Saving the “Star”

In last month’s update, we looked at all the research that goes into tracking rare signs like the Roto-Sphere. Saving and preserving signs is a perfect example of the old saying “it takes a village.” Through Debra Jane Seltzer’s research, the name Factory Tile was well known to those interested in Roto-Spheres. But knowing where a sign is located is just the first step to preserving it. Securing one comes next.

Factory Tile was a flooring company that operated in South Bend, Indiana since 1952. The company eventually purchased a Roto-Sphere from Warren Milks to help capture customers’ attention. Though their Roto-Sphere proved challenging to keep lit and spinning, the owners of Factory Tile kept the sign while the business remained open. However, they decided to take the Roto-Sphere down when the business closed in August 2023. The owners contracted North American Signs for the removal. Jameson Parker served as the production manager for North American Signs at the time and oversaw the take down process.

When speaking with the owners about what came next for the Roto-Sphere, Jameson reached out to Tod here at the Museum to see if it would be possible for both parties to arrange for the sign to come to Cincinnati.

Happily, an agreement was reached, and the Factory Tile Roto-Sphere was set to become a part of the collection. The timing was a little bit challenging though as the ASM was in the middle of its expansion and didn’t have the room to store the new sign let alone the time to think about restoring it. Thankfully, North American Signs was willing to store the Roto-Sphere until November 2024 when Tod was able to pick up the sign and transport it to Alan Whitaker in Whiteland, Indiana. Alan then got started on getting the Roto-Sphere back in working order.

Stay tuned for more on the work done so far to restore the Roto-Sphere!

Check out some of the removal from these photos from Jameson Parker.