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 Photograph August 19, 2001 Henry Ford Museum

 Jacksonville, Illinois
1904 West Morton

 

The Jacksonville Restaurant opened in 1955 and was likely a franchised location. It remained a Howard Johnson's until the mid 1980s when the HJ Corporation was liquidated. Noted sign expert, Len Davidson, rescued and restored one half of the top part of Jacksonville's sign, and it is displayed at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Of the hundreds of neon Simple Simon and the Pieman signs only a handful have survived, and only one complete sign is known to exist--it was recently acquired by the American Sign Museum.
 
 
 

 Photographs August 2004 courtesy of Phil Edwards
 

Phil said that Jacksonville was one of his most exciting finds! Many original HoJo's items remained like the HJ mat, terrazzo floor, and formica tiered display area at the cash register.
 
 

 
 

 
 

  The alcove seen above once featured a "chest" freezer with consumer sized ice cream cartons and other frozen food offerings. Shelves displaying Howard Johnson's take-home can goods and other items were above the freezer.
 
 

 
 

 
 

  A Simple Simon and the Pieman figural inset should have been in the 'V' under the black mat seen above. It is not known if it's still there or not.
 
 
 

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