Disneyland Sign

Jesus Saves Sign
Los Angeles, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The familiar Jesus Saves neon shines above downtown Los Angeles, carrying a message that has outlasted its original rooftop home. First associated with the Bible Institute and Church of the Open Door at Sixth and Hope, the signs later moved to the United Artists Theatre building on Broadway. Their large glowing letters became landmarks well beyond the congregation below. 04-08

The first sign went up in 1935. After the church’s departure from downtown and damage associated with the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, Gene Scott brought the signs to Broadway in 1989 for his University Cathedral ministry.

UPDATE: One of the two signs was removed in September 2011 and relocated to Faith Center Church in Glendale. The other remained on the Broadway building, preserving a familiar piece of downtown’s illuminated skyline through subsequent changes in the property’s use. 10-26

Rod's Liquor (Gone)
Pico Rivera, CA
Photo courtesy Sal Garcia

The illuminated arrow at Rod’s Liquor in Pico Rivera points the way toward a stop for some bottled refreshments. There’s little chance of missing the invitation after dark, when the neon gives the neighborhood store a presence beyond the storefront itself. Apparently even a quick trip to the “juice bar” deserved some roadside direction. 03-07

Arrows were a favorite device for businesses hoping to catch motorists before they passed the entrance. This one adds a little movement to the scene, drawing the eye toward the shop and giving neon hunters another reason to pull over, even if the shopping list was already complete.

UPDATE: The older Rod’s Liquor storefront and arrow sign have been reported lost during later changes to the property. This photograph preserves their earlier nighttime appearance in Pico Rivera. 10-26

Rivera Pharmacy
Pico Rivera, CA
Photo courtesy Sal Garcia

A neighborhood drugstore gets its own nighttime spotlight at Rivera Pharmacy in Pico Rivera. The projecting neon marquee lights up the sidewalk, recalling the days when a prescription stop usually meant visiting an independent shop with a familiar name above the door. This is the sort of sign that can make an everyday errand worth another look. 03-07

The pharmacy’s history reaches back to 1964, giving it roots in the community’s busy postwar growth years. Along Telegraph Road, its individual storefront and illuminated lettering offered an alternative to the standardized appearance that later became common among large pharmacy chains.

UPDATE: Rivera Pharmacy continues to operate in Pico Rivera. Its long neighborhood history and classic neon marquee remain part of the appeal of this independent drugstore. 10-26

Valentine's Liquor
Arcadia, CA
Photo courtesy Marilynn Hendrie

There’s plenty of roadside presence at Valentine’s Liquor in Arcadia, where a huge marquee rises above the store just south of Santa Anita Park. The sign gives motorists along Baldwin Avenue advance notice of a shopping stop, with enough height and scale to stand apart from the surrounding storefronts. This is one advertisement that doesn’t seem interested in keeping a low profile. 12-07

A prominent liquor store sign could serve as a neighborhood landmark as well as an advertisement. For visitors coming from the racetrack or residents making a familiar drive, this one provided something easy to recognize along the boulevard. Its size also gives the lettering room to show off after dark, when the neon becomes the main attraction above the lot.

UPDATE: Valentine Liquors remains in business along South Baldwin Avenue. Its large roadside marquee continues to mark the location near Santa Anita Park, carrying on a bit of the individual character that older liquor store signs bring to Southern California’s commercial streets. 10-26

Azusa Foothill Drive-in Theatre (Demolished)
Azusa, CA
Photo courtesy Marilynn Hendrie

Here’s the restored marquee for Azusa Foothill Drive-in Theatre, glowing again along the old Route 66 corridor. The movies have ended and the screen is gone, but the sign still offers a glimpse of the evenings when cars lined up for a double feature. Its former audience area now serves a very different kind of parking crowd. 12-07

The drive-in opened in December 1961 with Babes in Toyland and Misty. For forty years, it supplied a place to spend an evening under the stars, with the family car serving as the theater seats. The final screenings took place in 2001 after neighboring Azusa Pacific University purchased the property.

The screen tower was demolished in 2005, but the roadside marquee received another chance. Following restoration, more than 300 people gathered for its relighting on October 8, 2007, celebrating a surviving piece of the city’s moviegoing past.

UPDATE: The restored drive-in sign remains on the former theater property, now used by Azusa Pacific University. Although there’s no longer a feature playing beyond the entrance, the marquee carries on its role as a Route 66 landmark. 10-26

White's Funeral Home
Azusa, CA
Photo courtesy Marilynn Hendrie

Along historic Route 66 in Azusa, White’s Funeral Home is marked by a roadside sign that has seen a change in lighting styles. The earlier marquee used neon, while the replacement pictured here takes a more contemporary approach. The name remains familiar, even if the old tubing no longer supplies the glow. 12-07

Funeral homes, pharmacies, and other neighborhood services were part of the everyday commercial landscape along Foothill Boulevard. Their signs helped residents find a destination while also becoming familiar markers for travelers passing through town. White’s belongs to that quieter side of the old highway’s history.

UPDATE: White’s Funeral Home remains in operation on East Foothill Boulevard. Its former neon treatment had already been replaced before this 2007 photograph, making the pictured sign another chapter in the property’s long service to the area. 10-26

Bendix Building
Los Angeles, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

High above the Fashion District, the Bendix Building advertises itself with a rooftop sign that doesn’t need much help standing out. The three-sided display was relit in 2003, returning an enormous familiar name to the nighttime skyline. From street level, it’s a good reason to look beyond the storefronts and check what’s glowing overhead. 04-08

Completed in 1929, the building was designed by William Douglas Lee in collaboration with developer and contractor Florence Casler. Bendix Aviation Corporation occupied the property from 1929 to 1960, giving the building and its rooftop landmark the name still used today.

The building’s decorative exterior rewards a closer look, too, with sculptural figures and references to progress, education, and invention. Above it all, the oversized sign supplies a much simpler message, spelling out the name for viewers across the surrounding blocks. The Bendix Building remains one of Los Angeles's historic sites.

UPDATE: The Bendix Building now houses artists, galleries, photographers, fashion designers, and other creative businesses. Its immense rooftop sign survives above a property whose working spaces have found a new audience. 10-26

Drug Store
Newport Beach, CA
Photo courtesy Don Heffern II

A glowing “DRUG” sign and neon Rx emblem announce this neighborhood pharmacy along Main Street in Newport Beach. The display lights up the walkway, giving the storefront a presence after dark and offering another small roadside discovery among the beach-town shops. A stop for a prescription apparently came with some neon scenery, too. 11-09

Pharmacy signs often combined straightforward lettering with symbols that could be recognized at a glance. Here, the Rx emblem does its part alongside the larger word above the sidewalk, recalling the independent drugstores that once served residents and vacationers around Southern California’s coastal communities.

UPDATE: The older pharmacy storefront has reportedly changed use, and the photographed neon display is no longer in place. Its exact business identity remains uncertain, so it should not be confused with other historic pharmacies serving the Balboa Peninsula. 10-26