Barry's Cut Rate Drugs (Gone)
Chicago, IL
Photo courtesy Dennis Dixson

Here's Barry's Cut Rate Drugs lighting up Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. The bold neon marquee gave this Wicker Park pharmacy a presence that was hard to overlook. Getting a prescription filled came with some impressive roadside scenery. 03-01

The family-owned business opened in 1946, and Best Neon created its familiar sign in 1960. The company also maintained the display over the years, helping it remain a recognizable feature as the neighborhood around it changed. Barry's ultimately served customers for more than seven decades.

UPDATE: Barry's closed in 2017, and the neon sign was removed in 2018. Fortunately, it was saved and entered a private collection. The pharmacy is gone, but its most distinctive piece of advertising escaped the fate of many Chicago storefront signs. 07-26

N.H. Ballin Co. (Gone)
Chicago, IL
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

They don't make many drugstore signs like the one at N.H. Ballin Co. in Chicago. Porcelain panels, neon lettering, and a projecting position above the sidewalk gave the Lincoln Avenue storefront plenty of character. 03-01

The sign advertised prescriptions in the straightforward style of an old neighborhood pharmacy. Its durable enamel finish and illuminated letters were intended to work by day and night, helping the business stand out along a busy commercial corridor. Later Ballin listings offered specialized medical equipment as well as pharmacy services.

UPDATE: The sign no longer hangs outside the former storefront. An N.H. Ballin Drugs sign appears in a later collector-auction catalog, suggesting this landmark survived removal rather than being scrapped. Its present whereabouts remain uncertain, but the auction record adds another chapter to its story. 07-26

Dan Purvis Drugs (Gone)
New Haven, IN
Photo courtesy Alan Culley

Here's Dan Purvis Drugs in downtown New Haven, Indiana. The familiar Rexall sign made the shop easy to recognize, combining a hometown proprietor's name with one of America's best-known drugstore brands. 12-07

The business operated at 725 Broadway, where federal records place it during the early 1970s. Owner Daniel Purvis ran the pharmacy for many years. Local recollections also describe a soda fountain and another nearby drugstore operated by his brother, adding a family connection to New Haven's downtown pharmacy trade.

UPDATE: Dan Purvis Drugs has closed, and the Rexall sign has been removed. Its whereabouts remain unknown. The precise closing date hasn't been confirmed, but the disappearance of the familiar sign changed a storefront long associated with this independent neighborhood business. 07-26

Brown Drugs
Quincy, IN
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

Here's Brown Drug Company in Quincy, Illinois, a name with a long history in the community. The old drugstore advertising recalls the days when independent pharmacies were familiar stops throughout downtown. 09-08

Brown operated for more than a century, with several Quincy locations appearing in historical records. Some carried Rexall branding before the company dropped that identity around the early 1960s. The business outlasted changes in retailing, medicine, and the downtown streetscape, keeping the Brown name familiar to successive generations.

UPDATE: Brown Drug Company continues serving Quincy from its later location. The original downtown storefront and sign are gone, although the supplied account of their loss in a 1960s fire needs further confirmation. Fortunately, the company's history extends beyond the building associated with this view. 07-26

Greenville Pharmacy (Gone)
Greenville, OH
Photo and info courtesy Alan Culley

Here's Greenville Pharmacy facing Broadway in Greenville, Ohio. The large storefront windows and familiar business lettering fit neatly into the downtown streetscape, where customers could combine a prescription pickup with the rest of their shopping. 09-08

Business records place the pharmacy at 530 South Broadway Street. Like many independent downtown drugstores, its street-facing entrance was designed around the sidewalk rather than a sprawling parking lot. The display windows gave passersby a reason to pause, while the sign made the shop recognizable from farther along the block.

UPDATE: Greenville Pharmacy no longer occupies the storefront, and its original sign has been removed. The building survives in another retail use, keeping the old commercial space active even though the pharmacy identity that once marked the entrance is gone. 07-26

Ranburn Rexall Drugs (Gone)
Gary, IN
Photo courtesy Kevin Heggi

Here's the familiar Rexall name outside Ranburn Rexall Drugs in Gary, Indiana. The sign gave this neighborhood pharmacy a recognizable welcome and a little extra roadside character. For customers, it marked another useful stop close to home. 10-08

The business operated at 3977 Cleveland Street, in the same neighborhood commercial area as Ranburn Cleaners. Rexall signs were widely used by independent drugstores, giving small local businesses the visibility of a nationally recognized brand. The combination of proprietor identity and familiar branding helped distinguish these shops from an ordinary storefront.

UPDATE: The old Rexall sign has been removed, and its whereabouts remain unknown. A firm closing date for the pharmacy hasn't been established; records still listed the Ranburn name at the address in the early 2020s. The sign's disappearance is clearer than the business's final operating timeline. 07-26