email: roadarch@outlook.com

Nashville Signs

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Nashville Sporting Goods [gone]
Nashville, TN
Southern
Thrift Store [gone]
Nashville, TN
Wendell Smith Restaurant
Nashville, TN
Nashville Sporting Goods has been around since the early 1940s. Walter Nipper bought the business in 1950. While the store is still there, this sign was removed and destroyed in 2009.

This photo of the Southern Thrift Store sign is from 2007. Around 2013, the sign was replaced.

The Wendell Smith Restaurant features a liquor store in front and a "meat-and-three" restaurant in back. For more, see this website. [map]

Music City Liquors [gone]
Nashville, TN
Congress Inn [gone]
Nashville, TN
Soap Opera
Laundry [gone]
Nashville, TN
Key Motel
(now Dive Motel)
Nashville, TN
Hosse & Hosse Safe
& Lock Co. [gone]
Nashville, TN
This photo of the Music City Liquors sign is from 2007. Around 2009, the neon was removed and the sign was repainted for D's Kitchen. I suspect from the shape that this was probably a Goodyear originally.

This Congress Inn was part of a nationwide chain. This photo is from 2007. The Congress Inn is still there but by 2010, the original plastic panels had been replaced. As far as I know, the only other intact sign like this left is in St. Ann, MO. For more, see this website.

The Soap Opera Laundry was still a functioning laundromat when this photo was taken in 2007. Around 2014, the letters and neon were removed from the sign and the top panel has faded.

The Key Motel was built in 1956 and this sign was most likely installed then. In 2018, the sign was repainted to read Dive Motel. The motel features retro-themed rooms and a swim club. For more, see this website. [map]

Hosse & Hosse Safe & Lock Co. claims to be the oldest locksmith in Tennessee. The company was established in 1865. This sign is probably from the 1950s. There is a clock on the other side of this sign. Around 2018, the business moved to the building next door and the sign was reinstalled there. In 2023, during demolition work after a fire, the sign was removed and put in storage. It may be restored "someday." For more, see this website.

Eastside Market [gone]
Nashville, TN
The Eastside Market sign appeared to have had a pulsating star at one point. There is now a BP gas station on the lot now. This photo is from 2007. By 2012, the sign was gone.

Ironworkers Local 492
Nashville, TN
Jones Pet Shop
Nashville, TN
Purity Dairies
Nashville, TN
The Ironworkers Local 492 Labor Union building features an iron sign with a statue of an ironworker. The statue was repainted around 2019. [map]

The Jones Pet Shop opened around 1946. The sign was installed by 1959. The store closed in 1996. Later that year, the Fido coffee shop moved into the space and has been maintaining and lighting the sign. In addition to the Pluto-like dog, there are parakeets on top of the dog house. The sign is lit with red neon. For more, see this website. [map]

Purity Dairies was founded in 1926. In 1945, they moved to this location. I assume this sign is from then. The neon overlying "Purity" reads "Milk". For more, see this website. [map]

Beaman
Pontiac [gone]
Nashville, TN
Jim Reed Chevrolet [gone]
Nashville, TN
This Beaman Pontiac sign was built in 1958. The dealership is now known as the Beaman Automotive Group. In 2011, a replica of the sign was produced which reads Beaman Motor Co. The original sign was donated to the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, OH. For more, this website. [map]

Jim Reed Chevrolet was founded in 1917. The blade sign might be from the 1950s and the other signs were probably built much later. These photos are from 2010. By 2013, Jim Reed had closed and the blade sign was draped with a vinyl sign for Downtown Hyundai. This covering remains in 2015. The other Jim Reed signs are gone. For more, see this website.

Friedman's Army Navy Store [gone]
Nashville, TN
Weiss Liquors
Nashville, TN
R&R
Liquor Store [gone]
Nashville, TN
Friedman's Army Navy Store was established in 1949. This sign is probably from then. It originally had a top panel reading "Friedman's." The store moved to its current location in 1972 and brought along the sign. The store closed in 2024 and the sign was purchased and removed by Liquid Fire Vintage Neon. They will restore the sign and look for a public place to display it. For more, see this website.

Weiss Liquors was established in 1939. The store moved to another location in 1958. In 1961, the store moved to its current location and this sign was built by the Cummings Signs Company. In 2020, the sign was destroyed by a tornado. Later that year, new panels were built and the neon was recreated to match the original colors. The liquor pours from the jug in three-part animation with two drops and a splash. The two arrows flash in an alternating pattern. The painted script letters on the jug were also recreated. The "LD" letters are a reference to the store's original owner, Lucille Doyle. There is also a small, clear bottle perched on the "Liquors" panel between the arrows and the jug. It is not known when that was installed but it originally featured a spinning strobe light inside. The bottle was reinstalled on the new sign but it is not lit.

