Round Corner
Sacramento, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

A neon martini glass lights up the corner of 24th and S Streets in Sacramento. It belongs to Round Corner Tavern, a neighborhood bar whose sign seems to have the drink order figured out before anyone reaches the door. The angled entrance and glass block windows give the corner a little more to look at, too.

The old sign appears to date from the 1940s or 1950s and was restored around 2005. It’s a good one to catch after dark, when the lettering and martini glass get to show off together. Inside, the Round Corner has long been a place for drinks and a game of pool.

UPDATE: The Round Corner is still open, and the martini sign remains out front. Anyone making the Sacramento neon rounds can still photograph the glass and then step inside for a drink. 09-26

The Hide Out
Alameda, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

A sign advertising The Hide Out once hung outside a tavern on Pacific Avenue in Alameda’s West End. For a place called a hide out, that tall old sign did a fine job of giving away its location. The bar was gone by the time of this photo, but its name was still out front for anyone passing by.

The tavern served the neighborhood for decades, including the years when the nearby naval air station brought plenty of people to Alameda’s West End. Long after the last drink was poured, the sign stayed on the building. It had become a little piece of the street’s history, even as the former bar took on a new use.

UPDATE: The sign is no longer on the building. 09-2

Club Raven
Sacramento, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

A neon raven glows above J Street in Sacramento, marking Club Raven for anyone passing after dark. The bird appears to flap its wings, giving this neighborhood bar’s sign a little show of its own. It’s worth stopping for a photo, though catching both wings at just the right moment may take a few tries.

The bar has been here since 1946 and is affectionately known as “The Dirty Bird.” Its glowing raven even made an appearance in Lady Bird. Still, the best place to see it is above its own stretch of J Street, lighting the way to the door.

UPDATE: Club Raven remains open, and the neon bird still glows out front. 09-26

Key Club (Closed)
Emeryville, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Along San Pablo Avenue in Emeryville, the marquee for The Key Club pointed to a room inside the old Key Hotel. The name fit the neighborhood: the hotel had been named for the nearby Key System transit line. For someone passing along the avenue, the club sign was one more reason to look up at this busy stretch of storefronts.

The building had stood here since 1906, first as the Santa Fe Hotel. It became the Key Hotel in 1938, and the Key Club opened as a card room in the early 1940s. Emeryville had several clubs clustered along San Pablo Avenue, so a traveler in the mood to play cards had more than one door to choose from. The hotel offered a place to stay just upstairs.

Imagine this block when the club was busy and its marquee was still calling out to passing traffic. Hotel guests, card players, and people headed elsewhere along the avenue all crossed paths here. That makes the old sign more than an advertisement. It’s a glimpse of the street before the hotels and card rooms disappeared.

UPDATE: The Key Club closed in 1987. The hotel and its sign are gone, and the Andante development now occupies the site. 09-26

The Avalon (Demolished)
Emeryville, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The conversation has gone quiet at The Avalon in Emeryville. Its sign once marked a card club inside the Hotel Ritz, at the corner of Adeline Street and Yerba Buena Avenue. The Avalon took over from the Yosemite Club by 1946 and became the first card club in town to admit women.

The hotel had rooms upstairs and card games downstairs for decades. By the 1980s, the building was showing its age, though the Avalon was still in business. Two fires in the mid-1990s finally ended the hotel’s run.

UPDATE: The building and sign were demolished after the 1996 fire. Avalon Senior Housing opened on the site in 1999, keeping the old club’s name on the corner. 09-26

Fratellanza Club
Oakland, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

A vintage sign hangs outside the Fratellanza Club on 66th Street. It might look like another Emeryville stop on a roadside sign tour, but this one is just across the line in Oakland. Get close enough and there’s a small detail to look for: a ZEON badge beside the “C” in “Club.”

Thirteen Italian immigrants founded Fratellanza in 1932 as a place to gather with friends and keep their ties to home. The group first met in a rented basement on 65th Street before moving to the site of the present clubhouse. Dinners, celebrations, and bocce have kept the place busy through the years.

UPDATE: Fratellanza is still active at its 66th Street clubhouse, and the vintage sign remains outside. Its members continue to gather for meals, events, and bocce, giving the sign a place to point to after all these years. 09-26