Two soluble anthracene-based organic materials (BPA-An1 and BPA-An2) have been synthesized and characterized. The optical properties of these pi-conjugated systems were investigated by UV-Visible absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. The optical gaps were estimated from the absorption onsets of the thin polymer films; their values were 3.01 and 2.76 eV for BPA-An1 and BPA-An2, respectively. The PL spectrum of BPA-An2 exhibits a blue emission both in dilute solution and thin film. BPA-An1 showed a blue photoluminescence in dilute solution; in solid film, pi-pi interactions influence its optical behavior and a green emission was observed. The HOMO and LUMO levels were estimated using cyclic voltammetry analysis. Single-layer devices of the (indium-tin oxide/anthracene-based material/aluminum) configuration have been elaborated and showed relatively low turn-on voltages of 6.2-5.5 V for BPA-An1 and BPA-An2, respectively.