DeSoto's Salon (Closed)
Ash Fork, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

You know you have found DeSoto’s Salon when a full-sized car appears on the roof. The former beauty and barber shop sits along old Route 66 in Ash Fork, complete with a finned DeSoto and Elvis Presley behind the wheel. Now that is one way to get the attention of passing motorists. 03-19

The building began as a 1950s Texaco service station and is sometimes described as Arizona’s first Texaco franchise. Joe and Edie DeSoto purchased the vacant garage and opened their salon in 2001. Despite the perfect match, the business was named for the couple, not the automobile.

The 1960 DeSoto Adventurer had been sitting in the back lot when they bought the property. In 2003, a friend arrived with a heavy forklift and helped hoist the car onto the roof, where it became one of Ash Fork’s most photographed Route 66 sights.

UPDATE: DeSoto’s Beauty and Barber Shop closed around 2011. The former station has since been used as a private residence and bed-and-breakfast, while the rooftop DeSoto and its Elvis driver remain in place. 09-26

Creative Awards
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s Creative Awards, a longtime Tucson trophy shop housed in an older mid-century commercial building. The family business opened in 1974 and creates trophies, plaques, medals and other awards for local teams and companies. 06-23

At the time of this photo, the owners were approaching retirement and had offered the business for sale.

UPDATE: Creative Awards remains open in its longtime storefront. The current status of the proposed sale is unclear. 09-26

Economy Restaurant Supply
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Check out the old mid-century storefront for Economy Restaurant Supply in Tucson. The wide commercial building and big block lettering across the front give the place a straightforward look that is becoming harder to find around town. Nothing fancy here, just a sign large enough to tell passing motorists exactly what waits inside. 06-23

Economy has been supplying Tucson’s restaurants and home cooks since 1974. The showroom carries the heavy-duty stuff found behind the scenes in a busy kitchen, including commercial ovens, refrigeration equipment, cookware, dinnerware and bar supplies. It is the kind of place where a restaurant owner might shop for a new stove while a home cook wanders out with an industrial-sized frying pan.

The company also operates under the name Economy Bar & Restaurant Supply. Its website uses the wonderfully simple address potspans.com, which gets right to the point almost as quickly as the sign out front.

UPDATE: Economy Restaurant Supply remains open, and its longtime mid-century storefront and retro facade lettering continue to survive. 09-26

Miracle Breeze
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

It is hard to miss Miracle Breeze while cruising along Oracle Road in Tucson. The tall green and pink neon sign rises behind the shop, proudly pointing the way to the self-proclaimed home of the “World’s Best Cooler Pads.” In a town that knows something about keeping cool, that is quite a claim. 06-23

Miracle Breeze has been family owned and operated since 1942, making it Tucson’s oldest manufacturer of evaporative cooler pads. The company still makes its pads by hand using natural aspen fibers. It also operates a sheet-metal shop that turns out roof jacks, duct elbows and other parts needed to keep those old swamp coolers blowing.

The skinny 20-foot neon tower has been part of the business since its early years. Tucson Weekly once named it the city’s best neon and described the unusual shape as looking like “a finger pointing at the heavens.” Well, that is one way to make sure motorists know exactly where to find their cooler pads.

UPDATE: Miracle Breeze remains open as a family-run Tucson business. The original building and its distinctive neon sign continue to survive, still pointing skyward after more than 80 years. 09-26

A Bloom’n Florist (Closed)
Yuma, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s A Bloom’n Florist tucked inside one of Yuma’s old A-frame buildings. The big “FLORIST” letters stood out nicely against the steep roof, while the flagcrete along the front added another layer of mid-century texture. It is a building that was clearly designed to catch the eye from the road. 06-23

The A-frame was originally built in 1966 as a Village Inn Pizza Parlor. That chain used dramatic rooflines to make its restaurants easy for hungry motorists to recognize. After the pizza years, A Bloom’n Florist moved in and cleverly turned the broad roof into a giant signboard.

The building later returned to the food business as Steiner’s European Deli and Market, which operated here from around 2011 to 2015. Steiner’s became known for pastrami, German sausages and other imported treats.

UPDATE: The former florist now houses J.T. Bros, a neighborhood restaurant serving deli sandwiches and a dinner menu. The large florist lettering has been removed, but the 1966 A-frame and its flagcrete exterior remain. 09-26

Girl Scouts (Moved)
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s the former Girl Scouts building along Tucson’s Sunshine Mile. The broad windows, low roofline and clean horizontal lines give it a classic mid-century appearance. It is one of many postwar commercial buildings that once made this stretch of Broadway such an interesting drive. 06-23

The Girl Scouts used the building for local offices and programs before moving to a larger leadership campus. Thankfully, the old structure was adapted for another community use rather than being cleared away.

UPDATE: The building is now home to the Connie Hillman Family Foundation Resource Center. Its original mid-century shape remains easy to recognize along Broadway. 09-26

Globe Medical Center (Demolished)
Globe, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s the Globe Medical Center, a real flashback to the days when even a small medical office could have plenty of mid-century style. The low roof, covered drop-off area and open courtyard gave the complex a clean, modern appearance along Highway 60. 06-23

Dr. Rabogliotti commissioned the building in 1959 as a six-unit medical complex for local dentists and surgeons. An attached pharmacy made it a handy little one-stop center for Globe residents.

UPDATE: The medical center has been demolished as part of a city redevelopment project. The property is being prepared for Globe’s new fire station, replacing the city’s century-old firehouse. 09-26

Johnny's Carpeting (Rem.)
Yuma, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Check out the rounded storefront for Johnny’s Carpeting in Yuma. The curved corners and horizontal lines give the building a touch of Streamline styling, while that big swooping “Carpeting” script looks like it wandered in from the 1970s and never left. It is a pretty nice combination of architectural eras on one corner. 06-23

Johnny’s began as a family-owned carpet business in 1976 and moved into this location in 1993. The building is shared with Arizona Auto Clinic, another longtime Yuma business, which can make the carpet showroom a little easy to overlook. Although the old lettering still says “Carpeting,” the inventory has moved with the times. Johnny’s now carries laminate and waterproof luxury vinyl flooring along with its traditional carpet selections.

UPDATE: Johnny’s Carpet & Flooring remains open in its longtime Yuma location. The Streamline-style building and retro “Carpeting” lettering continue to survive. The font is not as cool and the motel sign and arrow now advertises "Cricket". 09-26