Joyland Nightclub
Pinellas Park, FL Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
The marquee at the right stands in front of the Joyland Nightclub nightclub.
A country music club now, the Joyland once marked the site of an amusement
park.Many thanks to Budd Ballard for info.
Joyland first opened as an amusement park in 1959 along U.S. 19 in Pinellas Park. After the park closed just a few years later, the dance hall remained and kept the Joyland name, eventually becoming one of Florida's best-known country music clubs. Over the years, countless performers took the stage here, including future stars like Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, and Rascal Flatts, long before many of them were filling arenas.
The original Pinellas Park location has since been demolished, and the old roadside sign is gone as well. Even so, the Joyland name lives on today at a newer location in Sarasota, carrying on a tradition that began more than 65 years ago.
UPDATE: Joyland opened as an amusement park in 1959. The original Pinellas Park location has been demolished, but the Joyland nightclub continues today at its Sarasota location. 07-26
Lakeview Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack
It's hard to miss the giant arrow pointing the way to the Lakeview. Rising high above the roadside, it looks like it was designed to catch your eye from half a mile away. The sign alone is enough to make you wonder what was waiting at the other end of the arrow.
Big arrows like this were a favorite trick during the motel era, steering weary travelers toward a room for the night. Whether it was lit with neon after dark or simply towering over the highway during the day, this one must have been a welcome sight after a long drive.
Sometimes the sign is the attraction, and this grand arrow is a good example. It certainly would have been worth slowing down for.
Merita Bread (Gone)
Orlando, FL Photo courtesy Robert Droz
This sign advertising Merita Bread has been above the
Merita bakery in Orlando, FL since probably when this section of I-4 opened
in the early 1960's. "Merita" is in red neon three stripes wide
inside the metal letters. The original "Bread & Cake" wording was later simplified to just "Bread." yellow plastic lettering
put up within the last decade by the new owners, Interstate brands. The
clock has been giving time and temperature since the late 1970's, at least. Many thanks to Robert Droz for info.
The bright red letters are hard to miss while cruising along Interstate 4. For years, the Merita Bread sign greeted Orlando drivers with glowing neon, a clock showing the time and temperature, and, if you were lucky, the smell of fresh bread drifting over the highway.
UPDATE: The bakery closed following the Hostess bankruptcy in 2012, and the building was demolished in 2015. The familiar rooftop sign disappeared from the Orlando skyline with it. 08-26
Trader Jim's Boots (Gone)
West Palm Beach, FL Photo courtesy Kevin O'Sullivan
Driving along Military Trail, this giant boot is about all the advertising a western store could ask for. The oversized Trader Jim's Boots sign was impossible to miss, standing high above the traffic and letting everyone know there was a whole lot of leather waiting just off the road.
Step inside and you'd find rows of cowboy boots, work boots, western hats, belts, and just about anything else to outfit the part. Even if you weren't planning to buy a pair, the boot-shaped sign alone was worth slowing down for. Florida may not be the first place that comes to mind for cowboy gear, but Trader Jim's proved there were plenty of folks ready to dress the part.
Object-shaped signs like this have always been some of the most memorable stops along America's highways. A giant boot beats a plain rectangular sign any day.
UPDATE: Trader Jim's eventually closed, and the famous boot sign was removed from the roadside. 08-26
McClelland's Saddlery (Closed)
Lake Worth, FL Photo courtesy Kevin O'Sullivan
Driving along Dixie Highway, it's hard not to look up at the giant horse standing on the roof. That fiberglass fellow welcomed customers to McLelland's Saddlery for decades and made the shop one of Lake Worth's most recognizable roadside landmarks.
The family business opened here in 1958, selling saddles, boots, tack, and handcrafted leather goods to everyone from weekend riders to professional horsemen. Even if horses weren't your thing, the rooftop mascot was enough to make you slow down for a second look. You don't see many stores with a full-sized horse watching over the entrance.
UPDATE: McLelland's moved to nearby Wellington in 2018 to be closer to South Florida's busy equestrian community. The Lake Worth building has been renovated for new businesses, but the famous horse still stands watch from the roof. 08-26
Ranches Drugs
West Palm Beach, FL Photo courtesy Kevin O'Sullivan
This building was Ranches Drug Store from the Mid 50's till the
mid 90's. This is at 3800 South Dixie Hwy ( US1 ) in West Palm Beach. Many thanks to Kevin O'Sullivan for info.
Cruising down Dixie Highway, this corner building looked like the kind of neighborhood drugstore where you could pick up a prescription, grab a magazine, or settle onto a stool for a quick bite at the lunch counter. Ranches Drugs became a familiar stop for generations of West Palm Beach residents.
Like many independent drugstores of its era, Ranches was more than just a pharmacy. It had the kind of soda fountain where friends could meet over a sandwich or an ice cream before heading back out on the road. Places like this were once a fixture in towns all across Florida, but they're getting harder to find.
UPDATE: The old drugstore building lives on as Rhythm Cafe. Step inside today and you'll still find plenty of reminders of its past, including the vintage lunch counter that has welcomed customers for decades. 08-26
Levitz Furniture (Gone)
Tampa, FL Photo courtesy Andy Callahan
"You'll love it at Levitz". Yes, there are Levitz Furniture stores in Florida. Sporting immense signage, Levitz is still a member
of our current roadside eye-catchers. For how long? That's the question.
Driving along Gandy Boulevard, it was hard to miss the enormous Levitz Furniture sign rising above the traffic. Whether you needed a new sofa or not, those giant letters and the familiar slogan, "You'll love it at Levitz," became part of the drive across South Tampa.
Levitz helped popularize the warehouse-style furniture showroom, where customers could pick out a new living room set and take it home the very same day. The Tampa store was one of the chain's biggest roadside landmarks, looking more like a giant warehouse than a traditional furniture store. Its oversized sign made sure everyone passing by knew exactly where they were.
UPDATE: One moment it's up, the next it's gone. Levitz is now a U-Haul Rental. Many thanks to Andy Callahan for info.
The original photo post wondered how long the sign would remain. As it turned out, not much longer. The nationwide chain closed during its final bankruptcy in 2008, and the Gandy Boulevard store was demolished soon afterward.
UPDATE: The Levitz building and its towering roadside sign are gone. A Home Depot now occupies the site. 08-26
Joyland Nightclub
Lakeview
Merita Bread (Gone)
Trader Jim's Boots (Gone)
McClelland's Saddlery (Closed)
Ranches Drugs
Levitz Furniture (Gone)
