Escondido Square Shopping Center
Escondido, CA
Photo courtesy M.C. Morrissey

An immense marquee gives Escondido Square Shopping Center a grand introduction along Escondido Boulevard. Check out the broad shape and angled framing. This one seems determined to announce the shopping center well before motorists reach the parking lot.

The trapezoidal design brings a little of the postwar shopping era to the roadside. Back when stores spread out behind big parking lots, a sign like this helped gather the whole place under one name. Plenty of room for the lettering to stretch its legs.

Escondido has its share of older commercial scenery, and this marquee makes a fine addition to the tour. Even without a shopping list, there’s a reason to pull over for a closer peek. The sign is an attraction before any of the stores get their turn.

UPDATE: Escondido Square remains an active shopping center at Escondido Boulevard and Washington Avenue. Its landmark marquee survives, and the city’s Historic Preservation Commission awarded the center a Certificate of Recognition honoring the sign. A little official appreciation for a very big roadside welcome. 10-26

Mission Hills Shopping Center (Gone)
San Diego, CA
Photo courtesy M.C. Morrissey

Curved rooflines give the old Mission Hills Shopping Center a familiar California look along West Washington Street. Much like the nearby Mission Hills Radio & TV storefront, the building offered a little mission-inspired scenery between the business entrances.

The center took shape in 1952, but portions of the buildings behind its later facade were older. That gave the property more history than a quick glance from the road might suggest. Sometimes an old shopping strip has another streetscape tucked beneath its outer layer.

UPDATE: The single-story shopping-center arrangement and its large neon lettering were removed during redevelopment in the mid-2000s. The historic Ace Drug Store and Funcheon buildings were preserved and restored as part of the replacement complex, keeping pieces of the earlier Mission Hills block in view. The old center’s sweeping roadside appearance, however, is gone. 10-26