Boyette's Fish Camp (Closed)
Chunky, MS
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

Something fishy is hiding along the back roads near Chunky. Tucked away off Old Highway 80 is this great sign for Boyette's Fish Camp, complete with a big fish pointing the way. You might have to look a little harder to spot this one from the road.

The place started out years ago as a little hamburger stand serving fishermen along the Chunky River before growing into a full-fledged fish camp. The Boyette family took over in 1983, and the restaurant became a popular local stop for fried fish, hushpuppies and coleslaw.

Boyette's later became Chunky Shoals Fish Camp before eventually closing. The old riverside restaurant is no longer open to the public.

UPDATE: The former fish camp property is now privately used and no longer operates as a restaurant. The current status of the old Boyette's roadside sign is unknown. 08-26

Red Hot (Gone)
Meridian, MS
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

The turquoise-and-red Red Hot sign looks unusually lonely without its truck stop beneath it. Its oversized lettering still catches the eye in Meridian, marking a business that once welcomed truckers, travelers, and local diners. Even stripped of its lower panels, the sign retains enough personality to make you wonder what happened here.

D.W. and Ruth Carr opened the Red Hot in 1955. Designed by Meridian architect Chris Risher Sr., the glass-fronted restaurant combined modern styling with a practical highway location. The business closed in 1999, and demolition followed in 2000 as the surrounding property was redeveloped.

UPDATE: The truck stop is gone, but its main sign survives along South Frontage Road. The TRUCK STOP and GOOD FOOD panels have disappeared, leaving RED HOT to identify one of Meridian's most familiar former roadside gathering places. 11-26

Dine at Kolbe (Closed)
New Orleans, LA
Photo courtesy Chris Richey

The weathered Dine at Kolb's sign still makes an invitation above St. Charles Avenue, though the restaurant stopped serving years ago. Its promise of air conditioning recalls a time when a cool dining room deserved prominent advertising. In a New Orleans summer, that feature probably helped bring a few customers through the door.

Conrad Kolb opened the German restaurant in 1899. Schnitzel, sauerbraten, beer steins, and dark wood furnishings supplied its distinctive character, while New Orleans specialties—including turtle soup—connected the menu with its surroundings. The restaurant also became known for its unusual belt-driven ceiling-fan system.

UPDATE: Kolb's closed in 1994 after nearly a century of operation. Its surviving sign continues identifying the former restaurant above the sidewalk, preserving a familiar name and another piece of downtown New Orleans' old commercial advertising. 11-26

Dollywood
Pidgeon Forge, TN
Photo courtesy Jay Lin

You can't spend much time around Pigeon Forge without running into Dolly Parton somewhere. Dollywood sits tucked into the Smoky Mountains, with rides, music and plenty of Dolly waiting inside.

The park actually started out as Rebel Railroad in 1961, complete with a steam train running through the hills. After a couple of name changes, Dolly Parton joined the operation in 1986 and Dollywood was born. That old steam train is still running today as the Dollywood Express. If you're passing through Pigeon Forge with the family, follow the signs. Dolly herself pretty much guarantees you'll have a good time.

UPDATE: Dollywood remains open and continues to grow, with new attractions joining the old favorites for the 2026 season. 08-26

Howard Curry Shoes (Gone)
Lexington, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The neon Howard Curry Shoes for Children lettering made this Southland Drive storefront easy to recognize after dark. Set against the brickwork, it advertised a business remembered by generations of Lexington families. The sign supplied the roadside appeal, but something rather unusual waited inside to entertain younger customers.

Howard Curry Shoes opened downtown in 1948 and moved to Southland Drive in 1958. That move introduced the Talking Tree and Enchanted Forest. Employees could speak through a concealed microphone, allowing the tree to greet children personally while they were being fitted for shoes—a memorable addition to an ordinary shopping errand.

UPDATE: The business moved to Nicholasville Road in 2009 and remains open. The old Southland neon sign is gone, but the Talking Tree moved with the store, preserving the character that many former young customers remember best. 11-26

Falls City Theatre Equipment Co. (Demolished)
Louisville, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The sweeping curves of the Falls City Theatre Equipment Co. sign looked appropriate for a business serving movie theaters. Projecting above Louisville's Third Street, its streamlined shape and neon lettering gave the supplier a little movie-palace flair of its own. It remained an eye-catching advertisement long after the business closed.

Established by 1939, the company supplied equipment used behind the scenes of the moviegoing experience. Its sign probably dates to the late 1940s or 1950s, when illuminated commercial displays were familiar downtown features. The building eventually deteriorated, but the advertisement remained worth saving.

UPDATE: The building was demolished in 2015 during redevelopment for the Omni Louisville Hotel. The sign was removed beforehand, repaired, and installed on the hotel's exterior in 2018, giving this piece of theater-related neon a new downtown home. 11-26

Nally's Barber Shop
Louisville, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Need a haircut? Just look for the candy stripes. The old  Nally's Barber Shop sign in Louisville has a great barber pole design worked right into the marquee, complete with neon to light up the sidewalk.

The shop got its start around 1940 and moved to this Wallace Avenue location in 1952. Back in its busy days, advertisements even promised "6 Barbers to Serve You." More than 70 years later, you can still stop in for a haircut.

Best of all, that old striped sign is still hanging outside. It was restored in 2015 and put right back where it belongs.

UPDATE: Nally's Barber Shop remains open on Wallace Avenue, and the vintage neon barber sign continues to hang above the storefront. 08-26

Clarksdale Sales
Louisville, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Remember when you could actually take a television somewhere to have it fixed? Clarksdale TV Sales & Service in Louisville is a throwback to those days, complete with a great old neon sign hanging outside the shop.

Clarksdale has been around since 1938, long before televisions became something you tossed out and replaced. Over the years the little neighborhood shop has kept repairing TVs and other electronics while most places like it slowly disappeared.

And that old roadside sign is still doing its job. The big Clarksdale lettering, along with TV SALES & SERVICE, still hangs over South Shelby Street and even lights up at night.

UPDATE: Clarksdale TV Sales & Service remains open on South Shelby Street, and its vintage neon sign is still glowing outside. 08-26