Franks Place, my watering hole in Beijing is decorated in more or less an American sports bar motif (two big screens, etc). Along the ceiling there are license plates collected from patrons over the years. One per state. Franks was the first non-hotel foreign bar opened in Beijing, in 1989, business license #1. Within a few months it will be forced to move due to redevelopment at the site they've been in for 15 years. Their collection is pretty good but has some holes in it. What I'd like to do is collect the missing states (and the provinces if you Canadians are game) so when they set back up at the new location it will be complete. I'm sure it will be the only complete set in China. Here are the missing states: Alabama, DC (not technically a state), Kansas, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont. (They also have Guam, but not Puerto Rico or American Virgin Islands if you're in the territories) And missing Canadian provinces: Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan. Their plate for NW Territories is shaped like a bear, pretty cool. Type of plate (truck, antique, etc) doesn't matter, vanity not important (their Idaho plate is "HEMI RT" so I gave them CA plate "GS 24S" off my dual quad Riv to compensate), nor age. What's hanging is mostly from the 80s and 90s which fits with when they've been in business. Please PM me if interested in donating to this. I'll send you a USA mailing address and ensure no duplicates to waste your time. Your license plate could be hanging at a popular bar in Beijing for you to come visit someday, perhaps the 2008 Olympics. If I'm around you'll get paid back handsomely in free food and drink. I'm on their Board of Governers, so easy for me to say that. Thanks in advance for any help with this small project. :beer
Mike, I can send you a Manitoba plate, how about a motorcycle plate as well, I think I've got one of those. I'll send a PM.
THANKS. So far you guys have been great!! Still looking for Alabama, DC, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island.. Special thanks to Buick Doctor who seems to have a very good collection of all sorts of things, including license plates. Canada, same less Manitoba. Thanks Tom. Incidently, where the heck is Nunavut?
Mike, Nunavut was created in 1999 by splitting Northwest Territories into two separate territories, and it is located mostly directly north of Manitoba. Their plate is also shaped like the Polar bear if I recall correctly. Might be hard to get a plate though.
