Cowtown Neon (Part 1): Gone Is the Rocket’s Red Glare

These neon signs, alas, won’t light up the night again without major repairs:

The ex-Rox Ex: The longtime East Side extermination company on Vaughn Boulevard is no more.

meadowbrook sign“The End”: The Meadowbrook Drive-In Theater on Riverside Drive long ago ran its last end credits.

Cold cuts: Ashburn’s ice cream shop on East Rosedale Street is now a Subway sandwich shop.

Say it with stamps: Former florist shop (1925) that gave S&H Green Stamps on Magnolia Avenue.

“Your credit jeweler”: The former Joe Daiches store on Houston Street downtown.

building gauselook up gause verticalThe 1910 building was built by undertaker George Gause. Note the “G” in the cast-stone panel on the parapet.

neon clover driftwoodThis sign originally advertised the Clover Driftwood drive-in restaurant on East Lancaster, owned by Herman and Odell Allen, who owned the chain of Clover drive-in restaurants.

signs poly theater poly signA no-show: The Poly Theater on Vaughn Boulevard has been derelict for years.

school r vickeryAdvertisin’, old school: Club Frennadna’s operated in the old R. Vickery Elementary School (1910).

jacksboro rocketBlast from the past: The Rocket nightclub on Jacksboro Highway is now a muffler shop.

Cowtown Neon (Part 2): Red Goose, White Elephant

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6 Responses to Cowtown Neon (Part 1): Gone Is the Rocket’s Red Glare

  1. Jann Jeter says:

    I remember the Ashburn’s over on Sylvania Avenue in Oakhurst. It was such a treat to go there and get a cone. I remember the boys behind the counter in their white shirts and those little paper hats. The place was always sparkling clean – and chilly. A real respite during the hot summer. Wish they were still around.

    • hometown says:

      Jann, heck, I’ll bet most folks in Poly thought WE had the only Ashburn’s in the solar system. But then we didn’t get out much. Ashburn’s seems to be one of those universal fond memories.

  2. Todd Camp says:

    I didn’t know Ashburn’s was an ice cream place back in the day. For several years it was an LGBT bar that apparently adopted the name.

    • hometown says:

      Todd, I blinked and missed the building’s various occupants between ice cream parlor and sandwich shop, but if you had grown up on the East Side, you would have fond memories of that block of Rosedale, and Ashburn’s was a big part of it. Wish they’d fire up the old sign again.

  3. Steve A says:

    Other than the neon, most of those signs are amazingly well preserved.

    • hometown says:

      And at least some of them have not had any maintenance for years. And all have been exposed to the elements 24/7. That Rox Ex sign has been there as long as I can remember. The business closed long ago.

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