Continental Liquor
Northridge, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Just down the way from Matador Bowl is Continental Liquor in Northridge. A bowling alley and a neighborhood liquor store make a rather familiar Valley pairing, especially with an older marquee announcing the bottles next door.

The store and sign reportedly date to 1963, when this stretch of Balboa Boulevard was serving the Valley’s growing suburban neighborhoods. The building’s rock facing adds another period touch. Check out the combination of masonry below and roadside lettering above, a look once shared by everything from restaurants to apartment buildings.

UPDATE: Continental Liquor & Gourmet is still open on Balboa Boulevard beside Matador Bowl. The vintage pylon reportedly remains, keeping the familiar store name above the street more than six decades after its reported opening. 10-26

Lev's Liquor
Pico Rivera, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Check out the baby blue and reddish colors at Lev’s Liquor in Pico Rivera. This combination turns up on quite a few older liquor store signs, though it’s always worth another look when the original arrangement survives.

The contrasting colors help separate the lettering from the cabinet, giving the marquee a little more life than a plain panel above the door. It recalls the days when independent stores filled Telegraph Road with their own names, colors, and roadside advertisements.

Lev’s has served the neighborhood for decades. For customers, the sign means a familiar place to stop. For anyone carrying a camera, the old color scheme supplies an additional reason.

UPDATE: Whether Lev’s is still serving the neighborhood, and whether the blue-and-red marquee survives, remains unconfirmed. 10-26

SH Liquor
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The sign at SH Liquor has obviously seen better days. Still, check out the old cabinet and the straightforward lettering. There’s enough left here to recognize the kind of neighborhood marquee that once appeared along commercial streets throughout Los Angeles.

Weathering can make these signs easier to overlook, especially when the neon no longer supplies the evening attraction. In daylight, though, the metalwork and lettering have their own story to tell. Somebody once designed, fabricated, and installed this display to bring customers through the door.

SH is another reminder to photograph the quieter signs along the way. The spectacular ones attract attention, but these everyday advertisements can disappear without much notice.

UPDATE: This SH Liquor location hasn’t been positively identified. The business and marquee’s present status remain unknown, with no confirmed closure or removal date. 10-26

Sterling Liquor (Closed)
Colton, CA
Photo courtesy David Carrasco

Here’s a big red arrow doing the directing at Sterling Liquor. The marquee makes a fairly emphatic announcement, pointing customers toward the store before they have much opportunity to miss it.

The arrow is the feature worth watching here. A large sweep of red gives an otherwise practical store sign something to show off against the sky. These were the little roadside flourishes that could make a short shopping trip more interesting than expected.

The supplied address places Sterling on Sterling Avenue in the San Bernardino area. A convenient match between the street and business name, though the sign certainly wasn’t leaving the directions to chance.

UPDATE: A liquor store continues at the Sterling Avenue address, with newer listings using the name Tipsy’s Liquor. The old red-arrow marquee’s current condition hasn’t been confirmed. 10-26

Lucky Liquor (Rem.)
Highland, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

The four-leaf clover still reigns above Lucky Liquor in this San Bernardino-area view. Check out the emblem crowning the marquee. A little good fortune advertised before customers even reach the counter. 11-05

The clover gives the sign an identity beyond the lettering. Stars, arrows, bottles, and other familiar shapes helped neighborhood stores stand apart, and Lucky chose a symbol that hardly needed explaining.

There may have been something to the name, too. In 2018, Lucky 1 Liquor on Baseline Street was reported among the locations selling a Powerball ticket that matched five numbers. Quite a useful bit of luck to associate with a neighborhood bottle shop.

UPDATE: Lucky 1 Liquor remains open in Highland, CA. The sign is gone and replaced. 10-26

Ralph's Liquor (Rem.)
Inglewood, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Follow the red boomerang at Ralph’s Liquor near Inglewood. The arrow takes a sweeping route toward the entrance, adding a little roadside showmanship to the business of pointing out a door. 04-06

The drive-in name recalls an era when Southern California merchants arranged their buildings, parking lots, and advertisements around the automobile. A sign could begin making its pitch well before a customer turned off the boulevard.

Ralph’s makes good use of that tradition. The arrow gives the display a recognizable outline, the sort of thing remembered from repeated drives along the same street. Spot the boomerang, and the store is right where it’s supposed to be.

UPDATE: Ralph’s Drive-In Liquor remains open on West Century Boulevard. The red boomerang marquee was removed around 2023. 10-26

Garfield Liquor (Removed)
Monterey Park, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s a sign that required a trip around back to appreciate. The old Garfield Liquor marquee stood in the alley behind the store, away from the usual roadside photo route. Apparently, the front of the building wasn’t the only place worth checking.

An alley sign could help customers approaching from the rear find the business, while giving the photographer a different view of the neighborhood. Utility poles, back doors, and delivery areas supplied the setting instead of the main boulevard.

Unfortunately, this one had already disappeared by the original April 2006 report. Another reminder that even the signs tucked out of the way weren’t necessarily safe from removal. 04-06

UPDATE: The old alley marquee is gone. Garfield Liquor continues in business at the supplied Montebello location and is an area I used to frequent quite often. 10-26