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California Signs (page 21)

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Paul
Bunyan Lodge
Porterville, CA		 Faggart
Auto Center
Porterville, CA		 Lariat Lodge
Quincy, CA		 Plumas Club
Quincy, CA
The Paul Bunyan Lodge opened in 1956 and this sign is probably from then. It is now known as the Palm Tree Inn but this sign remains. For many years, there was a wood carved statue of Paul Bunyan here which is now in Three Rivers. There was also a fiberglass Babe the Blue Ox statue here as well which is now at the fairgrounds. [map]

The Faggart Auto Center was known as Faggart Buick GMC until 2015. Faggart opened here in 1956 as a Buick dealership. This sign may have advertised for Spear Motors which was here before that. [map]

The Lariat Lodge was built by the 1960s and this sign appears to be from then. For more, see this website. [map]

The Plumas Club was built in 1914 as "Harvey's Place". It became the Plumas Club in 1947. The sign might be from then or later. It was painted black until around 2018. [map]

Rancho Super Car Wash
Rancho Mirage, CA		 Sycamore Inn
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
The Rancho Super Car Wash opened in 1966 and this sign was installed then. The sign was based on those built for the Elephant Car Wash chain in the Seattle area. The Seattle signs and this one were built by Tube Art Display. This location was originally owned by the son-in-law of the Seattle chain's owners. In 2024, a funding-raising campaign was underway to restore the sign. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

The Sycamore Inn was founded in 1848 as a stagecoach stop. This sign is probably from the 1950s. [map]

Victoria Gardens
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
The Victoria Gardens shopping center was built in 2004. This collection of vintage signs was installed over various businesses to give the place a sense of "layered history". I don't know where these signs were located originally or if they come from one person's collection. [map]

More Rancho Cucamonga:
Magic Lamp Inn

Turkey Inn
Ramona, CA
2014: 2023:
The Turkey Inn opened as a bar around 1933. The sign may be from 1937. At one time Ramona was known as the "Turkey Capital of the World." [map]

Elmore Pharmacy
Red Bluff, CA		 Tip's
Red Bluff, CA
The Elmore Pharmacy opened in 1906. It was a Walgreen Agency until the late 1960s when it became independently owned. This sign is probably from the 1950s. The sign was removed in 2017 after one of the cables snapped in a windstorm. It was restored and reinstalled in 2018. [map]

The Tip's bar sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

Peking Restaurant [gone]
Red Bluff, CA		 Red Bluff Gold Exchange
Red Bluff, CA
The Peking Restaurant sign was probably built in the 1950s. It closed around 2016. By 2018, the sign was gone and there was another restaurant in the building. For more, see this website.

The Red Bluff Gold Exchange opened in 1994. I assume this sign was adapted from a previous jewelry store. It appears to be from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

Paint Mart [gone]
Red Bluff, CA		 Palomino Room
Red Bluff, CA
The Paint Mart giant paint brush sign had been there since at least 2007. There are also locations in Redding and Anderson but they do not have a sign like this. All three stores had opened by 1987. I believe this location opened in 1984 and this sign is probably from then. By 2023, this sign had been replaced with a rectangular plastic box sign.

The Palomino Room opened in 1946. This sign was originally a projecting sign. The other half of this sign is now installed inside. [map]

More Red Bluff:
State Theatre

Redcrest Resort
Redcrest, CA		 Lim's Cafe
Redding, CA
This bear sign is installed on the roof of the Redcrest Resort gift shop. There were apparently neon tubing holes which were plugged at some point. [map]

Lim's Cafe opened in Redding in 1950. The restaurant moved to this location in 1957. This sign features a panel with a clock on one side and a thermometer on the other. The business closed in 2022. The sign will remain. For more, see this website. [map]

Thunderbird Lodge
Redding, CA		 Thunderbird Lodge
Chico, CA
The Redding and Chico Thunderbird Lodges were part of a chain. The Chico location was built in 1966. It is now the Quality Inn Thunderbird Inn but the sign remains. The Redding location was probably also built in the 1960s. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [Redding map]; [Chico map]

There is another still-operating location in Riverside, CA. There were others in Alameda, CA, Crescent City, CA, Eureka, CA, and Pullman, WA.

Americana Lodge
Redding, CA

2015:
2022:
The Americana Lodge and the the Stardust Motel (below) are next door neighbors. These motels have signs on both sides of their properties since they are between two main one-way streets.

The sign on the wall at the Americana Lodge was moved to a lower position sometime after 2007. In 2019, it was announced that the motel would be remodeled and renamed the Americana Modern Hotel. The wall and west-facing signs were adapted. The eagles were removed, repainted, and put in the courtyard. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Stardust Motel
Redding, CA
The Stardust Motel has been here since at least the early 1960s. [map]

More Redding:
Country Bowl
Gene's Drive-in
Gerlinger Steel & Supply Co.

Taylor's
Bar & Grill
Redlands, CA		 Masonic Lodge
Redlands, CA		 Redlands Service Clubs
Redlands, CA
Taylor's Bar & Grill was established in 1934. This sign might be from the 1940s. [map]

This Masonic Lodge was founded in 1890. This sign might be from the 1950s or 1960s. The neon tubing is protected by plastic covers. [map]

The Redlands Service Clubs single-sided sign next to Jennie Davis Park was removed in 2018. It was replaced with this replica in 2019. The original sign was built around 1949. [map]

Farmers Insurance Group
Redlands, CA		 Artesia Shoe
Repair [gone]
Redondo Beach, CA
Dick Hawkins' Farmers Insurance Group office is closed but this sign remains. The neon is missing on one side. These Farmers Insurance signs are very rare now. [map]

The Artesia Shoe Repair sign might have been from the 1950s or 1960s. This photo is from 2013. By 2015, the sign was gone. For more, see this website.

More Redondo Beach:
Tony's On the Pier

Alameda Albany -
Apple Valley		 Arcadia -
Barstow		 Bakersfield Bay Point -
Beverly Hills		 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		 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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