guest post by Todd Lappin (Telstar Logistics)

Two Great Tastes

As a fan of Southern-style BBQ, I’ve been very grateful for the arrival of Baby Blues BBQ in San Francisco on the corner of Mission Street and Precita Avenue, just south of Cesar Chavez Blvd.

Mmmmmmmmm.

As a neighbor of Baby Blues, I’m also grateful that they restored some of the neon signage from the former Rexall drug store that occupied the space until 1998. It’s so great to see the sign illuminated again, and the neon Drugs + BBQ combination suggested by the current facade reads like a recipe from the Ken Kesey Cookbook.

I also appreciate the fact that if you stand in just the right spot on Mission Street, two of the signs from the former drugstore form a crossword:

Blue Cross

Lastly, as if all these mixed-up layers of history need additional seasoning, I like how this photo from the Online Archive of California shows the same building (visible on the far right) as it looked back in 1927, when Disernia’s Pharmacy first opened for business:

Mission Street at Precita (1927)

photos by Todd Lappin (Telstar Logistics) & Online Archive of California (OAC)


filed under Food, History, Retro, San Francisco

 

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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Mike March 6, 2009 at 2:27 am

This building looks like the “Pie Hole” building from “Pushing Daisies”!

John Law March 6, 2009 at 2:44 am

Wow, Todd. That Liquor/Drugs signage combo is fabulous and it could only have been spotted by a Signman! As a professional Signman I salute you. -JL

Todd Lappin March 6, 2009 at 8:48 am

John, credit for the sharp eyeball on that drugs/liquor sign goes to the honorable Ben Smith, who first pointed it out to me here.

Kathryn March 7, 2009 at 9:59 am

Great signage. Great photos of the signage! Great stuff.

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