Old barns ----- advertising barns

Since I am not a well traveled person I can't speak for the rest of the country, but here in Missouri it is not uncommon to see old barns that show the faded paint of some old advertising. During the heyday of the Old Route 66 that travels through our state it was commonplace for farmers to rent the rooftops of their barns to companies that agreed to keep the entire barn nicely painted, year round, in return for using the rooftop as a giant billboard.

You can still see the faded advertising on many of the old and often dilapidated structures in our state. But, one of our major tourist attractions that is still in operation on the old route 66 has continued to maintain all of the old structures with their advertising that are still in continous use. It is not unusual to pass an old barn with a fresh coat of paint like the one in the following photo, that I captured a few weeks ago on Highway 44 near Springfield, Mo.

I havn't noticed any new barn advertising in our area for decades until last month when we decided to take a scenic detour during a drive home from a visit with friends who live in the country. In fact, I almost missed the golden arches on the roof of this old barn for the overgrowth of trees surrounding it.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my barn advertisements this week. I am linking them to my blogging buddy Tricia's new meme "Old Barns."

To join the fun by posting your old barn photos or to just enjoy the photos taken by others visit Tricia and her friends at Bluff Area Daily.