These three signs have recently been acquired by Antique Warehouse.  Each of them from a company here in St. Louis that has proudly served the St. Louis area for years, and each of them with their own stories.

     The Lake Forest Pastry Shop has been closed for quite some time, while it originally sold the best pastries around at 7737 Clayton Road in Clayton. 

     The Phil's Bar-B-Q sign was acquired after a drunk driver drove into and knocked over the sign, luckily with minimal damage.  The sign was originally located in South St. Louis County at 9205 Gravois Road, where Phil's still serves up a great meal; only with a new sign.

     J. Spasnick & Son's Plumbing decided that their double sided porcelain sign had seen its better days and opted to replace the sign with a new one, allowing Antique Warehouse to acquire the sign.  They still operate their business at 4750 Virginia Avenue in South St. Louis.

     Each of these signs have their stories and each of them have been around the St. Louis area for decades.  Lisa Marhar, in her book, American Signs, writes, "Most simply, signs address basic commercial needs: identifying the name and type of business, marking the location, and attracting customers.  But signs also fulfill a more important need: making the unknown familiar."  Even though these signs have fulfilled these basic needs to the companies customers, to St. Louis, these signs have become a part of our community.  It would be awful to see these signs disappear forever and become scrap.  This is why Antique Warehouse is committed to the faithful preservation and, one day, the restoration of these signs.

     Below are several images of the three signs featured this month.  Click on any of the thumbnails to learn more about each item.