Las Palmas Liquor
Palm Springs, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Cruising along Palm Canyon Drive, check out the unusual roofline on Las Palmas Liquor. The middle dips down while the ends sweep upward, giving this otherwise everyday liquor store a nice bit of Palm Springs style. Leave it to the desert modernists to make even a neighborhood market look ready for a postcard.
The building went up around 1960 as Germain Brothers Liquor & Food Store. It carried imported foods, gourmet groceries, and high-end spirits for local residents and the seasonal Hollywood crowd. The store also sat next to a Sambo’s restaurant, making this corner quite the little roadside stop.
UPDATE: The building remains open as Las Palmas Liquor Stores & Markets. Its dramatic curved roof survives, while the roadside sign has been updated and altered over the years. 09-26
Silver Dollar Liquor (Closed)
Boron, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Out in Boron, check out the faded marquee for Silver Dollar Liquors. The old script lettering, blocky LIQUORS panel, and arrow were once outlined in neon, with DELICATESSEN advertised across the bottom. Years of high-desert sun have cooked most of the color from the sign, but all that peeling paint and rust give it plenty of roadside character.
The store stood along Twenty Mule Team Road, the old route of U.S. 466 through downtown Boron. During the town’s busier mining years, Silver Dollar served as a neighborhood liquor store and deli for locals and travelers passing the nearby borax mine. Highway 466 was moved north of downtown in 1971, taking much of the through traffic with it.
UPDATE: Silver Dollar Liquors has been closed for years, and the old store building sits vacant. The battered double-sided sign still stands beside Twenty Mule Team Road, although its neon has been stripped or broken and the desert continues working on what remains. 09-26
Sherman's Liquor (Rem.)
Indio Photo courtesy Ralph Squillace
Remember the old drive-through liquor stores that doubled as convenience markets? Sherman’s Liquor in Indio is a classic example. Pull beneath the sharp, angular canopy and pick up drinks, ice, snacks, or a few groceries without leaving the car. Now that was convenience, especially during an Imperial Valley summer.
The canopy stretching across the driveway gives this otherwise simple neighborhood store some real mid-century roadside style. Out front, the old Sherman’s marquee still carries the look of decades past and makes the place easy to spot from the road.
Sherman's Liquor
Indio Photo courtesy Ralph Squillace
Located near the old Highway 111 and U.S. 99 corridors, Sherman’s was well positioned for local workers and motorists passing through Indio. More recently, it has become a familiar supply stop for festival travelers heading toward the Coachella grounds. Different crowd, same need for cold drinks and snacks.
UPDATE: It appears that the marquee for this liquor store is now gone. 02-13
UPDATE: Sherman’s Liquor remains open and continues using its original drive-through lane. The angular canopy is there but the sign was replaced. 09-26
Las Palmas Liquor
Silver Dollar Liquor (Closed)
Sherman's Liquor (Rem.)
Sherman's Liquor
