Do you have odd childhood memories? ... Chicago in the late 60s

[kenny]

Paging @Dee*Jay or anyone familiar with Chicago back in the day.

I have a strange childhood memory from the 60s that still haunts me.
It's something surprising, odd, and unforgettable that I saw from our car when my family was driving on an expressway in or near Chicago.
I think it was an industrial area at the outskirts of Chicago.

It was a billboard or a name sign plastered to a big building overlooking the freeway.
It was the name of the company, Mystik Tape.

It was the shape of a HUGE GIANT pair of red lips.
It was HUGE, red, and bright, likely composed of a zillion lipstick-red neon lights.

I've had no luck searching for a historic pic of it.
All I could learn was the tape manufacturer, Mystic Tape, of Des Plaines, IL (just north of O'Hare airport) was dissolved in 1984.

Found a historic pic: ... Anyone?


Do you have any odd childhood memories?

 

[Calliecake]

I remember looking to see the big red lips while driving on the expressway! I had no idea what company they were advertising but remembered the lips immediately when reading your post. As a child we only went to the city a few times a year but we were at O’Hare Airport all the time. My dad traveled for work a lot when I was young. Thanks for the happy memories Kenny.

 

[kenny]

Cool!

Then do you remember another neon sign on a (likely nearby) building overlooking an expressway?
It was bright orange neon light at night, and said SKILSAW, in the company's chosen slanted font.

 

[kenny]

@Calliecake
How big were those lips?

50' wide?
More? Less?

Oh, and were you approaching O'Hare from the south, from the north?
Can you guess when it was, what year, or year range?
Were the lips on a building, or were they on a billboard?

I'm trying to look into the actual location of those luscious lips, to research whether the oldbuilding is still there.
I know, I'm weird.

 

[Calliecake]

The lips were huge @kenny. I don’t remember the orange sign. I only remember the lips as far as signs go. They were so bright at night. My dad would tell us when we were getting close to seeing the lips.

It’s funny the things you remember from when you were 10 years old and younger. When driving to Chicago, I remember seeing the lips and Presbyterian St Lukes Hospital, but liked seeing the other big buildings. My younger brother had a major operation there when he was two. For some reason as children we always wanted to see the hospital my brother had his operation in from the expressway. We loved going to Buckingham fountain, the museums, the John Hancock Building and seeing the Michigan Avenue stores Christmas displays along with the Chicago big Christmas tree. It was also a big treat to have a green river when we went to Chicago. Now I need to go look up what a green river actually was.

 

[Mazlou]

It was the Magikist sign. There was one off the Kennedy Expressway. Just Google Magikist.

 

[Calliecake]

Thank you @Mazlou. I just looked it up.



@kenny, The Magikist lips were 75 feet wide, and 40 feet high.

 

[SparklieBug]

When I was about two years old, I stayed with my godparents for a couple weeks while my mother was away (and my father was working so unable to care for me full time). Their house was HUGE! I remembered having a quick "bath" in the kitchen sink (the sink was SO high up, and was huge, too), and leaning back against the cold sink. I jumped at the temperature, and leaned forward. I remember my godmother chuckling at my reaction.

They had a special "chair" (more like a stool) outdoors that had been carved from a tree trunk, and I loved climbing up and sitting on it.

The daughters had Barbie dolls that I wasn't allowed to touch. But I would go up the stairs to their rooms and play with the dolls, then back down the stairs. My godmother caught me once, and scolded me. She told me she was so worried that I would fall down the stairs. I knew I wouldn't fall! I wondered why she didn't trust me...

Years later, I returned to the "huge house" and was shocked to see that it was a small house with regular height counters, etc. LOL! The perspective of a small child.

 

[pearlsngems]

Magikist - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[RMOO]

what-happened-to-the-three-famous-magikist-lip-signs-on-chicago-highways

 

[kenny]

OMG!
Thanks @Mazlou and others !!!

How did I turn Magikist into Mistik, let alone Mistik Tape?
I blame 6 decades!

... the posted links surprised me.
So many others have strong affectionate emotional associations with Minnie Gage of Arlington Heights.
Those lips were hers.

 

[kenny]

It inspired artists:




Clothing ...

 

[Karl_K]

Odd childhood Chicago memory.
In 4th grade we took a field trip to Chicago.
The Sears tower had just been open a couple years.
We were supposed to go to the top but some elevators were shut down for repairs so we could not do the tour to the top.
I stood at the base of it and looked up.
*PLOP* bird manure right on my forehead and hair.
Yuck!!!!!!!
I was not the only one.
We went and had pizza instead of the tour.

 

[kenny]

*PLOP* bird manure right on my forehead and hair.
Yuck!!!!!!!

Bibi just said, "I'm sorry Uncle Karl; I was aiming for your teacher.
But the smooth and rich green fatty acids do make a fine hair conditioner."

And Kenny says, "I do hope your Chicago za was deep dish, with a pound of mozzarella in very slice.
I've had it once; it was TDF!"