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I've notice on my travels that there a number of Dairy Queens that still sport the older block letter signage (before the adoption of the red "kiss" logo in the mid-60s). Examples are a store in Williams AZ using a blue circle with white DAIRY QUEEN and a big ol' cone sticking out of the sign, and a store in Holbrook AZ still using a blue rectangular sign with the uppercase DAIRY QUEEN - BURGERS - SHAKES..obviously a neon sign.

Has anyone else came across DQs still using the pre-kiss signage?

There used to be a Dairy Queen in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan with an interesting backlit roadside sign consisting of a red circle containing "DAIRY QUEEN" in squared letters and a cone protruding at top. Unfortunately, it was replaced with a more modern sign around 2000 or so (although to be fair, the old sign was looking quite worn).

I also recall seeing an old Dairy Queen somewhere in Ohio last year (somewhere around Findlay or Kenton...I honestly can't remember) that maintained an ancient, horizontally-elongated rectangular blue sign on top of the building. The catch, though, was that it had been repainted "DAIRY CREME!" I ought to go back there sometime...there were some interesting grocery stores (and ex-stores) in the area as well.

Some of the DQ's I've been to including the one at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport have photos of earlier DQs. Take a look next time you're in one; fascinating!

I recently traveled to McMinnville, Oregon. Somewhere along highway 99W between Portland and McMinnville is a still-operating Dairy Queen with an old sign shaped like an ice cream cone or sundae. I was somewhat pressed for time so I did not get a chance to take a closer look.

The Dairy Queen in Hillman, Michigan has an odd text-oly Dairy Queen logo. I don't think it's in an older format (even though the building is ancient); if I recall correctly, it has some kind of pseudo-1980s "wild" font.

While we're on the subject of Dairy Queen, isn't it funny how a seasonal DQ walk-up can operate forever, but a DQ Brazier can flounder for a few years and then sit empty forever? I've seen a lot of that happening.

umtrr-author wrote:Some of the DQ's I've been to including the one at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport have photos of earlier DQs. Take a look next time you're in one; fascinating!

This is something they're now doing in newer Hardee's and Carl's Jr's as well.

(Old Hardee's and Carl's Jr photos, not DQ photos, of course...)

Here's the Dairy Queen in Holbrook, AZ on 25 June 2008.
Three generations of signage in and around the store!

tesg wrote:

umtrr-author wrote:Some of the DQ's I've been to including the one at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport have photos of earlier DQs. Take a look next time you're in one; fascinating!

This is something they're now doing in newer Hardee's and Carl's Jr's as well.

(Old Hardee's and Carl's Jr photos, not DQ photos, of course...)

that's how the wienerschnitzels are here...

The local Dairy Queen has a bunch of vintage photos on the wall that were added as part of the most recent remodel (I believe this location was originally built in the mid to late 70s.) There are still a couple of 60s Dairy Queens in the area that haven't received much in the way of remodeling (the one at Sunset Village in Bellevue comes to mind,) but most have been modernized. Another 60s Dairy Queen in downtown Bellevue got torn down a couple of years ago, and a high end shopping and residential complex is currently going up in its place.

The red "kiss" logo was adopted in 1961, not the "mid-60s". My nearest Dairy Queen stand opened in 1959. At some point it was updated to the kiss logo, but was torn down and rebuilt in 2006.

I've been to a few other DQ's since my original post on this thread. I've noticed a few posting pictures of the specific store that you're standing in over the years. A couple of them show the previous building at the location, or a DQ with no seating (just serving) then being rebuilt into a Brazier with inside seating.

Thanks for the data point on the red sign being 1961. Now I know I can use it if I choose to on my model railroad, which is set in 1963. Off to find a good clear image file!