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Houston Signs

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Admiral Motel
Houston, TX		 Yale Street Grill
Houston, TX		 Kaplan's Ben Hur [gone]
Houston, TX
The Admiral Motel sign is probably from the 1950s. For more, see this website. [map]

The Yale Street Grill opened in 1923 as the Yale Pharmacy. This building is from 1952. This is not the original sign. This sign is probably from the late 1950s or 1960s. The store still has a busy coffee shop inside. For more, see this website. [map]

Kaplan's Ben Hur was across the street from the Yale Street Grill. It opened in 1913 as a feed store named after the owner's two sons, Bennett and Herman. The department store had closed and was vacant in 2006 when this photo was taken. By 2011, the sign was gone.

Mr. Money
Pawn [gone]
Houston, TX		 Huston's Drugs [gone]
Houston, TX		 Warren's Cleaners
& Launderers
Houston, TX		 Loma Linda
Mexican Restaurant [gone]
Houston, TX
Mr. Money Pawn might have been part of a chain. I don't know if this huge sign was ever outlined with neon. This photo is from 2006. By 2010, the business was known as Cash America and this sign was gone.

Huston's Drugs opened in 1954 and this sign appeared to be from then. The store was closed for many years but this sign remained. This photo is from 2011. In 2013, the building was redeveloped and the sign was removed.

Warren's Cleaners & Launderers opened in 1955 and closed around 2021. The building is still vacant and the sign remains. [map]

The Loma Linda Mexican Restaurant was long gone when this photo was taken in 2011. The plastic Loma Linda letters were probably added later, replacing the original restaurant's name. The sign disappeared around 2014.

Adolf Hoepfl Garage
Houston, TX

2018:
2020:
The Adolf Hoepfl Garage was established in 1946. The neon sign might be from then or slightly later. The pole sign was probably from the 1960s. The shop was later known as Adolf Hoepfl & Son Garage. In 2019, a new panel was attached to the top of the neon sign that reads "Liberty Hoepfl", a reference to the new patriotic theme of the waiting room. The plastic sign had new panels in 2022 as the business had become Clutch Automotive. The neon Hoepfl sign remains. [map]

Schill Steel
Company [gone]
Houston, TX		 Tommie Vaughn Ford
Houston, TX
The Schill Steel Company was established in 1951. This sign was probably from then. The sign was removed in 2019.

Tommie Vaughn Ford was established in Granbury, TX in 1946. In 1949, Tommie moved the dealership to Glendale, CA. In 1955, he moved back to Texas and opened the dealership in Houston. In 1957, the dealership was moved to its current location. This sign is probably from then. The double-sided panels revolved originally. Hawks like making their nests at the top of the tower. For more, see this website. [map]

Wm A. Smith
Construction Co. [gone]
Houston, TX		 Wing-On
Food Market
Houston, TX		 Burger Mart
Houston, TX		 Sunbeam Bread
Houston, TX
The Wm A. Smith Construction Co. was established in 1924. The sign was built around 1950. The company was long gone but this sign remained until 2019 when it fell over in a storm. The sign is now in a private collection.

The Wing-On Food Market was built in 1945. This sign might be from then or the 1950s. [map]

The Burger Mart was built in 1962. The building was demolished in 2009 and the lot is still vacant. This sign remains. [map]

This Sunbeam Bread sign is installed on the side of the Schott's Sunbeam Bakery building. The building is from 1953 but I have no idea how long the sign has been there. [map]

Mac Haik Chevrolet
Houston, TX
The Mac Haik Chevrolet billboard sign next to I-10 has been here since at least the 1990s. The dealership moved here in 1983. Before that, the location was used by Tom Peacock Chevrolet. I believe this sign was built for them. Mac Haik still uses the peacock as their logo. [map]

Rulon Electric [gone]
Houston, TX		 Felix Mexican
Restaurant [gone]
Houston, TX		 Continental Club
Houston, TX
Rulon Electric was established in 1947 and this sign was probably from then. The sign was gone by 2014. It is now in a private collection at Cook's Garage in Lubbock, TX.

The Felix Mexican Restaurant chain was established in the 1930s. By 1971, there were six locations in Houston and one in Beaumont, TX. This location opened in 1948. This sign looks like it was built in the 1950s. The restaurant closed in 2008. It was the last location to survive. By 2012, the sign was removed. It was supposedly split into three pieces and listed for sale on eBay. However, it appears that the sign did survive and was adapted and reinstalled for Uchi, the restaurant at the location now. The sign no longer has the cactus or the sleeping Mexican.

