Hudson River Neon, Part 1 - Westchester, Rockland and Orange Counties

With autumn on the way, I thought this blog could use a little getaway up north, to the Hudson Valley, where I grew up and where the leaves will start to rival the old neon signs for their brilliant shades of orange, red and yellow in the coming weeks.  I actually began photographing signs along the Hudson before I moved to New York.  Having finished work on the book Hudson Valley Ruins, which I co-authored with my friend Rob Yasinsac, Rob and I turned our lenses toward other ephemeral parts of the landscape around us, besides ruins. 

Ardsley Acres Motel / 560 Saw Mill River Road,  Ardsley

Signs quickly caught our attention.  While focusing on the Hudson River's abandoned historic sites, we had generally taken signs for granted, and thus missed opportunities to document some great old neon and other commercial relics.  Happily there were still plenty of signs to shoot by the time we got around to it (which was around 2004).  What follows is the first of a two-part collaborative post with photos by myself and Rob Yasinsac showing some of the Hudson's more noteworthy neon.  If you happen to find yourself heading upriver as the autumn leaves peak in the next few weeks, keep an eye out for some of these luminous local landmarks.

Ardsley Acres Motel / 560 Saw Mill River Road,  Ardsley

The Lighthouse / Alexander St., Yonkers

A widow sign for a long vanished waterfront restaurant.

Curry Chevy / 728 Central Park Avenue,  Scarsdale

Nathan's Famous / Central Park Avenue, Yonkers

The Cabin / Knollwood Road, White Plains

Bridge Plaza / 350 South Broadway, Tarrytown



John’s Bar & Grill / 461 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson

Pete’s Saloon / 8 West Main Street, Elmsford

Peekskill Inn / 634 Main Street, Peekskill

Hudson Wire Co. / Water Street, Ossining (since removed)

Saveway Cleaners / 615 North Broadway  White Plains

Sholz Buick / West Post Road, White Plains

Yorkville Delicatessen / Yorkville

Annie’s / 149 S Liberty Dr, Stony Point

Annie's was very sadly bulldozed in 2007 to make way for a bank and a CVS.

Hilltop Restaurant / Rt. 59, Nyack

IOOF / Nyack

Rockland Drive-In, Monsey

Hoyers Ice Cream / 17 Treason Hill St,  West Haverstraw

Lafayette Theatre / 97 Lafayette Avenue, Suffern  (See also CinemaTreasures)

Restaurant Motel / Route 9W, Ft. Montgomery
Does anyone know what this place was?  Gone now...

Bear Mountain Bridge Motel / 1041 Route 9W,  Fort Montgomery

Storm King Theatre (now Painters Restaurant) / 2 Idlewild Avenue, Cornwall-on-Hudson (See also CinemaTreasures)

Avacar Motel / 158 Windsor Highway, New Windsor