Robinson's Pharmacy
Placerville, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

The orange and blue Rexall sign above Robinson’s Pharmacy looks right at home on Placerville’s Main Street. It reaches out over the sidewalk like a reminder of the days when a trip to the drugstore might also mean browsing the shelves or stopping for a soda. Whether Robinson’s had a soda fountain of its own is another matter, but the sign certainly brings that old Main Street feeling to mind.

Robinson’s opened here in 1932 and has stayed at the same address for more than 90 years. Through all the changes along Main Street, it has remained a working neighborhood pharmacy. That glowing Rexall sign is a particularly good reason to look up while passing by.

UPDATE: Robinson’s Pharmacy remains open, and the Rexall sign still hangs above the entrance. 09-26

Drug Store sign
San Francisco, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Sometimes a sign does not need a fancy name to get its point across. This tall Drug Store blade sign spells out exactly what is inside, one big letter at a time. It was made to be read from down the block, before anyone had to squint at the storefront.

There is something familiar about a neighborhood drugstore sign like this. It recalls the days when a quick stop for toothpaste or a prescription might turn into a few minutes of looking around the shelves.

UPDATE: The name and exact San Francisco location of the drugstore in this photo have yet to be identified. 09-26

Elmore Pharmacy
Red Bluff, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

The colorful sign outside Elmore Pharmacy is one of those old downtown sights that asks you to look up. Its neon reaches out from the corner building, advertising a place where someone can still pick up a prescription, browse the cosmetics, and perhaps find a gift while they are at it.

Elmore Pharmacy has been part of Red Bluff since 1861 and moved into its brick corner building in 1906. The sign came along later, though its exact age is hard to pin down. For more than 25 years, the neon was dark, but the big marquee remained above the sidewalk.

In 2017, a support cable snapped and the sign tipped onto the storefront awning. It had to come down before it fell any farther. After a lengthy restoration, Elmore’s returned the sign to its place in 2018, with the neon glowing over the corner once again.

UPDATE: Elmore Pharmacy remains open, and its restored sign still lights up downtown Red Bluff. 09-26

Corner Drugs
Woodland, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

On a Woodland street corner, Corner Drug Co. looks exactly like the kind of drugstore its name promises. The old neon marquee hangs above the entrance, ready to catch the eye of anyone coming down Main Street. It is a sign worth slowing down for, even if there is nothing on the shopping list.

The pharmacy has been serving Woodland since 1897. Generations have come through for prescriptions and everyday necessities, while the shelves have also made room for candy, gifts, and the pleasure of poking around an old-fashioned store. The sign may be younger than the business, but it has become part of the corner’s familiar look.

UPDATE: Corner Drug remains open, and its vintage neon sign still hangs above the entrance. 09-26

Drugstore
Emeryville, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The old Drugstore sign in Emeryville did not need a fancy name to get its point across. Its marquee announced the business to anyone passing by, the sort of everyday sign that could become a familiar part of a neighborhood without anyone giving it much thought.

A drugstore was once a place to pick up a prescription, look for a greeting card, or remember at the last minute that the house was out of toothpaste. That makes a sign like this more than just an advertisement. It marked one of the small stops people worked into their regular routes around town.

The pharmacy and its marquee have disappeared from Emeryville’s streetscape. Without a business name on the sign, there is little here to tell the rest of its story. The photo at least preserves a look at a neighborhood landmark that would otherwise be easy to forget.

UPDATE: The drugstore no longer operates at this location. 09-26

Land Park Drugs (Gone)
Sacramento, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

The vintage sign for Land Park Drugs once told Sacramento drivers exactly what they would find at this neighborhood stop. Its big roadside lettering had the look of an era when a local pharmacy could make itself known from half a block away.

The business later went by Land Park Pharmacy, and the storefront has continued its pharmacy life under another name. That makes the old photo a glimpse of an earlier chapter at the same location, with a sign that was hard to overlook.

UPDATE: The pharmacy now operates as Parkside Pharmacy. The Land Park Drugs sign has been removed and replaced. 09-26

Stier's Drugs (Closed)
Alameda, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The old sign for Stier’s Drugs on Alameda’s Webster Street is shaped like a mortar and pestle. No need to read a word to know what kind of shop was below. It is the sort of sign that makes a neighborhood drugstore hard to forget.

Stier’s opened in Alameda in the 1950s and later moved down the street, bringing the sign along. The pharmacy eventually closed and the neon went dark, but the mortar and pestle stayed in place.

UPDATE: The historic sign was restored and relit in 2011. Stier’s Drugs is gone, but its sign still hangs over Webster Street. 09-26

Woodland Drugs (Closed)
Woodland, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The old marquee for Woodland Drugs reached out over Main Street, with a big “Rx” that left no doubt about what was inside. It had the look of a neighborhood pharmacy sign from another era, when even a quick stop for a prescription came with a little neon along the way.

Woodland Drugs was its own Main Street pharmacy, separate from Corner Drug farther down the block. The shop has closed, and the sign no longer hangs over the sidewalk.

UPDATE: The Woodland Drugs marquee has been removed. 09-26