Town & Country Shopping Center (Rem.)
Indianapolis, IN
Photo courtesy Emily Steele

The old roadside sign at Town & Country Shopping Center was once a familiar sight for anyone traveling the busy Keystone and Allisonville intersection. Rising above the plaza, it welcomed shoppers long before they reached the stores.

Like many shopping centers built during the postwar boom, Town & Country was designed with the automobile in mind. The towering marquee made sure passing motorists knew exactly where to turn, while giving the plaza an identity all its own.

Over the years, the shopping center became home to a variety of neighborhood businesses, including longtime favorites like the Hansel and Gretel Story Book House Restaurant and Lotus Garden. For many Indianapolis residents, the sign was just as memorable as the stores it advertised.

While the plaza has adapted to changing times, the original marquee didn't survive. Sometime during a modernization of the shopping center, the vintage sign was removed and replaced with more contemporary signage.

UPDATE: Town & Country Shopping Center is still open, but the classic roadside marquee is gone. Like so many shopping center signs from the mid-century era, it gave way to a more modern look. 07-26

Mission Shopping Center (Gone)
Kansas City, MO
Photo courtesy David Johnson

Towering above the parking lot, the giant roadside sign at Mission Shopping Center was impossible to miss. Long before shoppers reached the stores, the massive marquee welcomed motorists to one of the Kansas City area's best-known shopping centers.

When the plaza opened in the mid-1950s, signs like this were an important part of the experience. They gave shopping centers their own identity and became familiar landmarks for generations of local shoppers.

In 1988, the original center was demolished to make way for a new enclosed mall, and the famous marquee came down with it. That mall also disappeared years later, leaving the site to await a new chapter.

UPDATE: Both the original Mission Shopping Center and its towering roadside sign are gone. The property has been the focus of redevelopment plans for years, but the landmark marquee never returned. 07-26

Country Club Center (Gone)
Springfield, MO
Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans

Shopping center signs were once built to make a statement, and Country Club Center had one of Springfield’s best. With its sweeping shapes, starburst details, and glowing neon, the towering marquee gave this neighborhood plaza plenty of roadside personality.

Opened in 1952, Country Club Center was one of Springfield’s early automobile-oriented shopping centers. The sign stood along Glenstone Avenue for decades, catching the attention of passing motorists long before they reached the stores.

Its space-age design was a far cry from the plain backlit boxes that later became common. Even a quick trip to the local shopping center felt a little more exciting when signs looked like this.

The original marquee was removed in 2013 and replaced with a modern tenant sign. Fortunately, it avoided the scrap pile and was taken to Oklahoma, where it was restored for display.

UPDATE: Country Club Center remains open, but its classic neon sign now resides inside the Stokely Event Center in Tulsa. 07-26

Plaza Shopping Center (Gone)
Lancaster, OH
Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans

It seems like just about every town once had a Plaza Shopping Center, and nearly all of them had a big roadside sign to match. This one greeted shoppers along Memorial Drive in Lancaster for decades, becoming a familiar landmark for anyone passing by.

Built in 1958, the shopping center was part of the postwar boom that brought automobile-oriented retail to communities across the country. Like so many plazas of the era, the sign was designed to catch the attention of motorists and make the center easy to spot from down the road.

Over the years, the plaza has changed with new stores and renovations, but it has remained an active shopping destination. The original marquee, however, didn't survive those updates.

UPDATE: Plaza Shopping Center is still open, but the vintage roadside sign has been replaced by a modern tenant sign. Like many shopping center marquees, it quietly disappeared as the property evolved. 07-26

North Plaza Shopping Center (Gone)
Canton, OH
Photo courtesy Mark Hackett

Just like the one in Lancaster, North Plaza once had a shopping center sign full of character. Although both carried the familiar "Plaza" name, their marquees had completely different personalities, proving there was no single formula for great roadside design.

Built in 1957, North Plaza became a neighborhood shopping destination as Canton expanded during the postwar years. Its roadside sign welcomed generations of shoppers and gave the center an identity that stood out from the surrounding businesses.

Unfortunately, the original marquee is no longer part of the landscape. Like so many classic shopping center signs, it was eventually replaced with a standard modern tenant board that lacks the style of its predecessor.

UPDATE: North Plaza remains an active shopping center, but its vintage roadside sign has been removed. 07-26

Beechwold Plaza (Demolished)
Columbus, OH
Photo courtesy Michael Sekeres

The old roadside sign at Beechwold Plaza featured one of those shopping center clocks that always seemed to show the wrong time. Whether it was broken or simply forgotten, the clock had become part of the sign's personality by the time this photo was taken.

When Beechwold Plaza opened in 1951, it reflected the growing popularity of automobile-oriented shopping centers. The tall marquee welcomed drivers along North High Street, while the clock gave it a distinctive look that set it apart from other neighborhood plazas.

Even if the clock rarely worked, it still managed to catch your attention. It was one of those little roadside quirks that made the sign more memorable than many of the shopping centers it advertised.

UPDATE: Beechwold Plaza was demolished in the late 1990s and replaced with a modern retail development. The old clock sign disappeared along with the shopping center. 07-26

Airway Centre
St Louis County, MO
Photo courtesy Dennis Dixson

The towering sign at Airway Centre has a story that's much older than the shopping center itself. If it looks like something from another era, that's because it originally welcomed moviegoers to the Airway Drive-in Theatre before finding a second life along St. Charles Rock Road. 10-05

When the drive-in closed in 1986, most of the theater disappeared to make way for a new shopping center. Fortunately, the landmark sign was saved, restored, and incorporated into the new development instead of being torn down.

The highlight is the animated neon majorette at the top of the tower. With chasing lights that make her baton twirl and her legs appear to march, it's one of the most entertaining roadside signs in the St. Louis area and a wonderful example of mid-century neon craftsmanship.

Today, Airway Centre continues to serve the community as a neighborhood shopping center, but its most recognizable feature still dates back to the drive-in era. It's a great reminder that sometimes the best way to preserve history is to give it a new purpose.

UPDATE: Airway Centre remains open, and the restored drive-in theater sign continues to stand proudly at the entrance to the shopping center. 07-26

8900 Shopping Plaza (Rem.)
Indianapolis, IN
Photo and info courtesy Emily Steele

The old sign at 8900 Shopping Plaza was the kind of roadside landmark that made even a small neighborhood shopping center stand out. Rising above busy Pendleton Pike, it welcomed shoppers with a design that had far more personality than the signs that replaced it. 03-07

Like many postwar shopping centers, the plaza was built to serve the growing neighborhoods developing around Indianapolis. The roadside marquee made it easy for passing motorists to spot the center and became a familiar part of the corridor for years.

While the shopping plaza continues to operate today, the vintage sign has disappeared. In its place is a more modern look that's practical, but missing the character that made the original marquee worth a second glance.

UPDATE: The shopping center is still open, but the classic roadside sign shown here has been removed. 07-26