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Neon Extension Signs (page 2)

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Royal 7 Motel
Bozeman, MT
2008: 2022:
The Royal 7 Motel sign originally advertised for the Travelier Motel which opened in 1955. It became the Stardust Motel in 1972 and the sign was adapted. In the early 1980s, it became the Royal 6 Motel. However, that didn't last long since the Motel 6 chain felt it was too close to their name. It was quickly changed to the Royal 7. In 2021, the sign was adapted for the Sapphire Motel. The "7" panel was removed revealing the original star. The font is also closer the the original sign. The star's neon rays are supported by two metal rings. For more, see this website. [map]

Santa Monica Liquor
Santa Monica, CA
2013: 2014: 2024:
The Santa Monica Liquor sign is most likely from the 1950s. The zigzag pattern near the "L" probably continued down the side of the sign. The sign was repainted in 2014. The neon bottles are sequentially lit. For more, see this website. [map]

Star Liquor
Garden Grove, CA		 Badger Liquor Shop
Madison, WI		 Jackson's Liquors
Oakland, CA
The Star Liquor sign was restored in 2015. The sequential animation of the tipping bottle is working again. This sign and the Santa Monica Liquor sign described above are the only two that I know of featuring multiple neon bottles. [map]

The Badger Liquor Shop opened in 1934. The store's 17-foot-tall neon sign was likely built in the early 1940s by General Neon Products of Beloit, WI. The photos above are from 2012. The sign was removed in 2022 for restoration by Dan Yoder of the Sign Art Studio in Mount Horeb. The original porcelain enamel sign panels had been painted over since at least the 1990s. They were too degraded to be restored to their original finish. After removing enough paint to reveal the original colors, lettering, and other details, the panels were sandblasted and repainted. New interior wiring was installed and some of the rusted metal was replaced. About 200 feet of neon was created by Thomas Zickuhr of the Neon Lab in Madison. In 2023, the sign was reinstalled, and a relighting ceremony was held. The beer bottle's drips are animated. The dripping motif was also commonly used for plumbing signs. Several of them feature neon extensions. For more, see this website. [map]

The Jackson's Liquors sign was built in the 1950s. The only other surviving example of pouring, freestanding neon tubing was at Stephan Plumbing (now in storage). For more, see this website. [map]

Bon Ton Cafe
Memphis, TN		 Budget
Liquor Store
Memphis, TN		 C&S Liquors
Memphis, TN
The Bon Ton Cafe sign is probably from the 1950s. It closed in 2008. I believe it has been open for private events since 2011. For more, see this website. [map]

The Budget Liquor Store features a neon bottle sign. The business was located next door at one time and the sign was moved slightly. The neon circles were probably lit sequentially. [map]

C&S Liquors features a backlit plastic sign with a bottle pouring into a glass of ice cubes. The neon stars around the outside edge of the sign must have been sequentially lit. The other side of this sign has been covered over with a rectangular panel for the current business, Discount Tobacco & Beauty. [map]

B&B Discount Liquor [gone]
Memphis, TN

2011:
2019:
This B&B Discount Liquor store had been closed since at least 2008. The pole sign was about eight feet wide and was most likely built in the 1960s. The bottle's plastic panels were knocked out around 2018. The neon rings around the top of the bottle must have been sequentially lit. On the grid, the face of the pointing man was gone now but his bowtie remained. His lower animated arm was missing. I believe his arm was originally lit in three-phase animation. Around 2021, the building began housing Smackers Restaurant and the sign was removed.

Four Aces Bar & Lounge
Hardin, MT		 Blue Ribbon Shoe Service [gone]
Grants Pass, OR		 Gehlhausen
Paint Company
Evansville, IN		 Acme Drive-in
Cleaners [gone]
Alamogordo, NM
The Four Aces Bar & Lounge was previously known as Dan's Bar which was there by 1940. It became the Four Aces by 1962. This sign is probably from then. The neon bubbles were probably animated. [map]

The Blue Ribbon Shoe Service sign was built around 1949 for Hill's Shoe Service in Roseburg, OR. The sign was made by Dean Jewel at Roseburg Neon. In the mid-1980s, the sign was purchased and moved to V&P Shoe Repair in Roseburg. In 1995, the sign was purchased and moved to its most recent location at Blue Ribbon Shoe Service. Before it was installed, the sign was restored and painted blue. The shoe had originally been painted brown. The neon's flashing mechanism had broken many times in recent years but the owner lept up the repairs. The sign was about four feet wide. There are a few hardware stores with extended neon hammers but I believe this was the only shoe store with one. The sign was still there in 2017 but, by 2018, the store had closed and the sign was gone.

