It's been awhile, but I had reason to travel all the way up to Bemidji, MN this weekend and came across a few news signs, so I figured I was overdue for a post. This two-for-one is the best of them.
Unfortunately there isn't much identifying information on the top sign. It's pretty clear that this building was once a hotel, which would have had a pretty good location near the center of the old downtown and near what looks to be the old passenger train depot, but aside from noting the modern rooms available by the day, week or month, it's hard to do any research without some type of ID. Strolling around the front of the building suggests that it is now the Summit Square Apartments. Perhaps on a day with better/different weather (it was snowing on April 6), it would be possible to make out more of the sign.
Meanwhile, you might find the one on the bottom a bit hard to read. "Cigar" should be legible, but you'll have to take my word for it that to the right of that the brand is advertised as "V-B." You'd think that it wouldn't be hard to find some information on the internet about a tobacco brand, but I'm not coming up with much. An outfit called Farmer's Tobacco seems to have a VB brand of cigarettes, but that company doesn't seem to have a history old enough to be the subject of this sign. I'm officially stumped.
