Hogan's Liquors
Rialto, CA
Photo courtesy David Carrasco

There’s quite a boomerang above Hogan’s Liquors in Rialto. Check out the size of the arrow as it sweeps toward the store. Apparently, a small pointer beside the driveway wasn’t going to do the job.

Reportedly dating back to 1959, Hogan’s fits right into the era of tail fins, angled coffee shops, and signs that stretched well beyond a simple rectangle. The arrow gives the marquee much of its character, making a neighborhood liquor stop worth a second look from across the street.

It’s also a good reminder to look above the storefronts along Riverside Avenue. Some of the most interesting roadside scenery is still doing an ordinary day’s work advertising the business below.

UPDATE: Hogan’s Liquors is still open on South Riverside Avenue. Its big boomerang marquee reportedly remains, keeping another piece of Rialto’s old roadside scenery above the traffic. 10-26

Highland Park Liquor (Closed)
Los Angeles, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

“Coldest Beer in Town” announces the neon at Highland Park Liquor. Quite a claim, though probably easier to appreciate on a hot afternoon along Figueroa Street. The old sign gives this corner store a look straight out of an earlier Los Angeles. 03-06

The address took an unexpected turn in 2016, becoming Tinfoil Liquor & Grocery. Behind the familiar liquor store exterior was a hidden deli, where customers could ask about “birthday candles” to gain admission. A sandwich counter with a password certainly added something to the usual grocery list.

Tinfoil later closed, and another sandwich operation, Jeff’s Table, moved into the address. The corner’s food history kept growing behind its modest storefront.

UPDATE: The business now operates as Flask Liquors, with Jeff’s Table inside at 5900 North Figueroa Street. The vintage blade sign reportedly survives, carrying an older sales pitch above the newer operation. 10-26

Pomona Liquor
Pomona, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Here’s a star that could use a few replacement bulbs above Pomona Liquor. The pointed crown gives the marquee something extra, even with its lights taking the evening off.

Check out how the star finishes the sign. Rather than stopping at the store name, the display reaches a little farther into the sky. It’s the sort of touch that made an ordinary neighborhood market easy to remember, especially when the bulbs were all working together.

The weathered appearance is part of this view’s attraction. Before deciding an old sign needs replacing, sometimes a ladder, fresh paint, and a box of bulbs might be worth considering.

UPDATE: A liquor market continues at the East La Verne Avenue address, appearing in records under both Pomona Liquor and Lucy Pona Liquor. The star-topped sign reportedly remains, though its current lighting condition needs another nighttime look. 10-26

Pink Elephant Liquor
Hollywood, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

Check out the Pink Elephant Liquor store in Hollywood... another remnant of the vintage Hollywood complete with neon sign. See other signs from Hollywood here at Roadside Peek Hollywood.

The Western Avenue shop also has a literary connection. Charles Bukowski was a customer, and the business appears in his 1978 novel Women. Accounts of his Hollywood years describe the store delivering liquor to his home, leaving the writer free to continue working without making another trip for supplies.

Between the elephant and the Bukowski connection, this is a neighborhood liquor store with more than bottles on its résumé. Another little piece of vintage Hollywood tucked into the everyday commercial strip.

UPDATE: Pink Elephant Liquors remains open on North Western Avenue. The familiar elephant sign reportedly continues to light up the frontage, keeping this Hollywood character in its longtime home. 10-26

5 Star Liquor
Colton, CA
Photo courtesy David Carrasco

Nobody was supposed to miss the driveway at 5 Star Liquor. Check out the enormous arrow running through the sign. Whatever the lettering might have left uncertain, the directions were rather emphatic.

The marquee belongs to the tradition of liquor store signs that seemed almost oversized for the business underneath. A neighborhood market could occupy a modest building and still put a considerable amount of metal and neon into the sky.

The arrow was the attraction here, giving the display a shape motorists could recognize before reading the name. Another reason to keep an eye on the commercial strips between Colton and San Bernardino.

UPDATE: 5-Star Liquor & Market is still operating on South Mount Vernon Avenue in San Bernardino. The pylon reportedly has been refaced with modern backlit panels, changing the appearance of the old roadside display. 10-26

Liquor Store
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

This old Liquor Store sign looks like it has weathered more than a few Southern California summers. The finish has seen better days, but check out the curving outline of the cabinet. There’s still an interesting sign underneath all that wear.

The shape does much of the work here. Even without a complete nighttime display, the curved metal gives some idea of what motorists once saw above the storefront. A plain replacement panel would have a hard time carrying the same look.

Signs like this are easy to pass while searching for something brighter. Yet a faded cabinet can be worth photographing before the next remodeling project makes the decision permanent.

UPDATE: The location hasn’t been identified, so the business and sign’s present whereabouts remain unknown. No confirmed removal date has surfaced for this curvy old marquee. 10-26

Liquor Store (Gone)
Sunland, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Here’s a familiar blade marquee at a Liquor Store in Sunland. By daylight, it looks fairly straightforward. After dark, those neon arrows had the potential to make a considerably livelier introduction.

Projecting over the sidewalk, the sign faces approaching traffic instead of relying on lettering flat against the building. Handy along Foothill Boulevard, where motorists could spot the announcement while still a little way from the door.

The arrows add the finishing touch. A simple store name becomes something more interesting when the directions are worked into the display, especially with neon tracing the way.

UPDATE: SDV Liquor Market is still open at the supplied Foothill Boulevard address. The older blade marquee appears to be gone. 10-26

5 Star Liquor
Bellflower, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s 5 Star Liquor in Bellflower showing off after dark. The neon gives the storefront a colorful outline along Alondra Boulevard, turning a neighborhood stop into something worth getting the camera out for.

This is the view that daylight doesn’t quite deliver. Once the sky darkens, the lettering stands out and the surrounding building takes a supporting role. Fancy the days when a drive along the boulevard brought one glowing storefront after another into view.

UPDATE: 5 Star Liquor is still open at 10059 Alondra Boulevard, and its neon reportedly remains in working order. Good to see this Bellflower storefront still adding some color to the evening drive. 10-26