Some people collect postcards. Some collect model trains. And others collect quilts. I collect billboard pieces – bolts to be exact. What a strange hobby, right?
Well, it all started with my favorite paperweight on my desk - A giant case-hardened bolt out of the group sent down to erect my first 14′ x 48′. There was a spare one, so I kept it. It weighs a ton, but it looks cool on my desk.
Thereafter, whenever I see or hear of a billboard being town down, I try and get a bolt from it to keep as a souvenir. I’ve got the bolt to one of the ancient 1920’s billboards over the Trinity River in Dallas. And one from a billboard at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. I’ve got all kinds of bolts from famous signs. And I use them all as paperweights.
Since nobody sells historic billboard bolts on ebay, I can’t really expand or sell the collection easily. And not everyone wants to have a desk filled with, sometimes rusty, bolts. But if you enjoy billboard history as much as I do, it’s kind of nice to have them to look at while I’m on the phone.
I drove through Gibsland, Louisiana once – where they shot Bonnie and Clyde. Souvenir hunters still steal something from the site constantly. They’ve even stolen the historic marker. But I’ve never seen that type of passion for billboard artifacts. Of course, Bonnie and Clyde might have seen my billboard bolt while passing through Dallas at one time – maybe I should lock it away.
Tags: billboard bolts
