Disneyland Marquee (2nd Generation)

Brent Air Pool Supplies (Closed)
Los Angeles, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

A diver takes the plunge above Brent-Air Pool Supplies in Los Angeles, making the purpose of the business fairly easy to guess. Along Slauson Avenue, the shop supplied the less glamorous necessities behind a backyard swim, from pool chemicals and cleaning equipment to replacement parts and maintenance supplies. The oversized swimmer outside gave those practical purchases a memorable roadside advertisement.

Businesses like Brent-Air grew alongside Southern California’s enthusiasm for backyard pools. Keeping the water clear and the equipment running meant regular attention, and a neighborhood supply shop offered somewhere to turn when a pool needed more than another pass with the leaf skimmer.

The original sign dated to the early 1950s and stood roughly thirty feet tall. Its swimmer performed a jackknife dive, a fitting image during the region’s pool-building boom. A later repaint changed her one-piece bathing suit to a two-piece, although the neon outline kept the earlier swimsuit design. Apparently repainting the wardrobe was simpler than changing the tubing.

UPDATE: The Slauson Avenue shop appears to have permanently closed, although an exact closing date has not been established. Its original diver sign was knocked down by high winds in 2010 and replaced with a neon replica costing approximately $30,000, giving the familiar roadside swimmer another chapter after the storm. 10-26

Bills Cameras
Inglewood, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The old sign at Bill’s Cameras gives this Inglewood shop a little extra exposure. Mounted along the side of the roof, it advertised the kind of neighborhood stop where photographers could look over equipment and talk about their next purchase. Even without a camera on your shopping list, the sign itself was worth a picture. 04-06

Camera stores once belonged to the everyday shopping landscape, alongside drugstores, record shops, and repair businesses. Their signs became familiar landmarks to customers stopping in before a vacation or after a family celebration.

UPDATE: The Inglewood shop’s closing date and the reported removal of its sign have not been confirmed. It should also be distinguished from similarly named camera businesses elsewhere in Southern California. This view records the old sign as it appeared in 2006. 10-26

Pak Jam Records
Inglewood, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

An old record store sign gets another spin at Pak Jam Records in Inglewood. Before music shopping meant scrolling through a phone, a neighborhood record shop gave customers a place to browse and see what might be worth taking home. Sometimes you came looking for a particular record; other times, something in the racks caught your attention. The sign here recalls those days, when finding the store was the first step toward finding your next favorite record. 04-06

Independent record shops each had their own personality, shaped by the selection, the people behind the counter, and the customers who kept coming back. Their signs were part of that experience, becoming familiar markers for music fans driving through the neighborhood. Pak Jam’s old advertisement preserves a little of that record-shopping world.

UPDATE: The store’s exact address, ownership history, and closing date remain unconfirmed, as does the fate of the sign. This photograph records the Pak Jam name in 2006, but doesn’t establish whether the business was still operating then. For now, the old sign gives this Inglewood record shop another appearance, even if its full story is still waiting to be told. 10-26

Palomar
Los Angeles, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

The Palomar sign stands out front of this Los Angeles building, giving the property a name worth noticing from the street. Just what occupied the building wasn’t clear when this photo was added, but the sign earned its place in the roadside collection. You don’t always need to know the whole story to spot something worth photographing. Sometimes the name out front is enough to make you stop and take another look. 09-06

Named buildings were once familiar landmarks throughout Los Angeles, especially among apartments and residential hotels. A distinctive sign helped visitors find the entrance and gave residents something more memorable than a street number when offering directions. Whether that was the purpose of this particular Palomar remains an open question.

UPDATE: The building’s exact address, original use, and the sign’s present status remain unconfirmed. The Palomar name alone does not connect it to the famous Los Angeles ballroom or to a later hotel using the same name. Here, it remains a roadside mystery—a familiar-looking piece of the city with a story still to uncover. 10-26

Trailer Port
Newport Beach, CA
Photo courtesy Rene Carrasco

Salt air appears to have taken its toll on the old Trailer Port sign. The faded lettering and weathered finish give it plenty of coastal character, though whether the neon still lights is another question. It’s the sort of sign that can make you pull over for a photograph before continuing toward the beach. 06-06

If this is the Anchor Trailer Port identified in the accompanying history, the location was on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa, rather than Newport Beach. That park dated to the late 1940s and became a longtime home for residents whose connection to the coast went well beyond a weekend visit.

UPDATE: Anchor Trailer Port was cleared for condominium development in 2013. Its disappearance ended an older chapter of residential life along Newport Boulevard. 10-26