email: roadarch@outlook.com

Mortar, Pestle, and Beaker Signs (page 3)

(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)

Green Cross Pharmacy
Boston, MA
I don't know if this Green Cross Pharmacy mortar and pestle sign is old or new. By 2020, the building was housing the Nando Ristorante Enoteca. The mortar and pestle sign are still there. [map]

More Massachusetts:
Gary Drug (Boston)

Lipka's Drug Store
Montague, MI		 Wheeler Drug Store
Decatur, MS
Lipka's Drug Store opened in the 1940s. It is no longer a drug store but still operates as a soda fountain and restaurant. [map]

The Wheeler Drug Store opened in 1959. This modern sign was built in 2013. There was a plain rectangular sign before this. [map]

More Michigan:
Sam's Liquor Shoppe & Pharmacy (Detroit)

More Mississippi:
Tom's Drugs (Baldwyn) [gone]
former drug store (Hattiesburg)

Longbella Drug
Staples, MN
The Longbella Drug sign is probably from the 1950s. Longbella might not be the original name. [map]

Missouri:
Antique Warehouse (St. Louis) [gone]

Apothecary Shop
Hendersonville, NC		 Creech Drug Co.
Selma, NC
The Apothecary Shop building was built around 1900 for the Justus Pharmacy. It is not known when the space began housing the Apothecary Shop. The store closed around 1994. This sign appears to be from the 1950s or 1960s. The metal or ceramic mortar pestle is outlined with neon and encased behind clear panels. The sign is only partially lit now but the owner is considering having it restored. Since 2003, the space has been home to Mike's on Main Street sandwich shop. The restaurant's interior features antiques as well as an opal glass "SODA" sign and a Federal Electric "DRUGS" sign. [map]

The Creech Drug Co. was established in 1939. There is still a soda fountain inside. The neon appears to be in good shape. [map]

More North Carolina:
Thomas Drugs (Calabash) [gone]
Cape Fear Discount Drugs (Fayetteville)

Almklov's Pharmacy
Cooperstown, ND
I believe Almklov's Pharmacy opened in early 1990s. The sign is probably from the 1950s. The store has closed but the sign remains. [map]

Steffen Drug
Hartington, NE
Steffen Drug opened in 1999. Before that, the store housed another drug store since 1913. I believe it was Buchanan Drug. This sign was installed sometime after 2012. I don't know if was from the previous drug store or it advertised for another business someplace else. The sign has patched neon tubing holes and looks like it might be from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

Mast Pharmacy & Surgical Supply
Bordentown, NJ
The Mast Pharmacy & Surgical Supply sign is probably from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

More New Jersey:
Lenrow Chemist (Irvington) [gone]

Henderson's
Drugs [gone]
Penn Yan, NY		 Adrien Pharmacy
Cincinnati, OH		 Pohlman's Pharmacy
Goshen, OH
(now Cincinnati, OH)
Henderson's Drugs was founded in 1956 and this sign appeared to be from then. The company had several other locations. This sign was removed and destroyed in 2014.

The Adrien Pharmacy sign features an animated mortar and pestle. [map]

The Pohlman's Pharmacy opened in Cincinnati in 1956. This 15-foot-tall porcelain enamel sign was built in the late 1950s by Federal Sign. When the store moved to Goshen in 1971, this sign was also moved. The store moved again in 1975 and the sign was again relocated. It features a tilted beaker which pours chasing bulbs into a glass below. The flashing neon beaker and glass are lit in green. "Drugs" is lit in white and "Pohlman's" is lit in red. The business closed in 2015 and the sign was donated to the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati. After repairing some of the interior wiring and support structure, as well as some of the neon, it was installed outside in 2019 next to the Holiday Inn sign. This sign may have been the inspiration for the now-gone Harvard Avenue Drugs sign in Roseburg, OR (shown below). For more, see this website.

More New York:
M&M Pharmacy: 1, 2 (Brooklyn) [map]
Brown's Pharmacy (Deposit) [gone]
Garro's Drugs (Utica) [gone]

More Ohio:
American Sign Museum: 1, 2 (Cincinnati)
Hillsboro
Wurster Drugs (Portsmouth) [gone]

Howard's Drugs
Lakeview, OR		 Harvard Avenue Drugs [gone]
Roseburg, OR

The Howard's Drugs is probably from the 1960s. [map]

Harvard Avenue Drugs opened in 1959. This sign was most likely from then. There were chasing bulbs between the beaker and the mortar and pestle. The store closed in 2019. The building and sign were gone by 2021.

