Festival of signs and displays creates an astonishing array of rare, original pieces
Like so many others, Dennis has been collecting automobilia and petroliana, mostly in the form of signs and displays, for as long as he can remember. Retired from a career at Northrop-Grumman Aerospace, he now spends his time rummaging around the swap meets and searching for whatever he might need – or rather, want. His collection spans the gamut from Sinclair to Goodyear to Mobiloil to Ford to – you name it, and he has likely got it.
Custom building a three-car garage complete with a workshop in his backyard, Dennis quickly filled the space with signs and displays from ages ago. The collection is truly astonishing – upon entering the space, the collection overwhelms the senses, especially for those who are even somewhat interested in collecting. He’s even gone so far as to erect floor-to-ceiling posts in order to accommodate flange signs. He’s bought or built display cases to organize various odds and ends from ashtrays to keys and smaller items. No bit of wall is visible, all of it covered by signs and displays, both working and static, old and older, rare and rarer.
“It’s taken decades to build the collection to this level,” he said. “But I didn’t set out to build a collection, not like some people are doing nowadays. I just liked these signs, the art and the connection to the past, I enjoyed that. But, by the time I knew it, I was actually building quite a collection.”
Dennis’ seemingly innocent quest to surround himself with beautiful automotive-related art continued to grow as his interests expanded from brand to brand and item to item. One swap meet might be hosting a number of gas pumps, and he would buy a few, and then he would have gas pump fever – which would lead to finding and acquiring gas pump signs, the porcelain kind made with a slight bow to fit snugly against the body of the old cylindrical gas pumps, which would lead to collecting gas pump globes. This would open the door to collecting other gas station signs and memorabilia which would lead to something else and so on. Some of the displays are truly, absolutely remarkable, such as the highly illuminated and active Champion spark plug display, which demonstrates how a spark plug works with a piston going up and down and the plug exploding – if only display mavens of today would be so creative.
“I never get tired of coming in here to look at the pieces, or sharing them with other people,” he said. “But the fact is, I am running out of room.”
But that doesn’t seem to slow him down – Dennis still makes plans to visit swap meets all over the country, some very big and public, some very quiet and private.
“Prices have gone up all over, it’s taken some of the fun out of it, but not really,” he said. “The art is the joy, finding that rare piece that you’ve never seen before, or maybe you remember from years back, that’s the fun. The money comes and goes, but the memories, the history, that’s what’s special.”
In his smaller garage, at the front of his house, Dennis has set up an actual workshop where he can perform small touch up miracles, or detail pieces until they gleam and work like new.
“So often, these old displays with lights and moving parts just don’t work anymore,” he said. “They’re usually pretty simple and fixing them can be easy, you just need to be a little patient with them. Sometimes they need new wiring, new moving parts. It’s hard to find original parts for some of them, so you have to be creative, make a lot of trips to the hardware store, or call a lot of people in the know for some advice and direction.”
A breezeway connects the workshop to the house, which has a restroom immediately inside. Even it has been subject to a makeover.
“I turned it into a kind of replica gas station bathroom,” he said.
Using wainscotting and a vintage sink complete with vintage lights and soaps on the shelf, it could be a Sinclair bathroom by the colors, but who knows? The one thing it does do though is remind of another time, road trips before the interstates were built, a slower era when people seemed to take a little time, look around, and enjoy.
