Little Fox explores The Dalles Oregon

 Hiya Blog Pals,
Little Fox here.  I'm in the first room of the National Neon Museum in The Dalles (yes, the name of the town starts with "The").   In 1814 French trappers named the town for the slabs of basalt in the Columbia River Gorge.  

 I digress.  Back the museum. I know, there is no neon in this room but we started our tour here to learn about the history of electric signs.  

These signs had minimal words and are basically from the 1890s to the 1920s.  The US had a lot of immigrants during that time so the idea of signs with a few words was designed so everyone could read the sign even if you were still learning the language.

Flash forward to the 1920s during the beginning of neon's heyday. 

Some cool signs from the gallery. 

This sign came from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

This fox hasn't had frozen custard but it's a popular dessert in Milwaukee. There were a ton of signs to take pictures of, the one I really liked is the Greyhound Bus Lines sign, but I didn't get a photo of it.

Sigh.  Here's a close copy.

After my tour it was off to explore town. 

First stop, St. Peter's Church built in 1898.

You are able to go inside during the hours of 1 to 3 daily.  Today, there was a wedding going on, the humans went inside and the fox had to stay outside.  Hmph.

This is a stock photo from the church but it's just as amazing inside.  No trip to The Dalles is complete without exploring.  

The Granada Theater.  Built in 1929 of the Moorish Revival Style (do you see it?).

This was the first movie theater west of the Mississippi built specifically for the talkies.  Unfortunately, the sound equipment ordered for the opening night  was sent to The Granada Theater in Dallas, TX.   Not The Dalles, OR.  The Dalles theater owner contacted the theater in Dallas trying to explain what happened and the theater in Dallas kept the sound equipment and didn't send it back.  The Granada in The Dalles opened with a silent movie instead of a talkie.

92 years later the theater is still up and running.  They have concerts, dinner and movie nights, and all sorts of fun events.

The last stop on my tour is the Columbia Brewery.  The Dalles had their own brewery for many years (since 1867)  and this brewery operated until 1916 (prohibition in the US).   

The building still stands....it looks safe and it's empty.  This fox would love to explore inside of the building.....now I just need to find a tourguide.