4th of July Trip: East Bay Area (Day 2)

On Saturday, I moved on to the East Bay (east of San Francisco) area.

Let’s start with this nice terrazzo entry in Vallejo. The store that’s there now has nothing to do with whatever this was. Discount store? Supermarket?

Moving on to Pacheco. Surely, the sign panels’ were a brighter & cheery-er color originally. This sign is lovely at night — must get back there sometime:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hueyward/4488686067/

Tubing shadows usually improve a photo — but this might be a bit much. Or at least it was on that white paint:

There are about a dozen Caspers Hot Dogs in the Bay Area. There are a couple of buildings & signs from the 1940s like this one in downtown Hayward:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/14599087761/

There are about four of this design from the 1960s. This one is also in Hayward:

The interiors are all pretty well-preserved. Note the globe lamps, the orange, yellow & red stools, and the clock. All original:

This one is at the Usher Inn in San Leandro. One of the prettiest martini signs I’ve ever seen:

This shopping center sign in San Leandro was restored last year and I was all excited to see it in person. But really, shouldn’t restoration also involve cutting back trees or removing them? I’m all for trees but what idiot thought these belonged less than a foot away from this sign? I’m assuming the sign was here first:

San Leandro is chock full of vintage signs. Here are a few more:

Sadly, the arrow wasn’t working at night on this one:

Just the darned cutest drive-in maybe ever.

Yes. Polka dots. And twin drive-thru lanes:

The “fifth wheel” is a reference to that coupling where big rigs are hooked up to their trailers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_wheel_coupling

That connection looks like this lovely piece of freestanding neon:

The only other sign depiction of a fifth wheel that I know of is this one in Detroit which I shot on a crappy weather day:

This sign is in Oakland. I’ve got loads to shoot in Oakland — but that will be on a later trip:

Moving on to Alameda:

Let’s hope this one is never restored. Or at least not until every last speck of paint falls off:

How about a few night shots? The rest of these signs are from Albany. There are a few of these Pic N Pac liquor stores in the area. This is the nicer sign:

This is now the Safeway Pharmacy (an updated sign below this detail). There must have been a name above the Rx originally. There are two or three balls at the top of this mortar and pestle sign which would have been animated. You can just barely make them out here: