Little Italy
San Diego, CA
Photo courtesy Bob Davidson

Spanning India Street, the Little Italy sign gives travelers a bright welcome to this San Diego neighborhood. The blue lettering has the familiar appeal of an older neon gateway, though this one arrived well after the fishing boats and canneries helped put the area on the map.

UPDATE: The landmark sign was first illuminated during Little Italy’s FESTA! in October 2000. It honors the community’s history as a center of tuna fishing and canning, bringing a newer neon landmark to a neighborhood with a much older story. 10-26

Pacific Liquor
San Diego, CA
Photo courtesy M.C. Morrissey

Now this is a liquor-store sign! Above Pacific Liquor on El Cajon Boulevard, a big neon bottle tips forward and pours its glowing contents toward the sign below. Apparently a few words announcing the business weren’t going to be enough here.

The bottle gives passing motorists a little roadside entertainment, especially after dark. Its shape gets the message across before the lettering does, making the store easy to remember on the next trip down the boulevard. That’s one pour that never seems to empty the bottle.

UPDATE: Pacific Liquor remains a neighborhood stop with its familiar pouring-bottle neon and an extensive selection of beer and spirits. Despite the original El Cajon listing, the shop is in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood. The boulevard’s name has caused a little geographic confusion over the years. 10-26

Chito's Shoe Repair
North Park SD
Photo courtesy Larry Majercin

This small storefront for Chito's Shoe Repair in the heart of North Park has a wonderful animated neon cobbler elf on its front. The owners had the elf completely refurbished about 8 years ago. The elf is hammering the sole of a shoe. Many thanks to Larry Majercin for info.

A little neon cobbler kept busy above Chito’s Shoe Repair in North Park. Hammer raised, shoe in hand, the animated elf worked through the same repair over and over. Apparently this sole needed more attention than most.

The hammer moves through a sequence of positions, with a flashing spark giving the fellow his familiar wink. The sign was made for Wink’s Shoe Repair in 1949 and moved to University Avenue in 1960, carrying its small roadside show to another storefront.

UPDATE: The winking elf became San Diego Historical Landmark No. 239. When the sign disappeared following a tenant’s departure, preservation advocates and city staff tracked it down and arranged its return. Chito’s moved, but the old cobbler was brought back to his designated home. 10-26

The Boulevard
San Diego, CA
Photo courtesy Bob Davidson

Huge neon lettering announces The Boulevard along El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego. This is a sign with enough presence to welcome a whole commercial district rather than just one storefront. Hard to miss the name when it’s given this much room to shine.

The sweeping lettering and geometric framework recall the days when a drive along the boulevard came with plenty of neon scenery. It looks comfortable among the older roadside attractions, though its own history begins considerably later.

UPDATE: Installed in 1989, the gateway was designed by Graphic Solutions and fabricated and installed by Arrow Sign Company. Its purpose was to bring some of the boulevard’s neon glory back into view. A newer sign, perhaps, but one with a fondness for the old main drag. 10-26

Frank the Trainman
San Diego, CA
Photo courtesy Larry Majercin

The credit union designed their building to resemble a locomotive engine, complete with a wonderful mural on the rear of the building. The original neon sign from Frank's is one of the first 'moving' neon signs if memory serves correct. It was fully refurbished and still shines brightly every evening. Many thanks to Larry Majercin for info.

First illuminated in 1946, the sign advertised the longtime model-train business on Park Boulevard. It was a fitting invitation for customers heading inside to look over miniature engines and railroad supplies. The show started before reaching the door.

UPDATE: The sign was saved and refurbished when the original shop property became a Mission Federal Credit Union site in the late 1980s. Mounted outside the replacement building, the locomotive carried the old shop’s identity into the corner’s next chapter. Frank’s train found another place to run. 10-26

Mission Federal Credit Union (Gone)
San Diego, CA
Photo courtesy Larry Majercin

This site in the "Boulevard" neighborhood of San Diego, originally housed "Frank, The Train Man's model train shop. Frank relocated his business across the street when MFCU purchased the property about 20 years ago. Many thanks to Larry Majercin for info.

The building’s locomotive-like profile gives the corner something different to look at. Head around the back and there’s more railroad scenery in the large train mural, turning a financial institution into a rather unusual stop for anyone watching the roadside.

UPDATE: Mission Federal purchased the property in 1987, and the new building preserved a tribute to its model-railroad past. Mario Torero and student assistants completed the train mural in 1989, while Frank’s restored neon locomotive found a place outside. Quite a bit of train history for a stop at the credit union. 10-26

Mystery Liquor
San Diego, CA
Photo courtesy M.C. Morrissey

Off University Avenue in San Diego, Mystery Liquor leaves a few questions hanging in the evening air. Was the mystery waiting inside the refrigerators, or was it simply a store name that never made it into the notes? Either way, the neon gave passing travelers a reason to look.

Perhaps the sign was doing all the explaining needed at the time. Customers knew where to stop, while somebody with a camera spotted another glowing piece of neighborhood advertising. The name could be sorted out later. Or perhaps much later.

UPDATE: Mystery Liquor keeps its playful title in the roadside collection. The neon lettering supplies the attraction, and the unanswered identity supplies the mystery. No detective badge needed to appreciate this one. 10-26

1st & Ivy Market and Liquor
San Diego
Photo courtesy M.C. Morrissey

Just north of downtown, 1st and Ivy Market and Liquor gives Bankers Hill a corner-store sign with two answers. Is it a market or a liquor store? According to the original eyewitness account, the vertical marquee alternates between the words, so wait a moment before making up your mind.

There’s something to watch overhead, too. The store sits beneath the approach to Lindbergh Field, where incoming aircraft add a little activity to a snack run. Grab some munchies and the next arrival might pass by before the bag is opened.

UPDATE: First & Ivy continues serving the neighborhood with its familiar market-and-liquor identity. The alternating marquee gives both sides of the business a turn, keeping a little flashing roadside character at the corner beneath the airport approach. 10-26