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Neon Extension Signs (page 1)

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The photos in this section were moved here from my Signs section to accompany an article which I wrote for the Society for Commercial Archeology's Journal magazine.

This special sign type has no official name. Similar to "skeleton signs" which are installed inside store windows, these signs are composed entirely of neon "bones" supported by a metal grid. For lack of any better term, I have taken to calling these sign accents as "neon extensions" since the tubing projects off of the sign panels. These nearly freestanding neon pieces are more than just border details surrounding the sign. Pointing arrows are the most common subset of this sign type. Nearly as common are the ubiquitous neon cocktail glasses which are commonly perched on top of sign panels.

Other surviving neon extensions include stars, hearts, flowers, horseshoes, flames, musical notes, doughnuts, and dollar signs which follow the contours of the sign panels. Frequently, these shapes were sequentially lit with flashers. A handful of jewelry stores have shimmering diamonds with neon tubing rays. A number of drug stores have mortars with moving pestles composed entirely of neon tubing. What makes these sign additions significant is their miraculous survival considering the vulnerability of the exposed tubing to weather and vandalism. They are two-dimensional neon sculptures reflecting the skill of the tube bending artists who created them.

Villa Motel
South Gate, CA		 Klub Klondike
Lakehead, CA
The Villa Motel sign might be from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

The Klub Klondike opened in 1948 as a bar and restaurant. These signs are probably from then. The arrow on this sign begins on the panel and then extends outward from the sign with an extra piece of neon. I don't know of any signs that have that. For more, see this website. [map]

Sunny Liquor
& Market
Venice, CA		 Val's Liquors
Napa, CA		 Geary Parkway Motel
San Francisco, CA		 Forsyth's Furniture
Medicine Lodge, KS
The Sunny Liquor & Market sign is probably from the late 1920s or 1930s. It has ripple tin panels and a neon arrow extension which was probably added later. [map]

This sign at Val's Liquors originally advertised for Johnson's Liquors. Johnson's moved to this location in 1962 and this sign might be from then. The top panel originally read "Johnson's." The store became "Val's" in 1976 and that panel was adapted then. [map]

The Geary Parkway Motel sign is probably from the 1950s. It features 17 neon arrows alongside the panels. For more, see this website. [map]

Forsyth's Furniture was established in 1910. This sign is probably from the 1950s. [map]

Last Chance Liquors
Nashville, TN		 Arlie Dale's Jug Liquors
Salida, CO
The Last Chance Liquors sign was built for the store when it opened in in 1946. The arrows originally flashed on and off sequentially. The red bulb arrow was probably added in the early 1960s. The neon has not been lit since the 1990s. The name "Last Chance" refers to the fact that, at the time when the business opened, it was the last liquor store heading out of town towards Louisville. The counties between the two cities were "dry" at the time, prohibiting the sale of alcohol within their borders. While some sources claim that Johnny Cash bought his liquor here, the current owner believes that that is a myth. [map]

The Arlie Dale's Jug Liquors opened in 2004. At that point, the Arlie Dale's Jug lettering was added to the sign. It originally advertised for Dikkins Liquors. It later became Jug Liquors until it closed in 2001. The sign appears to be 1940s or earlier. I don't know if these four neon arrows were original or added later. [map]

Trail's End Motel
Dubois, WY		 Seat Cover City [gone]
Bakersfield, CA		 U.S. Motel
Las Vegas, NV		 Chinese Village Restaurant [gone]
Portland, OR		 Loma Liquor
Long Beach, CA
The Trail's End Motel was built in 1950 and this sign appears to be from then. This photo is from 2012. By 2019, the star and rays on top of the sign were gone. For more, see this website. [map]

Seat Cover City opened in 1953 and this sign appeared to be from then. I assume the eight stars flashed in sequence. There may have been more stars originally. This photo is from 2012. The sign was gone by 2015.

The U.S. Motel was built by the mid-1950s and this sign is from then. Only one of the 17 stars is missing at this point. They were probably lit sequentially. For more, see this website. [map]

The Chinese Village Restaurant sign was installed in 1971. It featured 16 operational neon stars. This video shows what the animation looked like at night. The restaurant was demolished in 2018 and the sign was safely removed. It is currently in storage. For more, see this website.

