The county seat, as it happens. About 55 thousand souls. Top employer is the local college, followed by the school district.

When I started to google the town, I thought - am I sure it’s Pocatello Idaho? Are there others? How did we all come to associate Pocatello with Idaho in a trice? Yet we do.

It’s the old Hotel. Could it be anything else?

The Yellowstone. The historic Yellowstone Hotel was built in 1915 and is one of the most beloved buildings in the region. Over the years, several businesses have called The Yellowstone home, including a drug store, several restaurants and bar, as well as a hotel. Most recently, the building was home to The Bridge restaurant. Saved, and renovated.

The sign’s old, old, old - Simpsons reference notwithstanding.

The pumps, I assume, are dry.

We’ll hit you with the OUMB off the top, and it’s a chunky little fellow, isn’t it?

Perfect old sign.

Well, not perfect, but it’s good, and it’s original - although I’ve doubts about the Buckaroo’d awning being OG. Could be. Matters little. No peeking ahead: you do know what this is, right?

It’s the curve of the letters.

The Whitman.

Says idahoheritage.org:

The Whitman Hotel was constructed in 1905 as a two-story fraternal lodge. In 1913-14 it was converted into a four-story hotel and theater. It has also been a coffee shop and lounge, a radio station and other businesses. When it was first built it also housed the Lyric Theater which became the Grand Theater and then was renamed the Princess Theater, the mythological birthplace of Judy Garland in “A Star is Born.”

Subsequent work, but when was it done?

I suspect it’s contemporaneous with the black-shiny overhaul.

Large commercial structures often had the entrance to the upstairs tucked away around the corner.

Sigh.

Yay, sort of:

“Sort of” because it just doesn’t fit the building, but yay because it appears to be a post-war sign that made it into the next century.

The Monarch:

Had a bad fire in 2014. The website says it’s being brought back to life.

It's . . . it's a different Whitman.

The man is also found oin a street; guessing Mr. W was a mover and/or shaker.

Frozen in time, but still ticking.

SONNENKALB:

Details:

Designed by Pocatello architect Marcus Crundfor, this two-storied cream-colored brick building was constructed in 1914 and 1915. Inter-connected with a secondary storefront at 312 West Center, the first floor of this structure originally housed the People's Store (a dry goods and clothing establishment). The second floor was occupied by professional offices, including those of the building owner Oscar Sonnenkalb, a German-born civil engineer, who was very prominent in the early development of Southeastern Idaho. 

How I love that little storefront on the left.

WC:

Who knows anymore?

They have lots of old structures with big old neon signs. It’s quite nice.

It’s how cities used to be.

I mean, it’s big and brash and tells you where you are and what they do.

And then, almost all at once, they stopped painting the sides of buildings.

IOOF!

Robust economies lead to nice schools.

Part of the same complex, and I’m thinking this might be a theater.

It’s immense.

There’s no name.

The Stonehenge branch of the OUMB:

Original, unmolested:

Back to the beginning. The most recent pass: the sign’s still there . . .

. . . but the sign is different. The story of every city, if it still has some life left.