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Neon Extension Signs (page 2)

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Brad's Bar-B-Q [gone]
Moscow, TN
Little Nugget
Steakhouse
Danville, IL
Harry's Cafe
Pittsburg, KS
The Brad's Bar-B-Q sign was built for Lewis' Bar-B-Q in 1963. When Brad's moved into the building in 2005, the plastic box panels were changed to reflect the new name. This neon extension above the sign was kept. It was about three feet tall. At first glance, the neon appeared to represent a little girl with pigtails. However, a closer look revealed a pig-like snout instead of a nose. The owners of both restaurants referred to the figure as the "girl pig" and the "pig head". The neon was originally pink and blue. When Brad's opened, the neon was repaired and changed to red and blue. By 2022, a Mexican restaurant had opened in the building and this neon was gone.

The Little Nugget Steakhouse sign is not much to look at during the day. However, at night, it comes alive with an animated prospector raising and lowering a giant gold nugget. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Harry's Cafe opened in 1934. The triangulated sign panels are probably from the 1940s or 1950s. The neon chef on top of the sign may have been installed when the sign was built or later on. The approximately four-foot-tall chef was definitely there by the mid-1960s. He is lit with white, yellow, pink and blue neon. One of his hands points down at the restaurant while the other hand might represent a chef's kiss gesture. The porcelain panels below the chef were originally royal blue. In the early 2000s, when the building was repainted, the panels were covered with green paint to match the new color scheme. For more, see this website. [map]

Red Lodge Cafe
Red Lodge, MT
Heartbreak Hotel
Restaurant [gone]
Memphis, TN
Pete & Sam's Restaurant
Memphis, TN
The Red Lodge Cafe was built in 1930 as the Burton Cafe. It was renamed the Red Lodge Cafe in 1945. This sign was designed by the owner was built by the Neon Products Corporation in 1948. The teepee was painted different colors in 2003. The neon Indians are or were lit sequentially. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

I believe the Heartbreak Hotel Restaurant opened in the late 1990s. This sign features neon extensions of a guitar-playing Elvis Presley. The sign was removed in 2017. A new hotel, the Guest House at Graceland, was built on the property.

Pete & Sam's Restaurant opened in 1948. Pete left six months later but Sam kept the name since he didn't have the money to replace the sign. This sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. There was a devastating fire in 2017 but the restaurant reopened the following year. The sign was also repainted at that time. These photos are from 2019. For more, see this website. [map]

Dan West Garden Center [gone]
Memphis, TN
2010: 2019:
The neon on the top of the Dan West Garden Center sign was pretty special. Unfortunately, about half of the tubing of the farmer was gone. In 2021, the entire sign was replaced with a new one. The farmer at the top is now a plastic panel. I believe this store opened in the 1950s. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Toot's Tavern
Crockett, CA
Toot's Tavern was established in 1901. The sign is probably from the 1950s. However, the cocktail glass was different and did not have a woman in it in 2006. The sign was restored in 2003 by Bill Concannon of Aargon Neon. [map]

Pagliacci's [gone]
Denver, CO

2012:

2023:
Pagliacci's, an Italian restaurant, opened in 1946. It closed in 2012 and the building was demolished. The larger of the two signs featured a clown's head composed entirely of neon tubing. In 2015, the text panel sign shown on the left above was transformed into a planter and installed inside the Lumina Building which replaced Pagliacci's. The clown sign was replicated on a white background panel. That sign is installed on the side of the building. I don't know if the original clown tubing was saved. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Gus's Barbecue
South Pasadena, CA
Gus's Barbecue opened in 1946. In 1987, earthquake damaged forced the restaurant to close. It reopened in 1990. The blade sign features sequentially lit neon pigs and chickens around the sign panels. That sign appears to be from the 1950s. The neon on the front of the building is probably from later. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Busy Bee Cafe [gone]
Dubuque, IA
Bluebird Lodge
& Cottages [gone]
Eureka Springs, AR
Horseshoe Cafe
Benson, AZ
Jensen & Pilegard
Fresno, CA
The Busy Bee Cafe opened in 1915. This sign is probably from the 1950s or so. The Busy Bee closed in 1998 and this sign was left behind. It was on display at the Old Jail Museum downtown when this photo was taken in 2009. The sign features four stylized bees, two of which extend from the sign panels. It is now in storage at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. For more, see this website.