The Loma Liquor sign is probably from the 1950s. It also has 16 neon stars. They are not animated but may have been originally. Many cities have sign ordinances which prohibit moving neon. [map]

Walden Motel
Las Vegas, NV
2014: 2017: 2022:
The Walden Motel was built in 1962. The sign was painted red in 2022. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Star Motel
Las Vegas, NV
The Star Motel sign was built in the 1950s. There were evidently more stars between those metal bars. They probably flashed. For more, see this website. [map]

Pinon Motel
Albuquerque, NM
The Pinon Motel opened as the Pinon Lodge in 1946. This sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. The neon tubing on top of the sign most likely flashed sequentially. Two of the pieces of tubing are missing now. The sign was repainted just before this photo was taken in 2017. However, much of the paint is missing now. The neon extension tubing piece most likely came from a Village Inn Pancake House. See the Uranium Cafe description below. [map]

Uranium Cafe [gone]
Grants, NM
The Uranium Cafe opened in 1956. The restaurant's name was a reference to Grants' uranium mining boom which began in 1950. The sign had been painted various colors over the years. The once animated, neon details on top of the sign had been broken for many years. This piece and the one on top of the Pinon Motel sign shown above most likely came from a Village Inn Pancake House sign. There were at least two locations that had these: in Albuquerque, NM and Denver, CO. I suspect there were others. However, I don't know of any others that have survived. After being closed for many years, this restaurant reopened in 2010 as Nana's Cafe. In 2012, Badlands Burgers moved into the space. In 2024, the sign was removed and placed in storage. The neon on the building appears to be modern. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.

Wally's Jewelry
Blackfoot, ID		 Marcotte Jewelry
Marshall, MN		 Lamar Restaurant [gone]
Jackson, MS
Wally's Jewelry opened in 1950 and this sign is probably from then. The store was vacant but this sign remained when this photo was taken in 2014. For more, see this website. [map]

Marcotte Jewelry opened in 1945 and is still operating. This sign may be from then. The word "Jewelry" and the diamond flash on and off. The glittering diamond is a frequent motif for vintage neon jewelry store signs. However, I believe these are the only two signs with the neon diamond extending off of the panels. [map]

The Lamar Restaurant opened in 1953. This sign was probably from then. In 2015, the place closed and the sign was gone.

Silver
Horseshoe Bar
American Falls, ID		 Sparks-Terrell Hardware [gone]
Lexington, KY		 Bow & Arrow Motel
Las Vegas, NV
The Silver Horseshoe Bar opened in 1927. The sign was built in the late 1940s as a projecting sign. The bar closed in 2009 and the building was demolished in 2014. The sign was saved by the City. In 2015, the sign was restored by Blaze Signs of Pocatello, ID and reinstalled at the former site. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

The Sparks-Terrell Hardware sign featured multiple neon tools extending from the panels. The sign was probably built in the 1950s or 1960s. These photos are from 2010. The shop had been closed for many years before that. In 2013, the sign was still there. However, by 2015, it was gone. This sign was unique and was one of the nicest examples of these signs considering the variety of freestanding neon tools.

The Bow & Arrow Motel was thought to have been designed by Betty Willis who was responsible for many famous signs in Las Vegas. However, that attribution has been disproved recently. The downtown motel was built in the late 1950s. The sign is either from then or the early 1960s. It's not known when the motel closed but the sign was donated to the Neon Museum in 2000 by the Allied Arts Council. In 2003, the sign was restored for $8,400 and installed at the Fremont Street Experience. It remained there until 2005. The sign was restored again in 2009 and installed in the median of Las Vegas Boulevard just south of the Neon Museum.

The sign's half circle cut-out contains a seemingly free-floating neon bow and arrow. This part of the sign is about five feet tall. The red arrow and red and white bow are lit in a five-part sequence. When the sign was at the Fremont Street Experience, the bow had some yellow tubing as well. There are only a few other extension signs which have the neon tubing within the interior of the panels. For more, see this video. [map]

Neon Extensions
page 2		 Neon Extensions
page 3		 Neon Extensions
page 4		 Neon Extensions
page 5		 Main SCA Article
Companion Page		 Main Signs Page