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California Signs (page 8)

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8 Ball Tavern
Cotati, CA
Custer's
Gift Shop [gone]
Covina, CA
A. Ghioldi Jewelry
Crockett, CA
The 8 Ball Tavern opened in 1937. This sign may be from then. The bar was named after an 8 ball which the owners found in the rafters of an old house on the property. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Custer's Gift Shop is gone but this sign remains. This sign might be from the 1960s. In 2017, the central "Gift Shop" panel was gone. It was still missing in 2018. By 2021, the rest of the sign had been removed.

The A. Ghioldi Jewelry store is long gone but this sign remains. It appears to be from the 1940s or 1950s. [map]

More Covina:
Rose Pharmacy [map]

More Crockett:
C&H Sugar
Toot's Tavern

Martin B.
Retting [gone]
Culver City, CA
Wheel World Cycles [gone]
Culver City, CA
Martin B. Retting has been selling firearms since 1958. This sign appeared to be from then. It originally had neon. The store closed in 2023 and the sign was removed.

Wheel World Cycles was established in 1945. This sign might have been from then or from the 1950s. In 2017, part of the sign fell and it was removed. It is unlikely that it will reappear. There is another location in Woodland Hills, CA but it does not have a sign like this one.

Astro Motel
Culver City, CA
Half Moon Motel [gone]
Culver City, CA
The Astro Motel sign is probably from the 1960s. [map]

The Half Moon Motel was built in 1955. This sign appeared to be from then. The motel closed in 2016 and the sign was scrapped. For more, see this website.

More Culver City:
Culver Ice Arena
Johnnie's Pastrami

Val's Restaurant
& Lounge
Daly City, CA
Callan Realty
Daly City, CA

Val's Restaurant & Lounge opened in 1950 and this sign was installed then. The business closed in 2022 but the sign remains. For more, see this website. [map]

Callan Realty was established in 1945. This sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. The sign has been reworked a bit. The top originally read "Callan Realty Co." with the neon panel under it reading "Insurance Home Builder Apartment Rentals." The neon was removed from this sign sometime between 2005 and 2009. By 2022, the panels had been reworked with plastic letters. For more, see this website. [map]

former Joe's of Westlake
Daly City, CA
2014: 2016:
Joe's of Westlake opened in 1957. The restaurant closed in 2014. The business was sold to the owners of Original Joe's in San Francisco. The restaurant was renovated and reopened in 2016. The lettering on the sign was changed to reflect the new name. For more, see this website. [map]

Dana Point:
Dana Point Nursery

IOOF
Davis, CA
7-Eleven [gone]
Davis, CA

This IOOF, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, sign was originally installed in the 1950s in Philadelphia, PA. It had been in a warehouse in New Jersey for many years. In 2015, the sign was purchased, restored, and installed the IOOF Lodge in Davis. For more, see this website. [map]

This 7-Eleven sign had been installed on the building since the 1960s. I believe this was the only original wall-mounted sign left. There would also have been a similar pole sign by the road which was replaced with a modern sign. These trapezoid shaped, plastic 7-Eleven signs are very rare now. There are about a dozen left in the country with most of them in the Bay Area. This design with slanted "Eleven" letters was built in or before 1969 when the company changed the logo. This sign was replaced with a modern sign around 2019.

More Davis:
Varsity Theatre

Palm Motel
Delano, CA
former Kismet Lodge
Desert Hot Springs, CA
The Palm Motel sign might be from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

The Kismet Lodge was built in 1960. The building now houses the Living Waters Spa which has kept the sign. For more, see this website. [map]

More Delano:
J's Coffee Shop [gone]

More Desert Hot Springs:
Hacienda Riviera [map]

Milk Farm Restaurant
Dixon, CA
The Milk Farm Restaurant was established in 1928. The restaurant closed in 1986 and the building was destroyed in 2000. However, this 100-foot-tall sign on I-80 has been landmarked and will remain in place. It was built in 1963. The cow and moon panel revolved.

The original rooftop sign was created in 1938 and now sits in a nearby pasture. The rooftop sign's cow and moon rocked back and forth via a motorized hinge. The cow's tail moved up and down. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Timber Lodge Motel
Douglas City, CA
The Timber Lodge Motel was operaing by the early 1960s and may be older than that. For more, see this website. [map]

Tri-City Motel
Downey, CA
Anatel Liquors [gone]
Downey, CA
Hazel's
Fashion Center
El Centro, CA
Niel Horne
Real Estate
El Centro, CA
Mayan Hotel
El Centro, CA
The Tri-City Motel sign appears to be from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

The Anatel Liquors signs were probably from the 1960s or 1970s. Around 2020, they were removed and plastic letters for the Anatel Bottle Shoppe were added to the facade.

Hazel's Fashion Center is gone but this sign remains. The sign is probably from the 1950s. [map]

The Niel Horne Real Estate sign may be from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

The Mayan Hotel has two identical, replica signs on the building. The original signs were probably from the 1930s or so. The new signs were installed in 2013. This photo is from 2014. By 2019, both signs had been painted black and the neon was removed. There are now plastic letters installed on the panels. For more, see this website. [map]

Dessert's Flowers
El Centro, CA
Brooks Jewelry Company [gone]
El Centro, CA
Dessert's Flowers is gone but this sign remains. It may be from the late 1940s or 1950s. [map]

The Brooks Jewelry Company opened in 1942. These signs appear to be from the late 1940s or 1950s. By 2019, the building had been demolished. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

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Apple Valley
Arcadia -
Barstow
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Hawthorne -
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Hayward &
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Pasadena -
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San Diego Area San Francisco San Jose San Mateo -
Santa Barbara
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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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