The projecting blade sign for San Carlos Apartments hangs above the sidewalk across from Tucson’s Armory Park. When photographed here, its weathered lettering offered only a hint of how it once looked after dark. Turns out this old sign had more going on than ordinary neon. 03-07
Dating to around 1930, the sign combines neon “SAN CARLOS” lettering with raised, backlit opal-glass letters spelling “APTS.” Its rippled metal background adds another unusual touch. Quite an elaborate way to advertise a place to live.
UPDATE: The San Carlos was built back between 1880 and 1920. The apartments are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 09-17
UPDATE: The apartments were renovated, and the vintage sign was restored and relit in September 2013 after decades of darkness. It remains attached to the building in its original location, once again lighting the sidewalk in this historic Tucson neighborhood. 09-26
Community Center Parking
Tucson, AZ Photo courtesy Gorb70
Here is an old Community Center Parking sign in Tucson that had clearly spent plenty of years baking in the desert sun. Rust had worked its way across the metal, but the sign was still doing its best to direct motorists toward a parking space. Even an ordinary parking sign can become an interesting roadside find after enough years out in the weather. 02-07
The name recalls the Tucson Community Center, which opened in 1971 before becoming the Tucson Convention Center. While the facility changed around it, this weathered marker retained the old name. No flashing display or complicated instructions here. Just a straightforward reminder of where to leave the car.
UPDATE: The convention center’s parking facilities have since been modernized with renovated surface lots and a new garage. Whether this particular rusted sign survived those changes has not been confirmed. 09-26
New Chance Thrift Store (Closed)
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The battered blade sign for New Chance Thrift Store hung above an old storefront along Phoenix’s Van Buren Street. Its green border and unusual metal frame hint at a more colorful past, possibly when neon outlined the lettering. By the time this photo was taken, the store had been closed for years and the weathered sign was doing little more than marking the spot. 11-20
This was the kind of modest roadside business that fit right into old Van Buren, where secondhand shops shared the street with garages, motels and neighborhood markets. The thrift store offered another chance for discarded furniture and household odds and ends, although its own sign eventually looked ready for the bargain pile.
UPDATE: The old blade sign has been removed, but the brick building at 1309 E. Van Buren survives. In 2015, artists El Mac, Mando Rascón and Pablo Luna transformed its exterior with “Nuestra Gente,” a large mural celebrating the people of Phoenix. The former thrift store found a new life as a canvas along the old highway. 09-26
Seligman Sundries
Seligman, AZ Photo courtesy Tony Craig
The weathered sign for Seligman Sundries looks like something straight from the old roadside past. Check out the vintage “7up Your Thirst Away” slogan. Between the faded lettering and familiar soda logo, this little sign could tempt a thirsty traveler to stop without much more explanation.
The building dates to 1904 and originally served as Pioneer Hall, hosting plays, dances and community gatherings. It became a drugstore and soda fountain in 1930, giving generations of travelers a place to grab a cold drink along what became Route 66.
UPDATE: The historic building survives, complete with its collection of vintage advertising signs. It has continued serving travelers through souvenir, coffee and food businesses, most recently including Highway Hot Dog. That old 7Up sign is still part of the roadside display. 09-26
J.H. Welsh & Son (Gone)
Phoenix, AZ Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan
Phoenix is home to this building and sign for the J.H. Welsh & Son. This business used to be a huge plumbing company by the looks of the yard and buildings and of course the sign. It appears that the company was formed in 1952, however the business is now defunct. Many thanks to Elgin MacMillanfor info.
Now that is one way to advertise a plumbing business. The giant pipe wrench above J.H. Welsh & Son made the company’s line of work pretty clear to anyone driving along South Central Avenue in Phoenix. Forget a small sign in the window. Put the tool on the roof where everyone can see it. This was one wrench that certainly would not fit in the back of the service truck.
The brick building and industrial yard date to 1946, when Phoenix was beginning its long postwar building boom. Located just north of Buckeye Road, the property was part of a working commercial corridor filled with warehouses, service yards and businesses keeping the growing city running. Amid all that practical architecture, the enormous rooftop wrench was an easy thing to remember.
J.H. Welsh & Son
Phoenix, AZ Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan
The oversized wrench gave the industrial property a little roadside personality. It was the kind of straightforward advertising that needed no explanation, turning an everyday tool into a landmark above the roofline. A motorist might forget the street number, but “the place with the giant wrench” would probably get someone pointed in the right direction.
The company eventually fell on hard times and filed for bankruptcy protection in late 1985. Its old rooftop sign remained for a time, watching over the yard even after the contracting business was gone.
UPDATE: The historic building complex survives and has been repurposed. The enormous pipe wrench sign has been removed. 09-26
Gifts
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
“Gifts” is about all this faded old Phoenix sign has left to say. The business name is a mystery, but that surviving word offers a little clue about what once waited inside. Photographed in the early 2000s, the weathered panel already looked as though it had spent plenty of summers baking in the Arizona sun. 11-20
Was it a souvenir shop, a neighborhood card store or just the gift department of a larger business? Hard to tell. Without the original name, the sign leaves plenty to the imagination. Whatever the store sold, its old roadside advertisement hung on long enough to catch the eye during a drive through town.
UPDATE: The original business name and exact location remain unidentified. The building and sign may have disappeared, but neither has been confirmed gone. For now, this faded “Gifts” panel remains a small Phoenix roadside mystery. 09-26
Here's the 
San Carlos Apts
Community Center Parking
New Chance Thrift Store (Closed)
Seligman Sundries
The weathered sign for Seligman Sundries looks like something straight from the old roadside past. Check out the vintage “7up Your Thirst Away” slogan. Between the faded lettering and familiar soda logo, this little sign could tempt a thirsty traveler to stop without much more explanation.
J.H. Welsh & Son (Gone)
J.H. Welsh & Son
Gifts
