This Sun-bleached, rusted & broken neon sign has been a quandary for me for at least the last 6 months.
It sits atop a long-empty building (currently being renovated into a CrossFit - East Village gym). I am pretty sure that it existed prior to the building in the foreground, next to it: it is a hair salon, Glo, housed in an old building that had once been an electronics surplus shop. I think it existed prior to the construction of the Glo building based upon its location. The ancient neon sign is very difficult to see from the street, obscured by the faḉade of the Glo building.
I noticed it about 6 months ago but was unable to photograph it due to inadequate zoom capabilities on my cellphone camera. I have since bought a new camera (Canon PowerShot); it has a more powerful zoom.
I was able to get this shot today, standing in the middle of the street, from about 60 yards away, with the zoom set at 13x.
I was unable to ever determine what the sign said, until I Photoshopped the shot a bit, punching up the saturation & adding shadow.
I wonder how long ago "Mike Ellis & Sons Wholesale Dry Goods" went out of business?
G Street & 9th Avenue
Downtown
San Diego, CA
