This Eddie Bohn Pig 'N Whistle Motel & Restaurant was built by Eddie Bohn, a successful boxer in the early 1920s. In 1924, he opened a gas station and hamburger stand on West Colfax Avenue. In 1926, the buildings were replaced with a larger station and Bar-B-Q restaurant. By the 1930s, a motor court with cottages was added. The complex was known as the Pig 'N Whistle Village. The name was borrowed from the Los Angeles restaurant which is still operating. By 1949, there was a T-shaped neon sign on the corner reading "Motor" across the top and "Hotel" vertically below. In the mid-1950s, this 50-foot-tall pole sign was installed. With the completion of Interstate 70 in the mid-1960s, business at "The Pig" began to wane. Eddie died in 1990 and the gas station, restaurant, and motel closed by the following year. The surviving restaurant building burned down in 2010. The only thing that remains of the complex is this sign. This photo is from 2012. In 2015, a medical marijuana store opened on the property. In 2019, a new property owner renamed the store the Pig 'N' Whistle and funded the restoration of the sign. It was patched, sanded, and repainted on-site by Morry's Neon. The readerboard and dancing pig acrylic inserts were replicated. New neon was installed and the sign was relit in 2020. During the restoration, flashers were discovered inside the sign indicating that it was originally animated. The "H" and "M" alternated, spelling out "Hotel" and "Motel". The big, powder blue abstracted arrow was sequentially lit, pointing at the motel. Due to current city sign codes, those animated features could not be restored. For more, see this website. [map]

The Western Hills Motel was built in 1955. This sign appears to be from then. There was originally a panel with horses pulling a covered wagon on top of the flat part of the sign. Since this photo from 2004 was taken, the neon "Motel" has been replaced with backlit plastic letters. In 2018, the sign was undergoing more remodeling. All of the letters are now backlit plastic. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

The Aristocrat Motor Hotel was built in 1964 and this sign appears to be from then. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Duffy's Cherry Cricket opened in 1945 as Mary Zimmerman's Bar. The bar moved to this location in 1950. In 1965, it was renamed Duffy's Cherry Cricket and the sign was built then. The top part of the sign revolves or at least it did originally. It is now known as the Cherry Cricket Restaurant but the sign remains the same. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]