This neon sign advertises a favorite restaurant. Memphis is mainly known for it's BBQ, but catfish is a favorite also. The Catfish Cabin is located in the Airport area of Memphis. Many thanks to Sherry McGee for info. 07-06
Catfish Cabin opened in 1971 and became a longtime Memphis stop for fried catfish, hushpuppies, and plenty of Southern sides. Sitting along the busy airport corridor, it was one of those places that seemed to be there forever.
Things got interesting in 2019 when Gordon Ramsay showed up with his TV series 24 Hours to Hell and Back. The restaurant received the full television makeover, although some of Ramsay's menu changes didn't last very long. The old family recipes soon made their way back.
UPDATE: Catfish Cabin eventually closed after its 2019 television appearance. The old building has since been demolished, and the vintage neon sign is gone. 08-26
Flowers by Sandy (Gone)
Memphis, TN Photo courtesy Sherry McGee
Check out this neon sign for the Flowers by Sandy business located in Memphis, TN. This red rose really lights up the night when the neon is in full bloom. Many thanks to Sherry McGee for info. 09-06
Here's a flower shop sign that once added a little extra color to Union Avenue. The neon for Flowers by Sandy stood out along this busy stretch of Midtown Memphis, with a bright floral design that was hard to pass without taking another look.
Flowers by Sandy had been around since 1949, making it another longtime neighborhood business along Union Avenue. By the time the storefront was photographed in the 2000s, though, the flower shop had closed and the neon was left hanging above an empty building.
UPDATE: Flowers by Sandy was closed by 2007. The old neon sign remained for a few more years before being removed by 2011. 08-26
Nothing like a cheerful roadside sign to make washing the car seem a little more fun. Jolly Wash stood along Kirby Whitten Road in Memphis, offering both self-service and automatic washes beneath its colorful roadside marquee.
The place had all the usual car wash necessities, wash bays, vacuums, and plenty of room to get the road grime off before heading back out. But like so many neighborhood car washes, it was the sign out front that made this one worth a photograph.
Jolly Wash eventually closed, and the familiar roadside signage disappeared along with it.
UPDATE: The Kirby Whitten Road location of Jolly Wash has closed, and its old roadside sign has been removed. 08-26
Poplar Records (Gone)
Memphis, TN Photo courtesy Sherry McGee
Poplar Records is a record store on Poplar Ave which opened in the 1940's. Elvis was a frequent customer. Many thanks to Sherry McGee for info. 09-06
Poplar Tunes was one of those Memphis record shops where the history went well beyond the neon sign out front. Opened on Poplar Avenue in 1946, the store sold records retail and wholesale, supplied jukeboxes, and became a regular stop for anyone following the Memphis music scene.
And there was plenty of music history passing through those doors. A young Elvis Presley reportedly bought his first record here and later returned after becoming famous, sometimes hanging around to see how customers reacted to his latest releases. Sun Records founder Sam Phillips was another regular, bringing musicians by and keeping an ear on what was selling. It was the kind of neighborhood record shop that once seemed like it would always be there. That didn't happen.
Poplar Tunes closed in September 2009 after more than 60 years in business, another casualty of the changing way people bought music.
UPDATE: The old Poplar Avenue building has since been demolished and the familiar storefront and neon are gone. A historical marker now remembers Poplar Tunes and its place in Memphis music history. 08-26
Walgreen Drugs
New Orleans, LA Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
Cruising down Canal Street after dark, it's hard not to notice the glow coming from Walgreen Drugs at the corner of Baronne. Huge red and blue neon letters wrap around the rounded corner of the building, lighting up the sidewalk and making this look like much more than your everyday neighborhood drug store. With all that neon blazing away, this was one Canal Street corner that certainly wasn't going to disappear into the night. 02-07
The store has been part of Canal Street for quite a while. Walgreen Drug Co. opened this location in 1938, its first store in New Orleans. The streamlined Art Deco building was quite a sight itself, especially along a stretch of Canal Street once filled with theaters, department stores, restaurants, and plenty of other glowing signs competing for attention.
Walgreen Drugs
New Orleans, LA Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
There was more going on inside than prescriptions and toothpaste, too. The original store reportedly featured a 100-foot-long soda fountain and lunch counter, along with a mezzanine restaurant overlooking the street. Back when drug stores were destinations in their own right, this must have been quite the place to stop for something to eat while watching the traffic roll along Canal Street.
The giant "Walgreen" display came along later, wrapping the rounded corner of the building with enough neon to turn the drug store into a nighttime landmark. Take a closer look at the lettering and you'll notice the old singular Walgreen name rather than today's Walgreens. It's a small detail, but one that gives away the age of the sign.
Walgreen Drugs
New Orleans, LA Photo courtesy Bruce R. Cassi / 2002
(Right) Here's another shot o the Walgreen Drugs in New Orleans. 06-07
Best of all, when this photo was taken in 2007, the sign was still illuminated with real neon. The red and blue tubes follow the curves of the building and throw their glow across the corner, exactly the kind of old commercial neon that once seemed to be everywhere along busy downtown streets. Even with all the lights of New Orleans around it, this one still managed to stand out.
UPDATE: Walgreens remains open at 900 Canal Street, and the familiar vintage sign still wraps around the corner of the building. The original neon illumination was later replaced with LED lighting designed to recreate much of the old appearance. The sign still lights up Canal Street, although the true neon glow seen here in 2007 is gone. 08-26
Rogers Daisy Airgun Museum
Rogers, AR Photo courtesy Joe C. Murfin
The Rogers Daisy Airgun Museum, a non-profit museum in Rogers, Arkansas recently restored this old Daisy neon sign. The sign has an interesting lighting sequence to it. The bulbs representing BBs stream across the sign. Then, when they've hit the bulls eye, it lights up, spells out Daisy and then the words BB Guns are added before the sequence repeats. Daisy moved from Plymouth, Michigan to Rogers, Arkansas in 1958. This sign was first erected in 1960 on the busiest highway in town. Local residents recall knowing they were reaching the outskirts of town when they saw this sign. Today the sign, once again, welcomes visitors to Rogers and points the way to the Daisy Museum. Many thanks to Joe C. Murfin for info. 07-07
Need a BB gun? Check out the Rogers Daisy Museum in downtown Rogers, celebrating those famous Daisy air rifles that have been knocking tin cans off fences for generations. The real roadside attention getter is the giant 25-foot Daisy BB gun mounted outside. You certainly won't have much trouble finding the place.
UPDATE: The Daisy Airgun Museum remains open in downtown Rogers, and the giant BB gun still marks the spot. 08-26
Catfish Cabin (Gone)
Flowers by Sandy (Gone)
Poplar Records (Gone)
Rogers Daisy Airgun Museum
