Kingston , click on the link for the Google map and take a look around ,This is rural Tn cattle country. And a beautiful ride between Kingston and Sweetwater. I think Tn has some of the best roads anywhere ..
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.7876...J4X8Mc10xA!2e0

Yes we do! I go by that barn pretty often, but I'm always going north towards Kingston and don't really see the painted side, so I forget about it being a Rock City barn.

[Keith Seymore]

These are not advertising per se but I think still fit into the spirit of this thread;

"Castiglione" and "Paul Revere" were along US-23 near Hartland Michigan. They were part of a larger series painted by artist Doug Tyler as he traveled around the state in the 60's and 70's.

I haven't been out that way lately but I think both of these barns are now gone.

K

http://jameshowephotography.com/blog...terpiece.html/