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North Carolina Signs (page 1)

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Pontiac Pointe
Albemarle, NC		 Asheville Showcase and
Fixture Company [gone]
Asheville, NC
The Pontiac Pointe restaurant has occupied this former Pontiac dealership since 2009. The owners kept this neon sign. By 2014, the restaurant had closed. In 2019, the building was housing Five Points Public House. The Pontiac sign is still there. [map]

The Asheville Showcase and Fixture Company was founded in 1920. This photo is from 2007. This sign has since been painted over with a new business name and the cartoonish figure is gone. [photo thanks Carey Burda]

More Albemarle:
Whispering Pines B-B-Q [map]

Mountaineer Inn
Asheville, NC
The Mountaineer Inn was built in 1939. These signs are probably from the 1950s. The standing hillbilly neon sign is 25 feet tall. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

More Asheville:
Blue Ridge Motor Lodge [gone]
Orange Peel
Sky-Lanes

Masonic Lodge
Bailey, NC		 Warrior Motel [gone]
Bryson City, NC
The Masonic Lodge in Bailey has an unusual and well-maintained neon sign. [map]

The Warrior Motel was built around 1960. This sign was probably from then and was originally animated. The Indian's tomahawk was sequentially lit in three phases. In 2024, the sign was sold to a sign seller.

Brevard:
Sunset Motel

More Bryson City:
Bar-B-Q Wagon
Bennett's Drugs
Gracey Manor [gone]

Burlington:
Skid's Drive-in #1

Lil' Smoky's Drive-in
Burnsville, NC		 White Horse Motel & Restaurant
Carthage, NC		 Ratcliffe's Florist Shop
Charlotte, NC
Lil' Smoky's Drive-in opened in 1953. Although the neon has been removed from this sign, it still has a lot of character. [map]

The White Horse Motel & Restaurant features this towering sign with a suspended horse. It appears to be from the 1960s or 1970s. [map]

The Ratcliffe's Florist Shop was established in 1917. The business moved here in 1929. This neon sign was built shortly after that. It's not clear when the flower shop closed but, in 1989, the building was adapted for use as the Carpe Diem restaurant. The sign was altered slightly at that time with "Carpe Diem" added in the small script at the bottom. The restaurant became Ratcliffe on the Green around 2007. At that time, the "Carpe Diem" part of the sign was removed. This photo is from 2010. During development from 2010-2011, the entire building was moved about 75 feet further north. In 2012, the sign was installed on a pole at the original location. The sign is about eight feet long and is lit at night. For more, see this website. [map]

Coffee Cup [gone]
Charlotte, NC		 Queen Park
Tower [gone]
Charlotte, NC		 Park-N-Shop [gone]
Charlotte, NC
The Coffee Cup opened in 1947 and the sign was installed at that time. In 2007, the business moved to a new location and left the sign behind. In 2009, the sign was stolen and the building was demolished. For more, see this website.

The Queen Park Tower was erected in the 1950s to advertise for the Queen Park Multi Cinema. The Cinema was converted into the Queen Park Business Center but the sign remained for many years. It was removed in 2014. The sign is now displayed at Queen Park Social. However, it appears to be a "tribute" sign. It is much shorter and wider. It does not have the readerboard near the bottom or the service ladders up the middle. The top of the sign originally had two rings. [map]

Park-N-Shop was once the largest grocery store chain in Charlotte. This location was built in 1962. It featured a huge backlit plastic rooftop sign and an enormous canopy. In 2004, Compare Foods took over the building and added their name to the sign. However, by 2010, all that was left were the poles. While the building is still there, there was no longer any rooftop sign by 2011.

Park-N-Shop [gone]
Charlotte, NC
The original Park-N-Shop opened in 1946. After it was destroyed in a fire, this location was built in 1959. By the 1970s, there were four stores in Charlotte and six others in the surrounding area. This store closed in 2004 and remained vacant. In 2016, the sign was removed and the building was demolished. The letters went to several private collectors.

former Knife &
Fork Restaurant [gone]
Charlotte, NC		 Herrin Brothers Coal & Ice Company [gone]
Charlotte, NC
The former Knife & Fork Restaurant housed the Carnitas Guanajuato restaurant when this photo was taken in 2010. The adapted sign appeared to be from the 1960s. By 2011, the building and sign were gone.

The Herrin Brothers Coal & Ice Company was established in 1929. Although the building was vacant, the company still operated out of a building behind it. The sign appeared to be from the 1940s or 1950s. In 2020, the building was demolished and the sign was gone.

More Charlotte:
Amity Gardens [gone]
Berkeley Jackson
City Chevrolet
Coney Island Grill [gone]
Dairy Queen
EAT [map]
JFG Coffee: 1, 2 [gone]
Oakden Motel [map]
Park Road Shopping Center
Reid's Fine Foods

Book: Charlotte: The Signs of the Times

Cherokee
Trader Motel
Cherokee, NC		 Pink Motel
Cherokee, NC
The Cherokee Trader gift shop opened in the 1950s. This sign was installed in 1964. In 2024, the sign was put up for sale. For more, see this website. [map]

The Pink Motel was built in 1957 and the painted sign was installed then. The rooms featured pink bedding, furniture, towels, bathroom tile, and even pink soap. The motel building is still painted pink. The approximately 18-foot-tall sign was produced by the Biltwell Sign Co. of West Asheville, NC. The fairy was inspired by the Tinker Bell character from the animated film "Peter Pan" which was released in 1953. Originally, the sign pole panels were painted pink and the background behind the fairy was a cloud-like white. By the early 1960s, "Free TV" was spelled out beneath the text panel in black paint and neon. Over time, that was changed to "Cable TV Pool." The panels had rusted quite a bit over the years, despite being repainted many times. The photos above are from 2007. The motel has been closed for several years and is currently being renovated. In 2022, a replica sign was installed. The sign's original "Yes/No" vacancy boxes were retained. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Chief Motel [gone]
Cherokee, NC		 Princess Motel [gone]
Cherokee, NC		 Cindy's
Dairy Bar [gone]
Cherokee, NC		 Wigwam Motel
Cherokee, NC
This Chief Motel sign was removed in 2008 and replaced with a plastic box sign. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

The Princess Motel burned down around 2003 and remained abandoned. The photo is from 2007. In 2010, the building was bulldozed and the sign sold as scrap metal.

This photo of the Cindy's Dairy Bar sign is from 2007. In 2008, the place was operating as Roland's Diner. This ice cream sign was still there in 2013. By 2020, the sign was gone and the building was housing BJ's Diner. The sign is in a private collection.

Wigwam Motel teepee sign might be from the 1950s. [map]

More Cherokee:
Boundary Tree Motel [gone]
Cherokee Reservation Craft Shop [gone]
Cool Waters Motel: 1, 2 [map]
Granny's Restaurant [map]
Totem Pole Craft Shop

Stag N Doe Pizza House
China Grove, NC		 Gary's Barbecue [gone]
China Grove, NC
The Stag N Doe Pizza House opened in 1953 and this Pepsi sign is from then. The sign was restored around 2000. The restaurant was named after the owner's favorite pub in England. [map]

Gary's Barbecue had this same style Pepsi sign. The Coca-Cola "Fountain Service" sign was mass-produced. Gary's opened in 1971. The signs were brought here from other places. This photo is from around 2008. Gary's is still there but, by 2014, these signs were gone. [photo thanks Robby Delius]

There was another Pepsi sign like these in Spencer, NC.

Concord:
Kluttz Lumber Co. [gone]

North Carolina
(page 2)		 Main Signs Page