email: roadarch@outlook.com

California Signs (page 12)

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Cockatoo Hotel [gone]
Hawthorne, CA		 Phil's Bike Shop
Hawthorne, CA		 Hawthorne Nursery
Hawthorne, CA
The Cockatoo Hotel closed in 1996 and was demolished in 2005. The Cockatoo Inn opened as a restaurant in 1946. I don't know when the hotel was built. This sign was probably from the 1950s. A Candlewood Suites was built on the property but the sign remained. The first photo above is from 2008. The sign had been repainted by the 2013 photo above. The sign was removed around 2017. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.

I believe Phil's Bike Shop has been here since at least the 1950s. The sign may be from then or the 1960s. This photo is from 2013. In 2016, this sign was partially painted bright green. The panel behind neon tubing still remains blue in 2018. This bicycling character appeared on signs in Long Beach, CA and Edmonton, AB. There must have been other Schwinn signs with this character elsewhere. [map]

The Hawthorne Nursery was established in 1927. The store moved to this location in 1959. This sign and building appear to be from then. [map]

Hawthorne Hardware
Hawthorne, CA		 John & Zeke's Bar & Grill
Healdsburg, CA
The signs at Hawthorne Hardware appear to be from the 1960s. [map]

John & Zeke's Bar & Grill moved to this location in 2014. This sign was moved here from its previous location just a few blocks away. The bar originally opened in 1933. This sign is probably from the 1960s or 1970s. [map]

More Hawthorne:
Chips Restaurant

Healdsburg:
Raven Theatre

Chappie's
Hemet, CA		 Cinderella Motel
Hollister, CA		 Levitz Furniture [gone]
Huntington Beach, CA
Chappie's bar opened in 1955 and this sign appears to be from then. [map]

The Cinderella Motel sign appears to be from the 1950s. The sign originally had more neon text at the bottom of the panel. There was also a neon Office/Vacancy sign below it. The bulb arrow was a recent addition. The sign was painted brown in 2004. This photo is from 2014. By 2019, the sign was repainted blue and the bulb arrow was gone. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

These photos of the Levitz Furniture signs were taken in 2008. The signs were removed in 2009. Levitz declared bankruptcy in 2008 and all of the locations have closed. The company's giant sign towers featured spinning neon logos. The company was founded in 1910 and had about 80 locations throughout the West Coast, Southwest, and Northeast. Here are some of their other locations which had older signage: Fresno, CA, Glendale, CA, Sacramento, CA, and San Leandro, CA. For more, see this website.

Shamrock Club
Huntington Park, CA
The Shamrock Club is now known as the Shamrock Lounge. This sign is probably from the 1950s. [map]

More Huntington Park:
Gage Bowl

Ray's Den Motel
Independence, CA		 Shields Date Gardens
Indio, CA		 Little Giant
Printers [gone]
Indio, CA
The Ray's Den Motel, named after owner Raymond Denn, was built in 1949. This sign is believed to be from then. The neon was restored in 2020. [map]

Shields Date Gardens was founded in 1924 by Floyd and Bess Shields. This 40-foot-tall sign and the current building are from 1953. I don't know if this sign ever had neon. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

The Little Giant Printers sign might be from the 1960s. It doesn't look like it had neon. This photo is from 2015. By 2017, the sign was gone.

More Independence:
Courthouse Motel
Pines Cafe
Winnedumah Hotel

More Indio:
Tropics Motor Hotel

Le Roy's
Credit Jewelers
[gone]
Inglewood, CA		 Mobil
Inyokern, CA
Le Roy's Credit Jewelers was gone when this photo was taken in 2008. By 2011, this sign was gone. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

The Mobil sign is installed on a Mobil gas station canopy. I have not seen a neon Mobil pegasus on a horizontal sign panel before. [map]

More Inglewood:
Academy Theatre

Bait
Isleton, CA		 Hotel Del Rio
Isleton, CA
This Bait sign was restored in 2020 by C.R. Glow Neon in Stockton, CA. It previously hung in the window of the Chamber of Commerce. The sign is now installed outside the building where it hung back in the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

The Hotel Del Rio opened in 1949. This sign may be from then. [map]

El Campo Casa Motel
Jackson, CA
The El Campo Casa Motel was built in 1941. This rooftop sign is probably from then. It originally read "El Campo Motel." For more, see this website. [map]

Reno's Hardware
Kerman, CA		 Ewings on the Kern
Kernville, CA
Reno's Hardware opened in 1948. This sign looks like it might be from then or the 1950s. [map]

Ewings on the Kern opened in 1956 and these signs might be from then. [map]

More Kernville:
Whispering Pines Lodge [map]

Little Bear Cottages
Kings Beach, CA		 Ta-Tel Lodge
Kings Beach, CA		 Crown Motel
Kings Beach, CA		 Falcon Lodge
Kings Beach, CA
The Little Bear Cottages sign is probably from the 1950s. It originally had neon. [map]

The Ta-Tel Lodge name is probably shorthand for Tahoe Motel. This sign is probably from the 1960s. [map]

The Crown Motel opened in 1957 and this sign is probably from then. It is now known as Ferrari's Crown Resort but this sign remains. For more, see this website. [map]

The Falcon Lodge opened in 1958 and this sign appears to be from then. The property has been fenced off since at least 2016. The sign remains. [map]

More Kings Beach:
Ann's Cottages
Gold Crest Motel [gone]

Windmill Drive-in
Kingsburg, CA
The Windmill Drive-in may have been a restaurant or a drive-in movie theatre. I suspect it was a restaurant. The business has been gone for decades but the sign remains. It is probably from the 1960s. [map]

Kramer Junction Antiques
Kramer Junction, CA
Kramer Junction Antiques features an antiques store and this warehouse which contains a collection of signs, antique cars, and other items. [map]

La Crescenta Motel
La Crescenta-Montrose, CA
The La Crescenta Motel was known as the May-Lane Motel until 2002. The sign was adapted then. The May Lane opened in the late 1940s. This sign might be from then or slightly later. [map]

Lafayette:
Plaza Center

La Habra:
La Habra Circle Shopping Center

Arlie's Club
Lake Isabella, CA		 Isabella Super Market & Tackle [gone]
Lake Isabella, CA
Arlie's Club opened in 1962. This sign might be from then or from earlier when the bar had a different name. [map]

Isabella Super Market & Tackle might have added the "Tackle" sign later. The signs were probably from the 1950s or 1960s. They were gone by 2022.

Lakehead:
Klub Klondike

Lakeport:
Piedmont Lumber Mill Co. [gone]

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		 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		 Porterville -
Redondo Beach		 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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