The rooftop sign on the convenience store on the same property was also built in 1961. That store has been owned by Weiss Liquors since 1964 and is leased out. That sign was not damaged by the tornado but it has not been lit for many years. For more, see this website. [map]

The R&R Liquor Store was established in 1949. The business moved to this location in either 1961 or 1962 and this sign was built then by the Cummings Sign Company. In 2020, this sign was destroyed by the same tornado that demolished the Weiss Liquors sign. The R&R sign is now in a private collection.

Carter Flooring Co. [gone]
Nashville, TN
The Carter Flooring Co. opened in 1946 and these signs are probably from that time. These photos are from 2003 and 2010. By 2015, the building and signs were gone.

Stage on
Broadway
Nashville, TN
Jack's Bar-B-Que
Nashville, TN
Robert's
Western World
Nashville, TN
Ernest Tubb Record Shop
Nashville, TN
I believe the Stage on Broadway opened around 2004. For more, see this website. [map]

Jack's Bar-B-Que is another fairly recent addition to Broadway. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Robert's Western World is another new club on Broadway. It was originally a Western clothing boutique in the early 1990s. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

The Ernest Tubb Record Shop has been here since 1947. The center portion of the sign revolves. By 2014, the panel with Ernest Tubb had been replaced with a photographic version. In 2024, the sign was removed during work on the building. It is currently in storage and will supposedly go back up. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Ideal Liquor
Nashville, TN
Fast Service [gone]
Nashville, TN
Drake Motel
Nashville, TN
Ozburn-Hessey
Carpet Center
Nashville, TN
The Ideal Liquor sign is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. The business was known as EZ Mart when this photo was taken in 2007. Around 2014, the missing panel was replaced with a new one reading "Ideal." The property was being redeveloped in 2022 but the sign was still there. [map]

The Fast Service convenience store was open when this photo was taken in 2007. In 2012, the building was vacant. It was still vacant in 2014. By 2017, the sign had been painted brown and the neon and readerboard were removed.

The Drake Motel started out as the Drake Hotel Courts. This sign was built in 1957. The mostly-functioning neon sign is 40 feet tall. This photo is from 2007. Around 2014, the letters on one side of the sign were switched from neon to backlit plastic. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

The Ozburn-Hessey Carpet Center opened in 1953. This sign is probably from then. [map]

L&L Restaurant
Equipment Co. [gone]
Nashville, TN
Mrs. Grissom's
Salads [gone]
Nashville, TN
Hickerson's Motel Court
Nashville, TN
Supreme Motors
Nashville, TN
I believe the L&L Restaurant Equipment Co. was established around 1970. This might have been an adapted sign. By 2019, the building was housing the L&L Market and the sign was gone.

Mrs. Grissom's Salads was famous for their pimento cheese and chicken salads. The company was established in 1955. This sign was installed next to their factory. In 2021, the company was sold to Chairman's Foods. The building has been demolished and the sign is gone. For more, see this website.

The Hickerson's Motel Court sign is probably from the 1940s or 1950s. [map]

Supreme Motors is obviously not the original name of this business. The neon cars most likely indicated that this sign had always advertised for a used car dealership. This photo is from 2011. In 2012, the sign was repainted with the text for "We Tote the Note" changed to "We Finance Anyone." By 2021, the sign had been repainted again for Toto's BBQ. The neon cars were gone. [map]

Loveless Cafe & Motel
Nashville, TN
The Loveless Cafe & Motel was established in 1951 when Lon and Annie Loveless set up picnic tables on their front lawn and sold fried chicken and biscuits. They converted their house into the restaurant, known originally as the Harpeth Valley Tea Room. This sign appears to be from the 1950s. The motel part of the business closed in 1985. In 2004, the 14 motel rooms were converted into shops. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

More Nashville:
Bates Florist [gone]
Brass Stables
Drake Hardware [gone]
Dutch Maid Cleaning [map]
Eldorado Motel [map]
Elliston Place Soda Shop
Fox's Donut Den
Last Chance Liquors
Life & Casualty [map]
Mack's Pest Control
M.T. Gossett
Old Hickory Cleaners [gone]
Riverside Liquors
Tennessee Electric Motor Company
Village Cleaners [map]

Tennessee
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Tennessee
(page 2)
Tennessee
(page 3)
Tennessee
(page 4)
Memphis

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Tips & Updates. If you have suggestions about places that I haven't covered, historical info, or updates about places/things that have been remodeled or removed, I'd love to hear from you: roadarch@outlook.com.