The Bluebird Lodge & Cottages featured a neon bluebird sign on top of a plastic box sign. The motel and sign were built in 1984. This photo was taken in 2010. By 2013, the bluebird and remaining neon musical note had been replaced with a motorcycle for the Bikers Bluebird Lodge.

The Horseshoe Cafe opened in the 1930s. This sign is probably from the 1950s. This neon horse is one of the few examples of neon extensions contained within the sign panels. [map]

This Jensen & Pilegard store sells lawn and garden equipment. When the company was first established in 1936, it also sold feed and seed. Therefore, I think that this sign with the rooster might have advertised for Jensen & Pilegard originally. It appears to be from the 1950s. There would have been neon letters on the panels originally. [map]

New Stockton Poultry Market
Stockton, CA
2008: 2014:
The New Stockton Poultry Market sign is probably from the 1950s. The chicken's neon tubing is broken. The remains of the neon arrows beneath the sign disappeared sometime after 2012. [map]

Byrd Drug Company
Troy, AL
Neal's Cafe
Springdale, AR
The Byrd Drug Company opened in 1940. This sign might be from then or, more likely, from the 1950s. It features a neon bird. For more, see this website. [map]

Neal's Cafe opened in 1944. This sign might be from then or, more likely, the 1950s. These photos are from 2010. By 2012, the chicken figure in the circle had been restored. For more, see this website. [map]

Trout Lodge
Naches, WA
Godwin's 303 Package
& Sporting Goods Store
Poplar Bluff, MO
The Trout Lodge sign features a trout which leaps in two-part animation. The neon text is white, red, and green while the trout is lit with red tubing. The motel is located right next to the Tieton River and its restaurant specializes in fried trout. The business was established in the 1940s. This sign which is about seven feet tall was installed between 1957 and 1965. Around 1996, the sign was blasted by snow blowers and the neon was broken. When it was restored, the word "cafe" was changed to "restaurant". At that time, the sign was moved from its previous spot next to the road to its position next to building for protection. For more, see this website. [map]

The Godwin's 303 Package & Sporting Goods Store sign was built in 1951. It featured a neon fisherman on top holding an animated line of fish. The 303 referred to the store's address. These photos are from 2010. By 2015, the store and the sign were gone. The sign reappeared in 2017, completely restored and animated, in front Hefner Furniture & Appliance. It was restored by Bootheel Sign. For more, see this website. [map]

Green Frog Market
Bakersfield, CA (now Glendale, CA)
2012: 2016:
The Green Frog Market stores in Bakersfield took their name from a Stockton chain which was established in 1930. The Stockton chain had four locations by 1948 when the owner sold the stores and began building new Green Frog Markets in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland. With permission to use the same name, the first Bakersfield store opened in 1934. The second Bakersfield location was built in 1946. A third location opened in 1988. It is believed that this neon frog sign at the second Bakersfield location came from one of the Stockton stores. When the location opened, it originally used a sitting frog for its logo and sign. However, when the store remodeled and expanded in 1952, this sign was installed. It was probably built in the 1930s. The sign has ripple tin panels and porcelain housings. The animated neon frog tipped his hat and the "Howdy Folks" text flashed on and off. During a renovation in 2009, the sign was moved from the store's roof to a "cage" on the ground. The owner believed the sign would be better protected there from vandals. The second location was the only one left when it closed in 2013. The sign was donated to the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, CA then. It has been restored and is now displayed in the museum's lobby. There is an unrestored, twin sign in Santa Cruz, CA. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Spenger's Fresh Fish Grotto
Berkeley, CA
Spenger's Fresh Fish Grotto was established as a clam stand in 1890. The restaurant opened in the 1930s. These signs were built in 1948 by Nelson Neon of Richmond, CA. The signs feature neon extensions of fish and waves. The restaurant closed in 2018. The place reopened as Bar 19 at Spenger's. The signs are still there. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Drake Hardware [gone]
Nashville, TN
Duck Blind
Santa Monica, CA
Ice Box
Logan, UT
This photo of the Drake Hardware sign is from 2007. It appears that there were three animated geese on top of the sign. Around 2011, the neon was removed and the panels were repainted. By 2015, the entire sign was gone.

The Duck Blind liquor store opened in the early 1950s. The store moved across the street to this location in the 1960s. This sign is probably from then. This duck detail is perched on top of the sign. For more, see this website. [map]

The animated Ice Box bar sign with its parading penguins was built and installed in 2020. The bar has closed but the sign remains. [map]

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