There was an abandoned-looking, falling-down motel on this site at Milvia Street and Bancroft Way, just across the street from Berkeley High School. Sometime in the last few months, it was torn down. Not sure what’s planned for the lot now, but the demolition exposed this old soft-drink sign for the first time in (probably) decades:
Try Golden Bridge Special Punch. Real — fruit punch. A nickel for a 12-ounce bottle. And get your tennis needs taken care of, too.
I bet the guy who painted it was a little irate when he came to work one day to find it covered up. I can’t believe how well the paint has held up after all these years. That’s got to be from the 50’s.
I reckon that broadside…I guess it’s a broadside …was painted back in the forties, judging from the style of typograhy and painting, not to mention the price for the drink. I see this type of thing on occasion around Manhattan and Brooklyn. Some of them go back one hundred years. I recently saw one on fourth Avenue in Brooklyn advertising the National Bisquit Company “Uneeda” Bisquit. This one (in your photo) is in good shape. That probably is a result of the mild climate in Berkeley. I think it’s very cool…the picture and the climate. I hope the construction guys preserve it.
Chicago version? Prima Beer. Four Quarts for $1.09. Also, thanks for the reminder, Dan. How many of us continue to neglect our tennis needs?
I see the price of Prima Beer hasn’t changed recently. Four quarts….that’s a gallon of beer…for a buck! Therein lies the forerunner to the “kegger”.
My dad died a few weeks ago, and one of the things I’ve been doing is to jot down my memories about him and how he influenced my life.
Anyway, one of those memories is dad bringing home Golden Bridge Special Punch. This would have been probably in the middle to late 1950’s.
As I recall, it was some goooood stuff !
I am 70 years old, born and raised in Oakland. CA and have frequently remimisced about “The Best
soft drink ever”
GB Special Punch was it! This this Berkeley image is the first bit of corroboration that this recollection wasn’t an illusion. None of my contemporaries could remember it. I can still remember the deep wine color carbonated potion and the elegance of the Golden Gate Bridge on the label. Ah, fond memory!
Thanks for the verified memory.