Bel Air Shopping Center (Closed)
Jackson, MS
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

Here's one old shopping center sign that looks straight out of the early 1960s. Bel Air Shopping Center once greeted shoppers along busy Highway 80 in Jackson, Mississippi, with this towering roadside sign and its sweeping Bel Air script.

The shopping center dates from around 1960, when Highway 80 was lined with motels, restaurants, gas stations and shopping centers competing for the attention of passing motorists. The sign certainly did its part. That big script lettering, geometric shapes and SHOPPING CENTER stacked underneath are pure mid-century roadside design.

By the time this shot was taken, Bel Air had seen better days. The shopping center was largely empty and the sign was weathered and no longer lighting up, but it still stood high above Highway 80. Sometimes the old sign ends up being more interesting than the shopping center it advertised.

UPDATE: Bel Air Shopping Center is closed and largely vacant, but its weathered old roadside sign is still standing along Highway 80. 08-26