I don't know if any of the other locations had a sign like this. Larry's Original Mexican Restaurant in Richmond, TX opened in 1960 and features an identical neon sign. Larry Guerrero was a friend of Felix Tijerina Sr. Felix helped Larry with the opening of his restaurant. For more, see this website.

The Continental Club opened in 2000. This sign is a replica of the one at the Austin location which opened in 1957. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Key Maps
Houston, TX
This globe was installed on top of the Key Maps pole sign. The store closed in 2015. The globe was probably built in the 1960s. It was internally lit and probably revolved originally. There were backlit signs on the building which are gone now. The building was renovated and now houses another business. The globe sign remains. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church
Houston, TX		 Brake Check
Houston, TX
The Antioch Missionary Baptist Church was built in 1875. This neon "Jesus Saves" sign had been installed on the church's tower by 1945. For more, see this website. [map]

The Brake Check chain was established in San Antonio, TX in 1968. There are now about 36 locations in Southeast Texas with half of them in Houston. Most of the locations have large signs with neon and plastic like this one. For more, see this website. [map]

Dean's Credit Clothing
Houston, TX
Dean's Credit Clothing opened in 1938 as a department store. These signs appear to be from the 1950s. In 1999, the space was turned into a bar with the same name. It later became Dean's on Main. It is now Dean's Downtown. For more see, these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Tacos El Jaibo
Houston, TX		 Harold's in the Heights
Houston, TX
This sign-topper is installed above the Tacos El Jaibo sign. It was probably built in the 1960s. The protruding pins indicate that this sign had neon originally. The sign may have advertised for the strip mall name previously. [map]

Harold's in the Heights, a men's clothing store, opened in 1950. The store closed in 2011. The building was remodeled and subdivided. In 2013, Harold's Restaurant & Tap Room opened in part of the building and revived the signs from the clothing store, hanging them above the parking lot and the outdoor dining area. Neither sign has the original neon tubing. [map]

former Jim Dandy
Fried Chicken
Houston, TX		 former Jim Dandy Fried Chicken
Houston, TX
These former Jim Dandy Fried Chicken signs are probably from the 1960s or 1970s. The only location left that I know of is in Los Angeles and it does not have this style sign.

The first location shown above was built in 1970. The building now houses #1 Chicken, Rice & Seafood. The "Fried Chicken" letters were removed from the building around 2014. For more, see this website. [map]

The second location shown above was built in 1970. The building now houses Super Chicken & Rice. The chicken was painted red by 2016. There are a couple of other former Jim Dandy locations in Houston but they do not have the chicken sign. [map]

Wagner
Hardware [gone]
Houston, TX		 G&G Model Shop [gone]
Houston, TX
Wagner Hardware moved to this location in 1948. This sign was probably from then. This photo is from 2011. The store is gone now and the sign disappeared in 2014.

The G&G Model Shop opened in 1945 and this sign was probably built then. The store had closed by 2019 and the sign is gone now.

Spec's Liquor
Smith St.
Houston, TX
Spec's Liquor
Stella Link Rd.
Houston, TX		 Spec's Liquor
Ennis, TX
Spec's Liquor opened in Houston in 1962 and now has more than 100 stores in Texas. The company's warehouse location on Smith St. is the largest. When this store was remodeled, a glass dome portion of the building was constructed to display one of the old signs. The sign in the dome revolves. [map]

I don't know when the Stella Link Rd. location was built or how old this sign is. It has been there since at least 2007. [map]

I believe that the sign in Ennis is modern. That location opened sometime between 2008 and 2013. [map]

There is also a modern sign in Elgin, TX with a different design. There are about 6 other vintage Spec's signs in Houston and a couple of others in Seabrook and Spring, TX.

More Houston:
Antonio's Flying Pizza
Arandas Bakery [map]
Chief Motel [vintage; gone]
End-O-Pest [gone]
Holiday Liquor [gone]
Houston Shoe Hospital
Jensen Square
King Cole Liquors [gone]
Mitchell Inn [vintage; gone]
Oak Forest Shoe Shop [gone]
Shipley Do-Nuts
Wald Transfer & Storage Company
Westbury Centerette [gone]
Austin Dallas Fort Worth El Paso San Antonio Hemi Hideout
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