From his perch along Interstate 10 and South Sixth Avenue, a grinning chicken with a gold tooth rules the roost.
It's a ramshackle roost, to be sure, with rusted metal and peeling paint dating back half a century or so.
That doesn't deter a steady stream of sightseers who stop by to snap photos of the old eatery sign that also is crowned by a stylized atom.
The atom, which once blinked with colored lights, was the logo for a Mr. Quick hamburger stand that graced the northeast edge of Southgate Shopping Center in the 1960s, recalled Sixto Molina, a former South Tucson police chief.
No one seems sure when the chicken's likeness was added, though some neighbors vaguely recall a takeout chicken store occupying the former burger joint during the 1980s. The building also was formerly home to El Indio restaurant, and to a Chuy's restaurant at one point.
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For the last 18 years, the site has housed Douglas Shuttle, a passenger transport business whose owner, Alberto Hinojosa, fields constant questions about the sign with the chicken face.
"It's very funny. People like that chicken," said Hinojosa. "They're always coming by to take pictures and ask about it."
Carlos Lozano, a member of the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission and advocate for the preservation of old signage, said the sign is historically significant.
He said the atom on top is one of the last surviving examples of a popular 1950s style of signage known as Googie, which favors futuristic shapes such as stars, rocket ships, atoms or satellites.
"This sign is a one-of-a-kind, and that chicken is so individualistic," Lozano said.
Fans of the fowl may not have much longer to take photos, though.
Hinojosa plans to add a taco stand named La Abeja - Spanish for The Bee - to his shuttle business. When it opens, he plans to cover the chicken face with the image of a bumblebee.
The chicken lovers, he reckons, "probably won't like it."
Got an oddity?
Is there something you've noticed while driving through Tucson that has piqued your curiosity? Or is there some piece of Old Pueblo history you've wondered about? Drop us a line, and we'll look into it.
Call the Star newsroom at 573-4232 or send an email to oddity@azstarnet.com
Contact reporter Carol Ann Alaimo at calaimo@azstarnet.com or at 573-4138.
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