The Pacific Shores opened in 1941. The glass block entrance and this neon sign is from then. [map]

This 7-Eleven sign is probably from the late 1960s or early 1970s. These trapezoid-shaped panels are very rare now. There is another one in San Diego and there are a few others in San Jose with the same design. [map]

The Pacific Liquor sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. The bulbs were probably animated originally. [map]

This Astor Hotel sign is probably from the 1930s or 1940s. I don't know when the hotel was built but it was there by the 1930s. The building is now a single room occupancy hotel. [map]

This former Dog House sign now advertises for the Pacific Beach Pet Salon and the Church of Steel Body Piercing & Tattoo. I don't know if this sign has always been there or if it came from another location. The Dog House restaurant chain was founded in the late 1940s in Youngstown, OH. By 1966, there were 221 locations in 33 states. I believe the chain went bankrupt in 1968. There are still a few adapted signs around the country including these in Dubuque, IA, Waukegan, IL, Dayton, OH, and Cleveland, OH. There was a San Leandro, CA location but the sign is gone now. The first location may have been in Youngstown, OH: 1, 2, and 3. There is still a location in Cleveland, OH that has a doghouse-shaped building. [map]

This Jack in the Box drive-thru order sign is located at the San Diego Automotive Museum. It is most likely from the 1960s. When this photo was taken in 2014, the sign was in storage. The first Jack in the Box was built in San Diego in 1951. The chain also featured Jack in the Boxes on top of its pole signs. There is another one of these signs on display at the Valley Relics Museum in Chatsworth, CA (moving to Van Nuys, CA in 2018). For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.