Smith's Drug (Gone)
Gastonia, NC
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

The Smith's Drug storefront belonged to the everyday life of downtown Gastonia. Along Main Avenue, it offered the familiar neighborhood pharmacy experience long after shopping habits began shifting elsewhere. Finding it still operating in 2008 was a welcome reminder that some older downtown businesses had managed to hold their ground. 07-08

The business traced its beginnings to 1933, when it developed alongside the Sweetland Confectionery operation. Later known as Smith's Cut Rate Drug, it continued serving customers from the same downtown location for more than eighty years. Prescriptions and, in earlier years, fountain service connected it with generations of local residents.

UPDATE: Smith's closed on March 23, 2016. The building has since been restored for other businesses, but the pharmacy storefront that once distinguished this part of Main Avenue is gone. 11-26

Crew Rexall Drugs (Gone)
Rockford, AL
Photo courtesy Alan Culley

The blue-and-orange sign at Crew Rexall Drugs gave downtown Rockford a familiar hometown pharmacy landmark. Projecting above the sidewalk, it was easy to recognize before you reached the entrance. Signs like this paired a local business name with the nationally familiar Rexall identity, giving a small storefront a presence beyond its front windows. 01-09

Inside, the soda fountain and lunch counter supplied another reason to visit. Customers could stop for something to eat and a little conversation along with their pharmacy errands. Local accounts even associate the store with Fred, Rockford's celebrated stray dog, who reportedly included it among his stops for a handout.

UPDATE: Crew Rexall Drugs has closed. The pharmacy is gone, although its projecting sign remained after the business ended, preserving a familiar piece of Rockford's downtown appearance. 11-26

Blountsville Pharmacy
Blountsville, AL
Photo courtesy Alan Culley

The roadside sign at Blountsville Pharmacy gave this Main Street business a little extra character. Its older styling suited the small-town setting, announcing an everyday service without overwhelming the surrounding buildings. It was the sort of sign worth noticing while following the highway through town. 01-09

Independent pharmacies have long helped anchor Southern commercial streets, bringing customers downtown for prescriptions and household necessities. Blountsville's store continues that practical role. For roadside explorers, the appeal lies in the combination of an operating neighborhood business and an advertisement that recalls an earlier generation of commercial design.

UPDATE: Blountsville Pharmacy remains in business on Main Street. Its familiar sign has survived in recent views, retaining a bit of roadside personality while the pharmacy continues serving the surrounding community. 11-26

Pell City Drugs (Gone)
Pell City, AL
Photo courtesy Alan Culley

Here's another of the old Rexall drug store signs, this one found in the town of Pell City, AL. The Pell City Rexall Drugs is no longer a drug store but is now a restaurant. Many thanks to Alan Culley for info. 01-09

Dr. R.A. Martin established Pell City Drug Company in 1903. Alongside its soda fountain and lunch counter, the business handled Greyhound tickets and Western Union messages, making it a useful stop for travelers and residents alike. Customers could arrange a journey, send news, or eat lunch under the same roof.

UPDATE: The pharmacy closed in 2001 after nearly a century of operation. The historic building found another purpose as a restaurant, preserving the former drugstore rather than clearing the site for a replacement. 11-26

Parker Drugs (Closed)
Leeds, AL
Photo courtesy Paul Bauke

The RX above Parker Drugs made the old Leeds pharmacy easy to identify along Parkway Drive. Even after the business closed, its roadside sign continued announcing what had once occupied the brick building. Weathering and damaged lettering gave it the appearance of an advertisement slowly retiring in place. 04-09

Thea Parker and his wife Emaline owned Parker Rexall Drugs for more than fifty years. Their long association with the business made it part of the community's everyday routine, while the signs supplied its public identity. An additional Rexall neon sign inside offered another reminder of the pharmacy's connection with the familiar national brand.

UPDATE: Parker Drugs remains closed, and the weathered exterior sign survives beside the former pharmacy. Its neon no longer provides the nighttime welcome that once helped identify this Leeds neighborhood business. 11-26

Wikle Drugs (Closed)
Anniston, AL
Photo courtesy Paul Bauke

The projecting Rexall sign at Wikle Drugs gives Noble Street a familiar splash of orange and blue. Hanging against the historic building, it recalls a time when downtown pharmacies announced themselves with distinctive signs above the sidewalk. Even after the prescriptions stopped, the advertisement continued identifying this Anniston landmark. 04-09

Jesse L. Wikle came to Anniston in 1880 as the Woodstock Iron Company's druggist. In 1883, he opened his own pharmacy on Noble Street, where he also introduced the town's first soda fountain. That combination of medicine and refreshments helped establish a business that would remain associated with downtown for more than a century.

UPDATE: Wikle Drugs closed in 2000. The historic building has been adapted for new uses, while its surviving Rexall sign keeps the old pharmacy identity visible above Noble Street. 11-26