Many people have never stopped to realize how many of their fond
memories involve advertising signs. Although these neon spectaculars,
billboards and even signs painted directly onto brick walls were created
expressly to persuade customers or tourists to patronize businesses,
many such signs remained in place for so long that they became landmarks
in their own right. Signs like the Shoney's Big Boy towering over the
area and the iconic Bilmar Motor Inn sign are now a part of history.
Author Tim Hollis has scoured various archives to compile some of the
best remembered, or most obscure, signs to dot the Tennessee landscape,
whether for tourist attractions, restaurants, department stores, gas
stations or many other roadside fixtures.