Bridges Smith Paint (Gone)
Louisville, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The oversized paint bucket at Bridges, Smith & Co. made “The Paint People” an easy business to identify. Suspended above the sidewalk, it looked ready to pour onto the sign beneath it. The combination turned an ordinary trade supplier into a memorable stop along Louisville's Main Street.

The company's advertising proclaimed “Since 1875,” connecting the business with the city's long commercial history. Its warehouse building later received an Art Deco-style treatment, but the projecting bucket remained the most immediately recognizable feature. Painted wall advertisements supplied another layer, carrying the company name across the brickwork beside the storefront.

UPDATE: The business has left its longtime Main Street home, and the paint-bucket marquee is gone. The repurposed building retains portions of its painted advertising, preserving the Bridges Smith name after the more elaborate sidewalk sign disappeared. 11-26

Dutch Mill (Gone)
Lexington, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The Dutch Mill sign still had plenty of roadside character when photographed in Lexington, although its neon was showing its age. Loose or missing tubing interrupted the lettering, leaving a display that suggested brighter evenings in the restaurant's past. Even in that condition, it remained worth noticing above the property.

The sign belonged to the familiar tradition of independent restaurants giving themselves a distinctive illuminated identity. Customers might remember the meals, but passing motorists often remembered the name glowing outside. Here, the weathered metal and surviving tubes preserved that advertising role after maintenance had clearly become less regular.

UPDATE: The Dutch Mill has closed, and its original sign has been removed from the Lexington location. The restaurant's operating dates remain unconfirmed, but the photograph records its aging roadside advertisement before it disappeared. 11-26

Oliver Insurance (Gone)
Berea, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The detailed lettering on the L. Marion Oliver Insurance sign made this Berea office worth noticing from the sidewalk. Its projecting metal shape and neon border gave a practical business a distinctive public face. Along Chestnut Street, the advertisement supplied more character than the name on an ordinary office window.

The sign belonged to the older commercial district near Berea College, where small storefronts and professional offices shared the street. Its design combined the local proprietor's name with illumination visible beyond daytime business hours. Later associated with the Oliver & Oliver name, the agency's advertising remained an interesting part of the streetscape.

UPDATE: The L. Marion Oliver marquee has been removed. The former office building survives, but the sign that once distinguished this Chestnut Street business is no longer hanging above the sidewalk. 11-26

Kelly's
Lexington, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The Kelly's sign offers a name, some old lettering, and enough remaining neon to invite a closer look. Attached to a Lexington building, it recalls a business that once announced itself above the sidewalk. Its appeal lies in those surviving details rather than an elaborate design or an oversized display.

Without a confirmed address, the business behind the sign remains unidentified. It would be tempting to call it a restaurant or tavern, but the name alone doesn't establish either. The photograph records the advertisement more clearly than the trade it promoted, leaving a useful mystery for anyone familiar with Lexington's older storefronts.

UPDATE: The Kelly's sign's present location and condition remain unknown. Additional local recollections or an identifiable building could help connect this surviving image with the business that originally installed the neon. 11-26

J.W. Davis Builder (Gone)
Lexington, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The little house above J.W. Davis Builder & Real Estate made the business easy to identify along East High Street. Below it, a clock delivered the appropriate sales pitch: “Time to Buy.” Together, the model and timepiece turned a practical office sign into an imaginative advertisement worth a closer look.

J.W. Davis Jr. helped shape Lexington's postwar residential growth, including development in Lansdowne. During the late 1960s, Davis and fellow developer Charles McEachin also planned a shopping center along Tates Creek Road to serve the surrounding new neighborhoods. The sign reflected that business neatly, combining a house, the company name, and a timely invitation.

UPDATE: The former East High Street office building survives, but the projecting sign, model house, and clock have been removed. Its disappearance took away one of Lexington's more distinctive examples of advertising built around the proprietor's trade. 11-26

Farmers Jewelry
Lexington, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The Farmer's Jewelry blade sign gives Lexington's Chevy Chase neighborhood a recognizable bit of old commercial neon. Tall lettering projects above Euclid Avenue, identifying the store before visitors reach the windows. It's a familiar downtown-style advertisement that has remained associated with the business through decades of changing retail design.

Bill and Jean Farmer established the store in 1950. Successive generations continued the family operation, offering jewelry, repairs, and custom work. The illuminated sign became part of that continuity, giving customers a landmark to look for while the merchandise and services inside evolved.

UPDATE: Farmer's Jewelry remains open and family operated, continuing more than seventy-five years of business. Its vintage projecting sign survives above Euclid Avenue, preserving the familiar street presence of one of Lexington's longtime independent jewelers. 11-26

Keswick Democratic Club (Gone)
Louisville, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The weathered Keswick Democratic Club sign looked every bit like a neighborhood fixture that had spent years above the sidewalk. Its KDC lettering identified a Louisville clubhouse where political activity and social life shared the same address. The modest metal display suited a local gathering place rather than a business advertising to the entire city.

Neighborhood political clubs once supplied meeting rooms, conversation, and a place to keep up with local affairs. Keswick's Logan Street building also had a basement bar, adding a social reason to visit between elections. Its surviving sign recalled that combination of community organization and everyday companionship.

UPDATE: The club has closed, and its former building has been converted into a private residence. The KDC marquee was removed, ending the visible advertisement for a neighborhood institution that once gathered members behind these doors. 11-26

Pet's Palace (Gone)
Louisville, KY
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The neon Pet's Palace sign gave a neighborhood pet shop a suitably grand introduction. Its royal theme made the name easy to remember, adding an imaginative advertisement to Louisville's Bon Air Manor Shopping Center. Even customers stopping for ordinary supplies arrived beneath a sign with more personality than the average shopping-center panel.

The Bon Air store dated to the shopping center's late-1950s development. It became a familiar source for animals and pet supplies before relocating to Goldsmith Lane by 2011. The move continued the business, but the new location used modern signage rather than bringing the old neon along.

UPDATE: Pet's Palace continues on Goldsmith Lane. Its former neon sign surfaced at an antiques store in Edinburgh, Indiana, before being sold; its present whereabouts remain unknown. The original Bon Air storefront has been repurposed. 11-26

QUICK LINKS