Gaddy Drug
Muskogee, OK		 Ralph's Drug [gone]
Oklahoma City, OK
Gaddy Drug was founded in 1949. This appears to be either a refurbished or replica sign. [map]

Ralph's Drug was gone when this photo was taken in 2011. These signs were removed in 2014. The 1950s-looking sign had been updated a bit with the plastic panels. The neon sign is now in a private collection. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Pennsylviana:
private collection (Philadelphia)

former Tellis Pharmacy
Charleston, SC		 Union County Drug
Anna, IL (now Vale, SD)
The Tellis Pharmacy opened in 1952. This sign was built in 1953. The store closed in 2012. In 2014, the sign remained and there was an antiques store in the space below. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Union County Drug was closed when this photo was taken in 2010. This sign appeared to be modern or a substantially refurbished old sign. It was gone by 2018. The sign is now displayed at the Full Throttle Saloon in Vale, SD.

More South Dakota:
Yankton Rexall (Yankton)

Tennessee:
J. Lowery Drug Store (Benton)

Jones McCall Pharmacy [gone]
Andrews, TX		 Deason Pharmacy [gone]
Tyler, TX		 Center
Pharmacy [gone]
Hallettsville, TX
The Jones McCall Pharmacy opened in 1955. This sign was probably from then. This photo is from 2012. The sign was still there in 2013. The pharmacy had closed and the sign was gone by 2018.

The Deason Pharmacy was gone but this sign was still there when this photo was taken in 2011. The sign appeared to be from the 1940s or 1950s. The sign disappeared in 2013.

The Center Pharmacy sign was probably from the 1950s or 1960s. By 2021, the neon was removed and it was painted white for a frozen yogurt store. [map]

former Grove Drug Store
Austin, TX
2011: 2018:
The Grove Drug Store occupied this building from 1933 until the early 1980s. The Morley Brothers drug store preceded that as the original occupants in 1874. The sign was probably built in the 1940s or 1950s. It had been installed by 1956. The vertical panel read "Drugs." In 2000, the drug store was converted into Austin's Visitor Information Center. The neon sign was adapted with coverup panels to reflect the new use. In 2014, the sign was covered over again for the space's new tenant, Wild About Music. By 2016, the sign was back to reading "Visitors Information Center." Around 2018, the sign was reworked to read the "Grove Building." The two neon arrows that wrapped around the bottom of the sign are gone now. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4. [map]

Friedman's Drug
Dallas, TX		 Nau's Enfield Drug [gone]
Austin, TX		 North Side Medical
McKinney, TX
Friedman's Drug opened in Dallas in 1925. In 1946, the store moved to this location. This sign was installed in the 1950s or 1960s. There was originally a corrugated plastic text panel on the pole below the neon mortar and pestle. The pestle was animated, and the sign may have revolved. By the 1980s, the text panel had become a readerboard. The store had closed by the 1990s. The sign remains, however, it is not lit or landmarked in any way. The readerboard below was replaced with multiple backlit text panels advertising the occupants of the now divided-up space. [map]

Nau's Enfield Drug opened here in 1951. This sign was restored in 2009 by Evan Voyles of Neon Jungle. It was repainted in the original color scheme. Voyles added animation to the mortar and pestle which was not part of the original design. The sign looked like this in 2006. The panel with the mortar and pestle has been adapted and painted over from an earlier design or another business. Raised letters reading "ICE CREAM" are visible at the bottom and there appears to be a checkmark above them. In 2023, it was announced that the business was closing. The sign and contents of the interior were auctioned off.

The North Side Pharmacy had opened in the downtown square of McKinney by 1907. In 1964, the company opened this second location on University Dr. This sign appears to be from then. The stylized mortar and pestle was outlined with blue and gold neon. The backlit plastic panel in the middle originally read "Northside Pharmacy." The spear at the top is a continuation of the tapered and striped panels surrounding the sign's supporting pole. Since at least 2007, the plastic panel has read "North Side Medical Home Health Care Equipment" to reflect the other businesses in adjoining complex. The drug store is now known as the McKinney Pharmacy. For more, see this website. [map]

More Texas:
Dougherty's Airway Drug (Dallas) [gone]
Smith Drugs (McKinney) [gone]
Kelly Drug (Mineola) [map]

Utah:
Vincent Drug (Midvale) [gone]

Malley's Pharmacy
Richland, WA		 Luck Pharmacy
Luck, WI		 Buch and
Donovan Drugs [gone]
Wheeling, WV
This Malley's Pharmacy sign was probably built for Johnson's Drug which preceded Malley's at this location. The sign appears to be from the 1950s. [map]

The Luck Pharmacy mortar and pestle sign is about eight feet tall. The openings on the bottom might indicate that it is or was lit at night. [map]

Buch and Donovan Drugs opened in 1921. This sign was most likely from then. The drug store was long gone but this sign remained until around 2022. It is now in a private collection.

More Wisconsin:
Mallatt's Pharmacy (Madison) [gone]

Canada:
Pharmasave: 1, 2 (North Vancouver, BC) [gone]
Nolan's Pharmacy (Vernon, BC)

Mortar, Pestle, & Beaker Signs
page 1		 Mortar, Pestle, & Beaker Signs
page 2		 Main SCA Article
Companion Page		 Main Signs Page