email: roadarch@outlook.com

California Signs (page 3)

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Shore Acres
Bay Point, CA
2014: 2020:
This Shore Acres sign is installed above the Joe's Hot Dogs building which is located in the Shore Acres Shopping Center. It appears to be from the 1950s. The sign was repainted around 2019. The neon tubing was removed. [map]

Stardust
Motel [gone]
Bell, CA		 Mill-Jack's Mobile Home Park [gone]
Bellflower, CA
The Stardust Motel sign was probably built in the 1960s. The sign was restored around 2014 just before this photo was taken. By 2017, it was replaced with a plastic box sign for the Diamond Bell Inn & Suites. For more, see this website.

Mill-Jack's Mobile Home Park may have gone by a different name originally. The sign probably had neon. The sign was removed around 2022.

Allied Muffler
Bellflower, CA		 American Wheel & Tire
Bellflower, CA
Allied Muffler opened in 1952 and this sign is probably from then. [map]

I'm pretty sure the American Wheel & Tire sign is vintage. [map]

Johnson Jewelers
Bellflower, CA
2008: 2019:
Johnson Jewelers opened in 1954 and this sign appeared to be from then. The store was closed and vacant in 2012. In 2016, the neon was removed and the sign was repainted to read "Shops on Bellflower". For more, see this website. [map]

Boos Window
& Floor Coverings
Bellflower, CA		 Five Star Liquor
Bellflower, CA
Boos Window & Floor Coverings opened in 1945 and closed around 2019. The sign is still there. It is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

The Five Star Liquor sign incorporates parking lot lights into its design. It was repainted sometime between 2008 and 2012, when these photos were taken. By 2019, the neon was removed and the letters were replaced with backlit plastic. [map]

Chris & Pitts Bar-B-Q
Bellflower, CA		 Chris & Pitts Bar-B-Q
Downey, CA
The Chris & Pitts Bar-B-Q chain was founded in Lynwood, CA in 1940. The Bellflower location was the fourth one built. I don't know if any of the other buildings were painted in this log cabin style. [map]

The Downey location was the sixth in the chain. I'm told this is not the restaurant's original sign. [map]

The Chris & Pitts' Van Nuys location closed in 2003. However, the neon sign was saved. Part of it went to the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, CA and the other part is at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, OH.

More Bellflower:
Victory Drugs [gone]

Econo-Doormasters
Belmont, CA		 Lariat Tavern
Belmont, CA		 Harbor Bar
Belmont, CA
Econo-Doormasters opened here around 1939. The sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. The genie character was developed by the Genie Garage Door Company and used in its advertising. For more, see this website. [map]

The Lariat Tavern sign was probably built in the 1950s. The "Tavern" text on the sign looks suspiciously modern to me. There may have been different wording there originally. The sign was temporarily removed in 2018 and reinstalled while work was being done on the building. For more, see this website. [map]

The Harbor Bar sign might be from the 1960s. [map]

Welcome sign
Ben Lomond, CA
The Ben Lomond Welcome sign is probably from the 1930s or so. The neon was restored around 2009. [map]

Pic-N-Pac Liquors
Berkeley, CA		 Paul's Shoe Repair Service
Berkeley, CA
Pic-n-Pac Liquors was evidently a Bay Area chain. There are a few locations left but this is the only one that I know of with a neon sign. The sign might be from the 1960s or later. There is another store in El Cerrito with a plastic sign. [map]

Paul's Shoe Repair Service opened in 1957. This sign appears to be from then. [map]

One Hour Martinizing Cleaners
Berkeley, CA		 Central Launderette
Berkeley, CA
These One Hour Martinizing Cleaners signs are probably from the 1960s. The dry cleaning chain was established in 1949. These photos are from 2014. The pole sign is intact but the original sign on the front of the building was replaced around 2020. For more, see this website. [map]

The Central Launderette was established in 1948 and this sign is probably from then. [map]

Star Grocery
Berkeley, CA
The Star Grocery was established in 1922. The store moved to this location in 1942. This sign was added during a 1949 expansion. For more, see this website. [map]

Progressive Missionary
Baptist Church
Berkeley, CA		 Harris Funeral Home
Berkeley, CA
The Progressive Missionary Baptist Church was established in Berkeley in 1935. This sign is probably from the 1950s. [map]

The Harris Funeral Home opened in 1953 and this sign may be from then. [map]

More Berkeley:
California Theatre
Hotel Durant
Spenger's Fresh Fish Grotto

Beverly Hills:
Earl Scheib

Alameda Albany -
Apple Valley		 Arcadia -
Barstow		 Bakersfield Big Bear Lake -
Bridgeport		 Buellton Buena Park -
Carpinteria
Catheys Valley -
Corona del Mar		 Cotati -
El Centro		 El Dorado -
Escondido		 Eureka -
Garden Grove		 Fresno Gilroy -
Harbor City		 Hawthorne -
Lakeport		 Hayward &
San Leandro
Lakewood -
Live Oak		 Lodi -
Lynwood		 Long Beach Los Angeles Macdoel -
Mendota		 Merced -
Monte Rio		 Monterey Park -
Oceanside		 Oakland
Ontario -
Palo Alto		 Pasadena -
Petaluma		 Pico Rivera -
Pomona		 Porterville -
Redondo Beach		 Redwood City -
Richmond		 Rio Nido -
Roseville		 Sacramento Salida -
San Bernardino
San Bruno -
San Luis Obispo		 San Diego Area San Francisco San Jose San Mateo -
Santa Barbara		 Santa Clara -
Santa Monica		 Santa Paula -
Stanton		 Stockton
Suisun City -
Ukiah		 Upland -
Vernon		 Victorville -
Wilmington		 Woodland -
Yuba City		 Museum of
Neon Art		 Valley Relics Museum

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