Smithereen Exterminators (Gone)
Chicago, IL
Photo courtesy Don Gardner

The neon rodent at Smithereen Exterminators certainly made pest control look more entertaining than expected. Its cartoon appearance gave the Chicago business a memorable advertisement, even if customers hoped never to meet the real thing indoors.

Smithereen dates to 1888 and later became Smithereen Pest Management Services in 2001. The company used several distinctive signs over the years, including rodent designs and a Pied Piper. Some traveled between offices, showing that a familiar advertising character could be worth bringing along when the business moved.

UPDATE: Smithereen remains in business. Its vintage rodent signs were documented in storage after the Franklin Park office closed, while another historic neon sign survived at the Niles headquarters. The exact later history of the example shown here hasn't been confirmed, but several pieces of the company's sign heritage were preserved. 07-26

Sign
E. St. Louis, MO
Photo courtesy Kelly Coalier

Here's an old roadside sign in East St. Louis, Illinois, that's keeping its identity to itself. Weather and fading paint have erased most of the lettering, leaving motorists to wonder what business once stood beneath it.

The surviving shape and metalwork offer clues, but without a readable name or street address, its history remains uncertain. That's part of the appeal of forgotten signs: an advertisement intended to explain everything at a glance can eventually become a puzzle.

UPDATE: The sign's original business, installation date, and present condition haven't been established. For now, it remains an unidentified roadside relic. An older photograph or a local memory might be all it takes to put a name back on this weathered survivor. 07-26

Chicago Marine Sport Center (Gone)
Chicago, IL
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Here's the porcelain Chicago Marine Sport Center sign in Chicago. Its glossy finish and bold lettering gave the business a recognizable face, even when the weather wasn't particularly inviting for a day on the water.

The shop stood along Milwaukee Avenue, serving a city with Lake Michigan, rivers, and plenty of recreational boaters nearby. A dated photographic record attributes the sign to Flashtric Sign Company. Porcelain enamel provided a durable advertising surface, helping signs like this retain their color through years of outdoor exposure.

UPDATE: Chicago Marine Sport Center has closed, and the sign has been removed. There is an unconfirmed report that it was saved, but its present whereabouts remain unknown. Hopefully, this handsome example of marine-business advertising found a home beyond its original storefront. 07-26

Drown's Dairy (Gone)
Sandusky, OH
Photo courtesy Emily Steele

The name Drown's Dairy might make you look twice, but the arrow made the destination clear: ice cream was waiting inside. This familiar dairy stop was actually in Oak Harbor, Ohio, rather than Sandusky.

Its history reaches back to VanAtta Dairy Plaza, which opened on August 16, 1957. The business later became Brown's Dairy Plaza before taking the Drown's name in August 1993. Through the changes, the little stand remained part of the area's summertime routine, with its roadside sign helping customers find their next frozen treat.

UPDATE: The location became Village Creamery on April 14, 2023. The old Drown's sign has been removed, but the property's dairy-stand tradition continues under another name. Fortunately, the change didn't mean the end of stopping here for ice cream. 07-26

Better Shoes For Less (Demolished)
Centralia, IL
Photo courtesy Don Gardner

The Better Shoes For Less sign in Centralia, Illinois, got straight to the point. Red, white, and blue colors attracted attention, while the lettering promised the kind of bargain that needed very little explanation.

The building had housed other businesses before becoming associated with McCoy Shoe Store and later the factory outlet. Its sign recalled the days when downtown shoe shopping meant visiting an independent storefront, trying on a few pairs, and hopefully leaving with both comfortable feet and some money left over.

UPDATE: The building has been demolished, and the sign is gone. The demolition date and the sign's eventual fate haven't been confirmed. Unfortunately, this straightforward piece of downtown advertising no longer offers its promise of better shoes at a better price. 07-26

Federhofer's Bakery
St Louis, MO
Photo courtesy Dennis Dixson

The sign at Federhofer's Bakery is one of the real gems around St. Louis. There's so much to look at, from the smiling baker and oversized cake to the colorful neon and bold lettering. It's the kind of sign that makes you slow down for a better look, and before long you're thinking about stopping in for a donut or pastry. 10-05

What makes this sign even more interesting is that it's actually older than Federhofer's Bakery. It was built in 1957 for Mueller's Bakery, and when William Federhofer purchased the business in 1966, he wisely kept the spectacular sign and simply updated it with the bakery's new name.

Nearly seventy years later, the sign is still doing exactly what it was designed to do. Along busy Gravois Road, it remains one of the most recognizable bakery signs in the St. Louis area and a great example of the craftsmanship that went into mid-century roadside advertising.

UPDATE: Federhofer's Bakery remains open, and the classic neon sign continues to light the way for customers. 07-26

Trautwein's Shoes (Gone)
St Louis, MO
Photo courtesy Dennis Dixson

The old Trautwein's Shoes sign is a real throwback to the days when every neighborhood had its own shoe store just down the street. The colorful marquee, complete with the familiar Red Goose mascot, made it hard to miss as you drove along Gravois Avenue. 10-05

Trautwein's had been fitting shoes in St. Louis since 1889 and moved to its Gravois Avenue location in 1923. For generations, it was the neighborhood place to buy everything from school shoes to work boots, long before big-box stores and shopping malls became the norm.

Even after the store closed in 2003, the building remained frozen in time for several years, with the old displays still visible through the windows. Eventually the sign was removed and restored, bringing an end to one of St. Louis' classic neighborhood storefronts.

UPDATE: Trautwein's Shoes closed in 2003, and the building has since been repurposed. The historic sign was removed in 2011. 07-26