email: roadarch@outlook.com

C-152 Lectra Signs

C-152 Lectra signs were designed and produced by Jim Henry of Oklahoma Neon in Tulsa, OK in the 1960s. They were marketed and distributed by the Standard Neon Supply Company. There were only about 50 of these signs sold. There are about 13 left on public display. These signs were outlined with flashing bulbs which radiated from the center to the tips of the arms. This video shows the chasing pattern.

Fun House Pizza
Raytown, MO (now Olathe, KS)
2010: 2023:
This Fun House Pizza location opened in 1964 and this sign was installed then. In 2014, the sign panels were repainted and the star-like C-152 Lectra was refurbished. It was the only one still operating. In 2018, this location closed. The text panel shield sign is now displayed at the Kansas City Automotive Museum in Olathe. The C-152 Lectra is in storage. The text sign and C-152 Lectra will be reunited and displayed at the Lumi Museum when it opens. For more, see this website.

abandoned sign [gone]
St. James, MO		 Shadow Rock Lodge
Forsyth, MO
This abandoned sign is another example of a C-152 Lectra. I believe this sign is gone now. [photo thanks the lope]

This Shadow Rock Lodge sign originally featured a Neo-Lectra. At some point, that element was replaced with this C-152 Lectra. For more, see this website. [map]

C-152 Lectra and arrow
Kansas City, MO		 C-152 sign
Hobbs, NM
This C-152 Lectra and arrow in Kansas City both featured flashing bulbs. There is no identifiable business in the building now. There was a complex of three nightclubs there in the 1950s and 1960s. These signs must have advertised for one or all of them. The arrow was produced by Superior Electrical Advertising in Long Beach, CA. They were mass-produced and installed all over the country. Many of them had bulb text in the middle reading "OPEN" and other things. These photos are from 2010. By 2014, the arrow was gone. The C-152 Lectra was still there in 2022. [map]

This C-152 sign in Hobbs advertised for the closed restaurant on the property. The restaurant went by many different names over the years including Velma's, Trucker's, White's Cafe, and the Gibbs Cafe. The plastic panel beneath this sign-topper has been blown out. There was another C-152 sign in Hobbs at the Sands Motel. For more, see this website. [map]

Mr. B's Drive-in
Chouteau, OK
2011: 2019:

Monterey Motel
Chouteau, OK
2011: 2019:
Mr. B's Drive-in is gone but this sign remains. The sign may have come from the Boots Drive-in in Tulsa, OK. The text panel was the same shape and the owner of the Boots Drive-in was known as Mr. B. However, if this is the same sign or if it came from the same sign shop, the Tulsa sign had a Neo-Lectra originally. For more, see this website. [map]

The Monterey Motel is across the street from Mr. B's Drive-in. The businesses might have had the same owner. Both signs are topped with C-152 Lectras. In 2016, the new owner of the Monterey Motel restored the sign. The neon was removed and the sign was repainted for $2,000. It was too expensive to restore the neon. The same owner owns Mr. B's Drive-in but there are no plans to restore that sign. [map]

Jiffy Jim's
Marietta, OK		 Judy Ann's Restaurant [gone]
Cleveland, OK
The Jiffy Jim's gas station sign is topped with a C-152 Lectra. [map]

The Judy Ann's Restaurant sign was also topped with a C-152 Lectra. The entire sign was replaced in 2021 when the place became Shiloh's Restaurant.

Papa Joe's Fireworks
Hardeeville, SC		 Vinland Valley Nursery
Baldwin City, KS
Papa Joe's Fireworks has closed but the sign topped with a C-152 Lectra is still there. [map]

The Vinland Valley Nursery C-152 Lectra came from a closed business in Ottawa, KS around 2019. It was rewired and the bulbs are operational. For more, see this website. [map]

Arrow Motel
Amarillo, TX
2011: 2018:
The Arrow Motel was originally known as the Arrow Courts. It has been the Arrow Motel since at least 1955. The sign was configured differently originally with the larger arrowhead just a few feet off the ground and the smaller ones on either side of it. Below "Motel", the sign used to read "Cafe". In 2015, this sign was listed for sale on Craigslist for $5,000. However, by 2017, the sign was still there but the C-152 Lectra had fallen on the pole and one of the arms was badly bent. [map]

Don's Liquor
Stamford, TX
2017: 2018:
The Don's Liquor sign is probably from the 1940s or 1950s. By 2018, the neon had been removed from the Don's sign and it was repainted. The star was repainted and bulbs restored. [map]

More C-152 Lectra Signs:
Kearney, NE [gone]
Vaughn, NM [gone]
Claremore, OK [gone]
Pryor, OK

If you know of any other C-152 Lectra signs, I'd be very interested to hear about them: roadarch@outlook.com.

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