Cohen's Department Store (Demolished)
Coolidge, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70

Here’s the former Cohen’s Department Store along the main commercial strip in Coolidge. Built in 1952, the store had a colorful facade filled with the angles, shapes and decorative touches that made postwar downtown buildings a little more fun to look at. Even after the store closed, it continued to stand out from its quieter neighbors. 03-06

A large mural across the front illustrated the history of the surrounding area, including scenes connected with the nearby Casa Grande Ruins. The ancient ruins are only a short drive from Coolidge and have long been the community’s best-known landmark, so they were a natural choice for the old storefront.

Cohen's Department Store
Coolidge, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70

Cohen’s eventually changed ownership and became Brooks Popular Department Store, often remembered simply as Brooks or Popular by local residents. The department store closed in 1987, leaving its colorful building vacant for nearly three decades. It sat empty for so long that some younger residents reportedly thought the place had once been a movie theater.

UPDATE: Years of vacancy and deterioration finally caught up with the old department store. The building and its distinctive facade were demolished around 2015, and it is unclear whether any part of the historical mural was saved. 09-26

Here is a mural in front of the store that illustrates the history of the area, including images of the Casa Grande Ruins.

Cohen's Floor Lettering Coolidge, AZ Photo courtesy Gorb70	Cohen's Department Store Mural Coolidge, AZ Photo courtesy Gorb70	Cohen's Department Mural of Ruins Coolidge, AZ Photo courtesy Gorb70

Crown Filter Queen sign lettering (Closed)
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan

Here’s the original wall lettering for Crown Filter Queen along West Van Buren Street in Phoenix. The sweeping script, crown emblem and little Filter Queen figure are still attached to the brick and stone facade. It is one of those rare old storefronts where the building, sign and family business have all managed to stay together. 04-06

The company began in 1949 and moved to this location during the early 1950s. Family records place the move around 1953, while historic building records date the present structure to 1955. Either way, Crown has been selling and repairing vacuum cleaners here for more than 70 years.

Crown Filter Queen sign lettering
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan

Built with clay brick and sandstone, the storefront has a solid appearance that seems suited to a business selling machines once expected to last for decades. The distinctive lettering also comes from an era when even a vacuum cleaner shop could have its own memorable roadside identity.

The Crown Filter Queen Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Unlike so many businesses once found along Van Buren, it has not been demolished, abandoned or replaced by something completely unrelated.

UPDATE: Crown Vacuum of Arizona is listed as permanently closed. The historic building, crown emblem and Filter Queen wall lettering all survive. 09-26

Flash TV & Appliances (Closed)
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The old Flash TV & Appliances building really jumps out along South Sixth Avenue in Tucson. The bright bands of orange, yellow and red give the storefront a definite 1970s look, while the neon “FLASH” lettering seems ready to pop right off the sign. It is the kind of place that could make shopping for a refrigerator feel a little more exciting than it probably was. 06-23

The Flash TV business began in Tucson in 1952, but this mid-century showroom and its familiar sign were built in 1965. With its broad street-facing windows, long horizontal roofline and colorful tower, the store was designed to catch motorists traveling through the area just south of downtown. For decades, Tucson residents came here for televisions, refrigerators and other modern household wonders.

The store also came up with one of the more unusual ways to advertise televisions. In a 1965 commercial, old TV sets were reportedly tossed from the flat roof of the building as part of a trade-in promotion. Nothing says it is time for a new television quite like watching the old one fly off a roof.

Flash TV & Appliances
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Flash TV & Appliances finally closed around 2012. The building sat empty for several years and began looking like another old Tucson storefront waiting for an uncertain fate. Thankfully, the showroom and neon sign were eventually worked into a much larger redevelopment instead of being cleared away.

The property became The Flash, a three-building apartment community with 52 residences and five renovated retail spaces. A dozen of the apartments were designed as two-story live-and-work units with tall exposed ceilings. The original 1965 appliance showroom was restored as the centerpiece of the project, keeping the old roadside identity out front.

Artist Joe Pagac added another fun connection to the building’s past with a mural of flying “TV-bees,” little honeybees with television sets for bodies. The odd creatures recall those sets once sent sailing from the store’s roof. Apparently, even the discarded televisions received a second life around here.

UPDATE: The former appliance store now anchors The Flash apartment community. Its mid-century showroom and colorful neon sign have been restored, while the TV-bee mural adds a playful reminder of the building’s days selling appliances. 09-26