Building’s old Studebaker sign re-emerges during renovations

When Costa Mesa resident Doug Rugg looked at his cellphone Tuesday, he saw an image that jolted his memory.

A friend had sent him a picture of painted lettering being uncovered on a building on Newport Boulevard on the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach.

Over time, the storefont has housed a gym, a karate studio and maybe a restaurant, Rugg said.

Now, as it undergoes renovations, a piece of its past as a Studebaker showroom has been revealed. Studebaker was an automaker that was in its heyday from the 1910s to 1960s.

A once-hidden Studebaker graphic, part of a sign displaying the dealer’s name, Joe Nickertz, looked as it did in an image from 1947 that Rugg had framed.

“I got goosebumps when I went down there and saw it,” said Rugg, who is in the car business himself.

He is hoping the developer will keep the signage intact.

— Emily Foxhall

Twitter: @emfoxhall