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Foster's Freeze (page 1)

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Foster's Freeze was the first soft serve ice cream chain in California. The company was founded by George Foster in 1946. The first location was built in Inglewood, CA. The company was officially named Foster's Old Fashion Freeze. It is now known as Fosters Freeze. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Foster's Freeze
Buellton, CA
These Foster's Freeze signs are located at Mendenhall's Museum of Gasoline Pumps & Petroliana. I don't know where they were originally installed or if they came from the same location. The first sign shown in the top row above would have been installed on top of the roof at early locations like this one. Very few of these are still on display at operating locations now. I have not seen one of these porcelain enamel menu board signs anywhere else.

former Foster's Freeze [gone]
Menlo Park, CA
This Foster's Freeze was built in 1950. The rooftop sign is the same design as the one in Buellton above. It is set at an angle and partially hidden by a tree which makes it difficult to shoot. When the pole sign was repainted, it eliminated the original details (see other signs below). In 2015, it was announced that this location would be closing and that the building would be demolished. In 2016, the building was still there but the signs were gone. The building was gone in 2017.

Foster's Freeze [gone]
El Centro, CA
This Foster's Freeze featured a neon pole sign and sign panels which were evidently part of a rooftop sign like those shown above in Buellton, Menlo Park, and below in Brawley. This location closed in 2016. By 2017, the building was boarded up and the signs were gone.

Foster's Freeze
Brawley, CA
This Foster's Freeze opened in 1952. It still has the original rooftop sign. There was probably a neon pole sign previously. [map]

Foster's Freeze
Inglewood, CA
This Foster's Freeze might be located on the site of the first stand built in 1946. However, this building is probably not the original. I believe the earliest buildings all had rounded corners like many of those shown below. There would also have been a neon sign here originally. [map]

Foster's Freeze
Los Angeles, CA
This Foster's Freeze location appears to be from the late 1940s or early 1950s. It features one of the early examples of the chain's signs. The ice cream portion of the cone was apparently plastic or glass and probably backlit originally. However, this sign is now missing the neon tubing. [map]

Foster's Freeze
Los Angeles, CA
2013: 2020:
This Foster's Freeze above features a repainted pole sign and a more modern sign above the original building. I believe this location was built in 1949. The sign's neon was restored in 2019 for a movie shoot. [map]

Foster's Freeze
Los Angeles, CA		 Foster's Freeze [gone]
Los Angeles, CA
The first Foster's Freeze shown above is located in the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles. It was probably built in the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

The second Foster's Freeze shown above had been closed since at least 2012. This photo was from 2016. The building was demolished in 2017.

I believe this location in Los Angeles is also gone now.

Foster's Freeze [gone]
Gilroy, CA
2014: 2017:
This Foster's Freeze location was built in 1950. The building has been significantly remodeled but it still had the original neon sign. The sign was repainted around 2015. The "Old Fashion" text in the middle was still missing. This location closed around 2021 and the sign was removed. [map]

Foster's Freeze
Torrance, CA

2013:
2022:
This Foster's Freeze was built in 1947 as the company's 23rd stand. The building and canopy were repainted around 2017. This is supposedly the second oldest Foster's in Los Angeles County. The oldest is supposedly the one in Hawthorne (see next page). However, that location has been remodeled and the neon sign replaced with a new one with plastic letters and cone. In 2021, the Torrance neon sign was sold to a collector and replaced with a plastic version. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Foster's Freeze [gone]
Paso Robles, CA
The Foster's Freeze in Paso Robles opened in 1952. The building has an addition to the roof. The canopy is also not original. The sign's "Hamburgers" and "Drive Thru" panels must have been added later. This location closed in 2014. By 2015, the signs were gone and the building had been painted beige and was housing a Mexican restaurant. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Foster's Freeze [gone]
San Luis Obispo, CA
This Foster's Freeze had an addition to the roof. The canopy was also not original. In 2014, this location closed. The signs were removed soon after that. The building was still there but vacant in 2015. It was surrounded by chain link fencing in 2017 and demolished by 2023.

Foster's Freeze
Berkeley, CA

2014:
2020:
This Foster's Freeze is probably from the late 1940s or early 1950s. This sign was reworked at some point. The sign was repainted around 2018. For more, see this website. [map]

Foster's Freeze
San Jose, CA
This Foster's Freeze was built around 1949. For more, see this website. [map]

Foster's Freeze
Fresno, CA
This Foster's Freeze sign and its companion "BURGERS" sign are now located at CNI Signs in Fresno. It's not known where they were installed originally.

Foster's Freeze
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