Orchard Supply Hardware (Gone)
San Jose, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Check out the colors on this Orchard Supply Hardware sign in San Jose. OSH may have sold practical things like tools and garden supplies, but its big neon arrow gave passing motorists something extra to appreciate. No shopping list needed to enjoy this one after dark.

The company began in 1931 as a cooperative formed by local farmers. It moved to the West San Carlos location in 1946, and the sign dates from the 1950s. That gives the marquee a connection to the days when orchards were a much bigger part of the Santa Clara Valley landscape.

UPDATE: OSH’s parent company announced the chain’s closure in 2018, and the old sign disappeared that November. Fortunately, it was recovered in January 2019 and donated to History San José and the Preservation Action Council of San Jose. Arrow Sign Company restored it, and by December 2020 it was back on display beside the vintage OSH boxcar at History Park. This arrow took quite a detour, but escaped the scrap heap. 10-26

O.C.M. McDonald
San Jose, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Cruising along West San Carlos Street, check out the flashing “Oh” and “See” on the O.C. McDonald sign. This plumbing and mechanical contractor found a pretty clever way to spell out its initials. Add the pink and green neon below, and even plumbing, heating, and sheet metal get their turn in the spotlight.

The business goes back to 1906, when Oren Charles McDonald founded the company in San Jose. According to its own history, the firm installed the city’s first air-conditioning system. Keeping customers cool inside while giving sign hunters something to admire outside sounds like a good combination.

UPDATE: O.C. McDonald remains in business, and its vintage sign was photographed still in place in 2025. The company has now reached 120 years, although the neon came along later. That “Oh, See” lettering remains one of the more playful sights along the boulevard. 10-26

Glass Gecko (Closed)
San Jose, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Looking for a watering hole in San Jose? The Glass Gecko had a green neon reptile to help point the way. A gecko is a little different from the usual cocktail glass, giving this neighborhood bar a roadside mascot of its own.

The place had more than one name over the years. Before the Glass Gecko, it was Bella’s Club, and it later became another incarnation of the Bears Lounge. The drinks continued through a change of identity, but that glowing gecko belonged to a particular chapter of the story.

UPDATE: By 2011, the former Glass Gecko was operating as the Bears Lounge. Not sure where the green neon gecko ended up after the change. Hopefully, this little roadside reptile found somewhere to hang on. 10-26

Connell Used Cars (Closed)
Oakland, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s a nighttime look at Connell Used Cars in Oakland, with the lot lights and neon marquee doing their part to brighten the boulevard. The automobiles got the showroom shine, while the sign above gave passing drivers a reason to glance over. Even a parked car could look ready for a night on the town under lights like these.

Connell was an established name along Oakland’s Broadway Auto Row. City directories list Connell used-car operations there in both 1937 and 1967, placing the business in a corridor where buying a car once meant checking out several neighboring dealerships.

UPDATE: Not sure what’s become of this particular Connell lot or its neon marquee. The old directories establish a long history on Broadway, but the final closing date is still a question. Hopefully, the sign got a better send-off than a trip to the junkyard. 10-26

Cottons Cowboy Corral
Marysville, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Check out the neon cowpoke at Cotton’s Cowboy Corral in Marysville. Here’s a Western-wear shop with a sign dressed for the occasion. Boots and hats may bring customers through the door, but that colorful marquee is enough to stop a sign hunter in their tracks.

The name belongs to rodeo legend Cotton Rosser, whose family also became closely associated with the Flying U Rodeo Company. His wife Karin helped manage the store as well as the rodeo business. That gives this cowboy-themed storefront some real rodeo credentials behind the neon.

UPDATE: Cotton’s Cowboy Corral remains open in downtown Marysville. The store’s own website dates the business to 1955, giving it more than 70 years of outfitting customers. This is one old Western name still doing business. 10-26

Coroner's Bureau (Gone)
Oakland, CA
Photo courtesy Cheryl Rinker

Here’s an unexpected entry in Oakland’s neon scenery: the Coroner’s Bureau. Restaurants advertised dinner, motels advertised a room, and this sign announced something most travelers weren’t looking for on a night out. An eye-catching glow, although probably not the next stop on the itinerary.

The bureau worked for decades in an older building near Jack London Square. Its neon lettering gave a county facility the kind of nighttime presence more often associated with shops and cocktail lounges. Apparently, even official business could get the neon treatment.

UPDATE: A replacement facility in the Oakland hills was unveiled in December 2014, with the move planned for early 2015. 10-26

RX Drugs
Berkeley, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Check out this RX Drugs sign in Berkeley. Those familiar letters gave the neighborhood drugstore a quick way to announce itself, with neon adding a little nighttime color to the sales pitch. Picking up a prescription might have been an ordinary errand, but the sign out front gave it a brighter destination.

Drugstores were once a familiar part of neighborhood shopping streets, with their signs sharing space above the sidewalk with markets, barbers, and shoe repair shops. An illuminated RX helped customers spot the pharmacy among all that lettering, especially after the storefront windows had gone dark.

UPDATE: Not sure which Berkeley pharmacy this sign belonged to or what’s become of it these days. Hopefully, this old RX still has a place above the sidewalk. 10-26

RX Drugs
Sacramento, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Here’s another glowing RX Drugs sign, this time in Sacramento. A couple of familiar letters were enough to point customers toward the drugstore, while the neon made sure the advertisement had something to say after sunset. Even a quick stop for a prescription could come with a little roadside scenery.

The RX symbol did much of the work without needing a lengthy explanation. Passing motorists could recognize the trade at a glance, just as a shoe-shaped sign announced a cobbler or a cocktail glass pointed toward a bar. Practical advertising, with a little extra appeal for anyone keeping an eye out for neon.

UPDATE: Not sure whether this Sacramento RX sign is still around. The name of the original pharmacy is still a question, so there’s no closing date to put with it yet. Hopefully, the neon found a little better fate than the discard pile. 10-26