The Big Easy Cigars (Closed)
Studio City, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Here’s a nighttime look at the neon for The Big Easy Cigars, once a familiar stop along Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. The glowing sign advertised a place to slow down, browse the cigar selection, and settle into the lounge, a different sort of destination from the busy traffic passing outside.
The shop dated to 1994 and developed a following among local cigar enthusiasts. For roadside watchers, its neon provided another reason to keep an eye on the boulevard after dark, even without plans to step inside.
UPDATE: The Big Easy has closed, and its exterior neon sign has been removed. The exact closing and sign removal dates remain unclear. 10-26
The Wurst Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
If you’re hungry for a hot dog but have a strong compassionate side, the neon sign for The Wurst might give you second thoughts. The cartoon character makes quite an impression, turning a simple food advertisement into something that could leave a customer feeling a little guilty about lunch. Then again, perhaps a memorable sign was the whole idea.
There’s no shortage of food signs along the roadside, but this one gives the hungry passerby something extra to think about. A little humor and some glowing tubing go a long way toward making a business stand out after dark. Whether it encouraged an order or a moment of hesitation, the marquee certainly gave neon hunters a reason to stop for a photo.
UPDATE: The Wurst’s location and closing history remain a mystery. This photograph captures its unusual contribution to Southern California’s collection of novelty neon, complete with a character that threatens to spoil an otherwise perfectly good appetite. 10-26
Wacko (Gone)
Los Angeles, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
What happens if you’re compassionate and eat at the Wurst? Well, you might go Wacko. Okay, okay, but this colorful neon sign deserves a look all its own. The name fits a shop filled with toys, books, unusual gifts, and enough unexpected merchandise to turn a quick visit into a lengthy browse.
Wacko opened in 1984 as an expansion of Soap Plant, the family shop that began in Los Feliz in 1971. Along with La Luz de Jesus Gallery, it became a fixture of the Melrose shopping scene before moving to Hollywood Boulevard in 1995. This appears to be from the Melrose location.
UPDATE: Soap Plant, Wacko, and La Luz de Jesus Gallery remain active in Los Feliz, carrying on their mix of pop culture, art, and offbeat shopping. The colorful Wacko neon is gone. 10-26
L.A. Tattoo
Hollywood, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Along Hollywood Boulevard, the neon marquee for L.A. Tattoo adds another glow to a street with plenty competing for attention. The projecting sign lets pedestrians spot the shop while making their way along the sidewalk, whether they’re looking for some new ink or simply checking out Hollywood after dark.
There’s something fitting about a tattoo shop announcing itself in neon here. Among the souvenir shops, theaters, and nighttime activity, this marquee contributes its own piece to the boulevard’s colorful streetscape.
UPDATE: L.A. Tattoo continues to lighting the nights along Hollywood Boulevard, with its familiar neon marquee marking the shop. 10-26
Casa de Cadillac
Sherman Oaks, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Here’s Casa
de Cadillacin its glowing nighttime form, with immense glass showroom walls putting the cars on display along Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. The neon lettering stretches across the building while the tall Cadillac sign rises above the roof, giving passing motorists plenty to admire before they even look through the windows.
Designed by Randall Duell and Phillip Conklin, the dealership was built in 1948 and opened in 1949. The script neon matches the lettering on a 1949 Cadillac nameplate, a detail that ties the building directly to the cars it was designed to sell.
UPDATE: Casa de Cadillac remains in operation. A sensitive rehabilitation in 2013 restored much of its original appearance, and the Los Angeles Conservancy nominated the property for Historic-Cultural Monument designation in 2026. The nomination remains under consideration. 10-26
Here's another view of the Casa De Cadillac as its neon shines brightly down Ventura Boulevard at night. 01-07
Casa de Cadillac
Sherman Oaks, CA Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
Here’s another look at Casa de Cadillac, with its neon shining brightly along Ventura Boulevard at night. The broad glass walls turn the showroom into a roadside display case, while the glowing script gives the building a touch of the same elegance Cadillac advertised in its automobiles. A stop after sundown offers a different view of this Sherman Oaks landmark. 01-07
UPDATE: The dealership’s distinctive showroom and neon remain part of the Ventura Boulevard streetscape. Following its 2013 rehabilitation, Casa de Cadillac became the subject of a Historic-Cultural Monument nomination in 2026, adding another chapter to efforts to preserve the property. 10-26
American Classics (Closed) Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Check out the neon profile and elaborate feathered headdress advertising American Classics. The brightly outlined figure gave the shop a marquee that stood apart from the usual lettering, with plenty of detail to catch the eye once darkness settled over the street.
A fixture of the earlier Melrose retail scene, American Classics belonged to an era when the storefronts offered almost as much to look at as the merchandise inside. Its sign made an especially memorable addition to a walk past the avenue’s vintage and clothing shops.
UPDATE: American Classics has closed, and the neon headdress sign has been removed. This view preserves another of the individual storefront displays that once helped give Melrose its character. 10-26
Market Liquor
Garden Grove, CA Photo and info courtesy David Carrasco
Bright red neon and a blue arrow make a good nighttime combination at Market
Liquor in Garden Grove. The lettering announces the business while the arrow takes care of the directions, pointing customers toward the store. No elaborate sales pitch needed here, just a glowing roadside invitation to pull in and pick up a few things.
Liquor stores have long supplied some of Southern California’s most memorable neighborhood signs, and this one puts color and a simple shape to good use. Against the dark sky, the blue arrow gives the marquee a little extra punch, drawing the eye back toward the red lettering. It’s the sort of display that can make an ordinary neighborhood shopping stop worth another trip past after sundown, this time with a camera along.
UPDATE: The older neon display has reportedly been removed or substantially altered as the storefront changed. The bright red lettering and blue directional arrow are preserved here in their earlier form, a reminder of the colorful signs that once made even a quick run to the corner store a little more interesting. 10-26
The Big Easy Cigars (Closed)
The Wurst
Wacko (Gone)
L.A. Tattoo
American Classics (Closed)
