Packard Bell TV Repair Shop (Gone)
Indio, CA
Photo courtesy Ralph Squillace

Oh, the old main drag through town. Along Indio Boulevard, the Packard Bell TV Repair Shop once sat right next to the Greyhound bus station. A television repair shop beside a busy little desert bus depot? It doesn’t get much more retro than that.

This stretch of Indio Boulevard was once part of Highway 99, carrying travelers through the Coachella Valley long before Interstate 10 took over. Someone waiting for a Greyhound could grab a bite at the Interstate Restaurant while the neighborhood television was in the shop getting a new tube. Packard Bell was a familiar West Coast name back then, known for its wood-cabinet televisions, radios, and home entertainment consoles. Authorized repair shops like this one were once common neighborhood fixtures.

UPDATE: The Packard Bell sign and old repair shop storefront have disappeared as the area was redeveloped. Bus service remains nearby, but this little combination of Greyhound buses and television repair is now just part of old Indio Boulevard. 09-26

Bollman Furniture (Demolished)
Indio, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Cruising down Highway 111 through Indio, check out the big glass showroom for Bollman Furniture. The wall of windows put plenty of furniture on display for passing motorists, while those large block letters across the front made sure nobody missed the name. It was the sort of building that looked unmistakably like a furniture store, even before seeing the sofas through the glass.

J.W. Bollman Furniture & Interiors operated at this location for 46 years, becoming a familiar part of Indio’s old commercial strip. Inside were upscale furniture lines such as Henredon, Century, Baker, and Marge Carson. With all that desert sunlight pouring through the windows, there probably wasn’t a dark corner anywhere in the showroom.

UPDATE: Bollman Furniture closed in January 2005 after nearly half a century along Highway 111. The glass-front building and its big facade lettering were later demolished as the surrounding commercial property was cleared for redevelopment. 09-26

Cavanaugh Electric (Demolished)
Indio, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The building for Cavanaugh Electric may have looked rather plain, but there was still something interesting about finding a store with ELECTRIC spelled across the front. Sitting along Indio’s old Highway 111 commercial strip, it was the sort of everyday local business that helped make up the main drag. Nothing flashy here, but not every roadside stop needs a giant neon arrow.

Cavanaugh Electric began serving the Coachella Valley in 1945, just as postwar homes, farms, and businesses were spreading across the desert. The company later added air conditioning and heating work, which sounds like a pretty sensible move in Indio.

UPDATE: Cavanaugh Electric eventually closed, and its old Highway 111 storefront was demolished during the clearing and redevelopment of the surrounding commercial properties. The street lettering disappeared along with the building. 09-26