Food King
Norwood, NC
Photo courtesy Richard Maxwell

The crown above Food King continued advertising groceries after the Norwood supermarket had disappeared. Standing over an empty lot along U.S. 52, the sign supplied almost the only visible clue to the property's earlier use. Without the building below it, the familiar store name became an especially noticeable roadside leftover.

Food King served small North Carolina communities through a regional grocery operation. Like many supermarket signs, this one was designed to reach motorists before they passed the entrance. Its little crown gave the name a recognizable identity that remained effective even when there was nowhere left to shop.

UPDATE: The Food King sign is now gone. It was removed in 2005 when a new auto-parts store was erected on the property along US 52 in Norwood, NC. Many thanks to Richard Maxwell for update. 03-06

UPDATE: The sign was removed in 2005 when an auto-parts store was built on the property. Both the former supermarket and its freestanding advertisement are gone, ending this particular chapter of Norwood's highway shopping history. 11-26

Westinghouse Appliances (Closed)
Rowland, NC
Photo courtesy Paul Bauke

The Westinghouse sign is from Rowland Supply Co. in Rowland, NC. The store no longer sells appliances, it's now a church, but at least the parishioners left the sign. Many thanks to Paul Bauke for info.

The building was once home to Rowland Supply Company, which got its start in 1917 selling hardware, farm supplies and other goods. As electricity reached more homes after World War II, stores like this became the place to shop for those newfangled electric appliances.

Today the storefront is closed and looking pretty rough around the edges. But the rusty old Westinghouse sign is still hanging above Main Street, which is reason enough to slow down for another look.

UPDATE: The old Rowland storefront remains vacant and weathered, with the Westinghouse Appliances sign status now unknown. 08-26

John's Florist
Louisville, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The old neon at John's Florist gave this Louisville business a little extra presence along the sidewalk. Mounted against the wall, the sign announced a neighborhood shop without requiring an elaborate storefront. Its lettering and exposed tubing belonged to a period when even modest businesses invested in distinctive illuminated advertising.

Florists were natural customers for signs that attracted attention beyond regular shopping hours. A recognizable name above the entrance could guide someone collecting an arrangement or remind passing motorists where to return. Here, the sign supplies the strongest surviving clue to a business whose operating history remains uncertain.

UPDATE: The shop's exact location, opening and closing dates, and the sign's present whereabouts have not been confirmed. The photograph preserves a small piece of Louisville's neighborhood neon, even though the fuller story behind the name remains unidentified. 11-26

Bob Collett Auto Wreckers (Gone)
Louisville, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

“Don't be robbed…see Bob” gave Bob Collett Auto Wreckers a sales pitch that was easy to remember. The Frankfort Avenue sign announced a Louisville business where used parts could help keep an older car on the road. Its direct wording supplied as much personality as the roadside display itself.

Established in 1944, the family-operated business served generations of motorists, mechanics, and people searching for an otherwise elusive replacement part. Neighborhood wrecking yards once formed a familiar part of the automotive landscape, connecting damaged vehicles with cars that still had useful miles ahead. Collett's remained in business long enough to reach its eightieth year.

UPDATE: Bob Collett Wreckers closed in July 2024. The roadside sign has also been removed, taking the familiar slogan from Frankfort Avenue after decades of advertising the family's automotive business. 11-26

Cinderella Slipper Shop (Demolished)
Meridian, MS
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

The Cinderella Slipper Shop name brought a little fairy-tale advertising to Meridian's Fifth Street. Beside the former Kress store, its storefront recalled the years when downtown shoppers could move between department stores and specialty shops without leaving the block. Shoes gave the Cinderella name an especially appropriate connection with the merchandise.

The business belonged to a downtown retail district that changed as shopping centers drew customers elsewhere. Later, the space carried the Cinderella's Spatique name, adding another chapter beneath a familiar identity. Even as neighboring storefronts emptied, the old shop remained a recognizable piece of the street's commercial past.

UPDATE: The Cinderella building was subsequently demolished, and its signage disappeared. The former shop site became part of an open courtyard area, replacing the enclosed storefront with a very different downtown setting. 11-26

OK Storage (Gone)
Louisville, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The enormous rooftop letters at O.K. Storage & Transfer Co. made the warehouse difficult to overlook along East Broadway. Painted advertisements covered the brick walls below, announcing moving, packing, shipping, and a reassuring “Fireproof Warehouse.” The company put both its roof and exterior walls to work attracting customers.

Built in 1927, the substantial warehouse offered space for belongings that couldn't be accommodated at home or at a business. Later painted messages promoted size, safety, and service, adding further layers to the building's advertising. Those practical claims became increasingly interesting as the lettering weathered and the original operation ended.

UPDATE: Louisville Office Furniture occupies the former warehouse. The rooftop O.K. Storage sign is gone, but portions of the painted wall advertising survive, retaining the building's older identity alongside its present-day furniture business. 11-26

Speier Hardware (Closed)
Louisville, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Here's the kind of hardware store sign you don't see much anymore. Standing tall above Barret Avenue is the old neon Speier Hardware rooftop sign, letting everyone passing by know exactly where to stop for that box of nails or whatever else needed fixing around the house.

Speier Hardware opened in 1944 and became a neighborhood fixture for the next 70 years. Inside were three narrow aisles packed with just about everything you'd expect from an old-fashioned hardware store.

The hardware business closed in early 2015, and several different businesses have occupied the old storefront since. Somehow that big rooftop sign stayed right where it was.

UPDATE: The former Speier Hardware building is now home to Fat Rabbit Thrift & Vintage. The old Speier Hardware rooftop sign still stands above Barret Avenue. 08-26

Jubilee Casino (Gone)
Waveland, MS
Photo courtesy Bob Jagendorf

A big friendly alligator once welcomed travelers heading toward Bayou Caddy's Jubilee Casino along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. With a grin like that, you almost had to wonder whether he was welcoming you in or getting ready to take your money.

The Jubilee was part of Mississippi's early 1990s casino boom, operating near Waveland in the Bayou Caddy area. The colorful alligator sign became quite a roadside sight before the casino closed here in the late 1990s. The Jubilee name later turned up at a casino in Greenville, but this old Gulf Coast location was finished.

For a while the alligator marquee was about all that remained, standing beside the road after the casino disappeared.

UPDATE: The old Jubilee alligator sign has since been removed. The former casino site was eventually redeveloped and is now home to the Silver Slipper Casino, which opened in 2006. 08-26