The Gehlhausen Paint Company sign features pouring paint drops. The drops were probably animated. For more, see this website. [map]

This Acme Drive-in Cleaners sign was probably from the 1950s. The photo above is from 2008. By 2012, the neon sign had been replaced with a plastic box sign. The sign is now in a private collection.

Brad's Bar-B-Q [gone]
Moscow, TN		 Little Nugget
Steakhouse
Danville, IL		 Harry's Cafe
Pittsburg, KS
The Brad's Bar-B-Q sign was built for Lewis' Bar-B-Q in 1963. When Brad's moved into the building in 2005, the plastic box panels were changed to reflect the new name. This neon extension above the sign was kept. It was about three feet tall. At first glance, the neon appeared to represent a little girl with pigtails. However, a closer look revealed a pig-like snout instead of a nose. The owners of both restaurants referred to the figure as the "girl pig" and the "pig head". The neon was originally pink and blue. When Brad's opened, the neon was repaired and changed to red and blue. By 2022, a Mexican restaurant had opened in the building and this neon was gone.

The Little Nugget Steakhouse sign is not much to look at during the day. However, at night, it comes alive with an animated prospector raising and lowering a giant gold nugget. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Harry's Cafe opened in 1934. The triangulated sign panels are probably from the 1940s or 1950s. The neon chef on top of the sign may have been installed when the sign was built or later on. The approximately four-foot-tall chef was definitely there by the mid-1960s. He is lit with white, yellow, pink and blue neon. One of his hands points down at the restaurant while the other hand might represent a chef's kiss gesture. The porcelain panels below the chef were originally royal blue. In the early 2000s, when the building was repainted, the panels were covered with green paint to match the new color scheme. For more, see this website. [map]

Red Lodge Cafe
Red Lodge, MT		 Heartbreak Hotel
Restaurant [gone]
Memphis, TN		 Pete & Sam's Restaurant
Memphis, TN
The Red Lodge Cafe was built in 1930 as the Burton Cafe. It was renamed the Red Lodge Cafe in 1945. This sign was designed by the owner was built by the Neon Products Corporation in 1948. The teepee was painted different colors in 2003. The neon Indians are or were lit sequentially. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

I believe the Heartbreak Hotel Restaurant opened in the late 1990s. This sign features neon extensions of a guitar-playing Elvis Presley. The sign was removed in 2017. A new hotel, the Guest House at Graceland, was built on the property.

Pete & Sam's Restaurant opened in 1948. Pete left six months later but Sam kept the name since he didn't have the money to replace the sign. This sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. There was a devastating fire in 2017 but the restaurant reopened the following year. The sign was also repainted at that time. These photos are from 2019. For more, see this website. [map]

Dan West Garden Center [gone]
Memphis, TN
2010: 2019:
The neon on the top of the Dan West Garden Center sign was pretty special. Unfortunately, about half of the tubing of the farmer was gone. In 2021, the entire sign was replaced with a new one. The farmer at the top is now a plastic panel. I believe this store opened in the 1950s. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Toot's Tavern
Crockett, CA
Toot's Tavern was established in 1901. The sign is probably from the 1950s. However, the cocktail glass was different and did not have a woman in it in 2006. The sign was restored in 2003 by Bill Concannon of Aargon Neon. [map]

Pagliacci's [gone]
Denver, CO

2012:
2023:
Pagliacci's, an Italian restaurant, opened in 1946. It closed in 2012 and the building was demolished. The larger of the two signs featured a clown's head composed entirely of neon tubing. In 2015, the text panel sign shown on the left above was transformed into a planter and installed inside the Lumina Building which replaced Pagliacci's. The clown sign was replicated on a white background panel. That sign is installed on the side of the building. I don't know if the original clown tubing was saved. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

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