Stephen's Meat Products

Queen's Castle (Closed)
Oakland, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Beauty and wig salons seem to turn up some interesting signs, and Queen’s Castle in Oakland is another one worth checking out. The plastic marquee gives this neighborhood shop a little personality before anyone gets a look at the hairstyles inside.

Operating as Queen’s Castle Beauty & Wig Salon, the business has a long connection to Oakland’s beauty community. Local recollections associate it with Bennie Theus, part of the shop’s old-school salon history.

UPDATE: Queen’s Castle is permanently closed. 09-26

A. Ghioldi Jewelry (Gone)
Crockett, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Check out the old marquee at A. Ghioldi Jewelry, a storefront that looks as though it had settled into the neighborhood for a good long stay. The sign gives the shop the familiar look of a local jeweler, where a watch repair or a special purchase meant a visit downtown.

The storefront later found another use, continuing its working life after the jewelry business was gone. The old photo keeps the earlier name in view, along with the sign that announced it.

UPDATE: The former jewelry storefront was repurposed as Crockett Pottery. The A. Ghioldi Jewelry sign has been removed. 09-26

Stockton Poultry Market
Stockton, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Here’s a nice old sign outside Stockton Poultry Market in, you guessed it, Stockton. A specialty market with a marquee of its own is always worth noticing, especially among the older businesses in the city’s commercial core.

The market sits near another familiar roadside sight, the On Lock Sam restaurant sign. Together, these marquees offer a little of the earlier shopping and dining scenery, when individual businesses gave the street a varied collection of names and lettering.

The poultry market carries on a traditional kind of food shopping, with its old identity still part of the storefront’s appeal. Even when there’s nothing on the grocery list, the sign gives a passing photographer a reason to pause.

UPDATE: The business continues operating as New Stockton Poultry Market, and its classic exterior sign survives. 09-26

Handy Market (Gone)
Ukiah, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Look up above Handy Market in Ukiah and check out the rooftop neon sign. Here’s a neighborhood grocery that advertised itself beyond the display window, giving customers a marker to watch for on the way to pick up a few things.

World War II veteran Gail Solis and his wife, Grace, operated the market after moving to the Ukiah valley. Their store belonged to the era when a local grocery could become part of a family’s regular routine, from the weekly shopping to a quick stop for something forgotten.

The rooftop lettering adds a little character to that everyday history. A market might be remembered for what was inside, but an old sign can bring the whole place back into view.

UPDATE: The former Handy Market space changed hands and was used by other market operators. The old photo preserves its earlier rooftop neon identity. 09-26

The Lighthouse (Gone)
San Carlos, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Cruising along El Camino Real in San Carlos, check out the neon glow from The Lighthouse. The lighting shop carried its theme right up onto the roadside sign, with a colorful lighthouse perched above the boulevard. A pretty fitting advertisement for a business selling illumination.

This family-owned showroom spent about 65 years helping customers find lighting fixtures and electrical supplies. Inside, there were lamps and lights for the home. Outside, the neon offered something for passing motorists to admire without having to redecorate a room.

That lighthouse gave the shop a landmark of its own along a busy commercial stretch. Instead of guiding ships away from the rocks, this one helped drivers spot a place to brighten the living room. Apparently, a nautical beacon could find useful work well inland.

UPDATE: The Lighthouse has closed after its long run in San Carlos, correcting the earlier Belmont and San Pablo listings. The sign is there but lost its zag. 10-26

Pacific Saw (Gone)
Oakland, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

A saw makes a pretty direct advertisement for Pacific Saw in Oakland. Check out this trade sign, where the shape tells the passing customer something about the business before the lettering finishes the job.

Founded in the 1930s by Italian immigrant Alexander J. Ponchione, Pacific Saw Works served North Oakland for more than 40 years. Saw sharpening, hardware, and lawnmower sales made it a practical stop for people with work waiting at home or on the job. The building later took on a different kind of activity, becoming artists’ studios and an artist-run gallery. The Pacific Saw Works name was retained, giving the new use a connection to the business that came before it.

UPDATE: The former shop building survives with an arts-related use and the historic Pacific Saw Works name. A hand-painted recreation of the old sign was made for the gallery interior. 09-26

Mirrors Auto Glass
Oakland, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

A splash of green catches the eye on this Mirrors Auto Glass sign in Oakland. With “Mirrors Auto Glass Installed” spelled out for passing motorists, the advertisement gets straight to the work offered inside.

Auto-service businesses supplied plenty of interesting roadside lettering, even when the errand itself was less than exciting. A damaged windshield or a broken mirror could lead to a shop with a sign worth a second look.

UPDATE: The old view preserves the green Mirrors Auto Glass lettering, a piece of Oakland’s automotive business scenery. 09-26

Bluebird Cafe
Hopland, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Hungry while passing through Hopland? The rooftop “Eat” sign at the Bluebird Cafe keeps the invitation simple. Housed in an 1870s wooden building along Highway 101, the cafe offers a little roadside history with the meal.

Inside, padded swivel stools line the diner counter, while vintage lunch boxes, old California license plates, and a pink-neon clock add to the atmosphere. There’s even a posted five-dollar charge for whining. Quite a way to encourage a pleasant breakfast.

UPDATE: A June 2026 feature documents the Bluebird still serving breakfast and lunch, with owner and cook Robin Paul marking roughly 32 years in the kitchen. Its diner counter and vintage decorations continue the old-fashioned appeal. 09-26