Vintage Roadside rediscovers the Kupie Cone sign

Fans of Southeast Portland's neon signs and neighborhood mom and pop restaurants were sad to see the Kupie Cone restaurant lost to development a couple of years back. While many of us still miss the great neighborhood drive in hamburgers and soft serve ice cream, what many more of us miss is the classic neon sign standing at the corner of SE 39th and Holgate. There was initial thought that the sign would remain when the new building went up, but as development began the sign simply disappeared. Then there was the hope that perhaps the sign had been taken down for preservation reasons and when the construction was finished the sign would be reinstalled. Unfortunately this was not to be the case. For the past few years we've had many conversations with people who fondly remember the Kupie Cone and its wonderful sign. The conversation usually ends with the question of "What happened to the sign?"


We also wondered what happened to the sign and still looked for it every time we drove by - hoping it had somehow magically reappeared. When we heard a vague rumor the sign may still be out there we decided to track it down. We were thrilled to discover the sign still exists and has been partially restored. As you can see in the photo above the neon on one side has been restored and the sign still looks great! Details of why the sign was not placed back at 39th and Holgate along with how the sign came to be where it is now are somewhat murky. We'd prefer to just enjoy the fact that someone who cared about the sign made the effort to save it. From all of us who love this sign - Thanks!

As for the former location, we're left with the words "Kupie Corner" in backlit plastic letters. Being fans of classic neon signs we'd sure prefer to have seen the old sign lighting up the corner for another 40 years or so.

New goodies soon at Vintage Roadside!

We're working overtime here at Vintage Roadside to launch a new section in our gift shop - our Historic Photograph department! Our first three images will include two early 1940s Tourist Courts formerly located in Texas and a 1950 image of a California drive in theatre marquee taken shortly after construction. Each hand produced print comes from the Vintage Roadside negative collection.

Striving to retain the feel and artistry of these wonderful images we have commissioned a local photographer with over 50 years experience to produce these prints. Rather than create digital prints, we felt it was appropriate that photographs of this era be reproduced using traditional dark room techniques. Each hand made silver/gelatin photograph is produced from the original negative, using the same printing (enlarging) techniques and processes used by the original photographers. The prints are mounted on high quality, acid-free mounting board and mats, and are designed to fit any standard 8"x 10" frame.

We are thrilled with the results and look forward to sharing these works of photographic art with those who not only appreciate American roadside history but also fine photography. It's wonderful to see these images again for the first time in 50+ years!

Look for this department to be open at the Vintage Roadside Gift Shop in the next 7 days.