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Found 15 results

  1. New York City Neon Company Supporting Havana’s Neon Restoration Program New York City’s legendary neon creators, Let There Be Neon, has become the first US neon company involved in Havana, Cuba’s emerging neon sign restoration movement. Let There Be Neon has agreed to become a strategic partner with Habana Light Neon + Signs, Havana’s only private neon company, in compliance with U.S. laws and regulations. New York, NY (PRWEB) February 05, 2017 New York City’s legendary neon creators, Let There Be Neon, has become the first US neon company involved in Havana, Cuba’s emerging neon sign restoration movement. Let There Be Neon has agreed to become a strategic partner with Habana Light Neon + Signs, Havana’s only private neon company, in compliance with U.S. laws and regulations. This effort is made to confirm Let There Be Neon’s relationship with the innovative private sector company, Habana Light Neon + Signs, prior to the change in administration. This is a strategy other major US Companies are employing to solidify their business positions during a period of uncertainty in US-Cuba relations. Let There Be Neon will assist Habana Light in the exciting historic preservation projects now going on in that city. “We are committed to the preservation of historic neon throughout the world and Havana is a very special place in the history of neon said Jeff Friedman, President of Let There Be Neon. Mr Friedman added that as part of his company's involvement , Let There Be Neon will make a major contribution of supplies and materials, in compliance with U.S. laws and regulations, to Habana Light Neon + Signs to assist the restoration of what is left of Havana's historic neon sign structures. “Our company was established by a visionary, the late Rudi Stern, and our goal has always been to continue Rudi’s commitment on seeing neon flourish throughout the world.” said Mr. Friedman. The agreement with Habana Light Neon + Signs, which fully complies U.S. laws and regulations, calls for a strategic partnership whereby Let There Be Neon will assist small and emerging Cuban artists-entrepreneurs in achieving their dreams of bringing light and beauty back to the city of Havana. “We are very happy to have the support and guidance of such an important neon fabricator to assist us to expand our project " said Havana artist Kadir Lopez Nieves the Co- Founder of the Havana project who with Los Angeles, CA based Cuban producer Adolfo Nodal started restoring the historic signs in mid 2014 as a public art practice. Mr. Lopez Nieves and Mr. Nodal subsequently founded Habana Light Neon + Signs and have restored a variety of historic neon signs. “This new relationship with Let There Be Neon will greatly increase our capacity to reach a critical mass of restorations that will make all the difference in showing results for the everyday citizen on the street who are the prime beneficiaries of our work.” Said Mr. Nodal who is well known in Los Angeles for the successful revival of that city's historic neon signage. Habana Light Neon + Signs is Cuba’s premiere neon sign restoration and production Company. Now two years old, the company restores historic signs as a public service http://thegrid.ai/habana-light-neon-signs Let There Be Neon is one of the world’s most important custom neon and sign companies working alongside artists, architects and numerous trades in the professional and private sector throughout the world. http://www.lettherebeneon.com For more information contact: Jeff Friedman 212 226-4883 info(at)lettherebeneon(dot)com or Adolfo Nodal 310 808-3594 habananeon(at)gmail(dot)com -END- CONTACT Jeff Friedman Let There Be Neon 212-226-4883 212-334-8481 info@(at)ettherebeneon(dot)com
  2. The Assault of our "Traditions" In another topic I started a week back or so is below but now I'm continuing in a new thread, because...jokes aside. http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6677-pillsbury-dough-boy-makeover-and-93-saving/ Something big has changed, a more understanding behind the news article. A look into "Sign Mythology" See Sign Proposal from Lawrence Sign below: wcms1p-122428.pdf It's not very often, but I just read this a short time ago and I have to say my stomach dropped, you know that sick disgusted feeling you get right there in the center of your stomach? I'm attaching a document that was made public on another site thanks to Mike for making it public. If this doesn't sicken everyone in the electric sign industry I don't know what will, and this should. There is something that everyone in the electric sign industry should uphold no matter what light source you prefer or what your opinion is on applications. I'm speaking about upholding our traditions, and never giving them up to mis-characterization and mis-information. Neon has been around for a long time and there a place for it like everything else in life based on it's own merit and function in upon which it serves. Neon is also a tradition, OUR tradition no matter what you produce in this trade! You may have not been in the electric sign industry for a long time, you may be relatively new, and you may have never even touched, fabricated or installed any before ever. But that should not keep you from appreciating it's function and pure elegance. Right now it's being assaulted, mis-characterized, and outright LIED as a whole, just to make a buck for something that will not last as long as it can. There is a time and place in everything when it comes to the electric sign industry but Flexible LEDs should NOT be used to replace a historical sign, especially when the person doing the push sell of a repair or retrofit is doing so with false information and mis-leading the buyer. Well, that's what Lawrence Sign is doing right now. It's one thing to read an article online or in a newspaper, it's another to see a proposal from seller to buyer in print with false information which does nothing but desecrate and annihilate our traditions, that they themselves are apart of. LED Flex Strips do not have usable light at 100,000 hours. Red LED's degrade in light, Red pumped Neon does not. Red neon does NOT consume 20 WATTS per foot, that's ABSURD!!! That diameter neon lamps for that size project consume 3 to 3.5 watts per foot. it does not take $15k a year in cost of operation vs $1,000 a year to convert over to LED Now that we have a real proposal to go off of we can calculate/estimate the cost of operation. We can estimate that with the 11' letters have approx 93 feet of Neon (3 rows inches x 8.5), the lowercase and small capitals have 56' of lamps = 1,258' of lamps 1293' x 3 watts per foot = 3,774 watts 3,774 watts x 12 hrs x 365 days a year x $.15kwh / 1000 PC = $2,479.50, NOT almost $16,000 in annual cost of operation ​When it comes to the supposed "Yearly Maintenance" I don't even have a comment on that part, it just gets more ridiculous. If hail is a big concern for breakage then clear polycarbonate can come in real handy. So can hinge system. A Industry as a whole, this sign trade needs to care no matter what your preference is and how long you've been in this industry, as someone new to it, 2nd, 3rd generation....otherwise we will loose a big part of who we are and we shame those who came before us, we shame those who started our grand traditions. It won't come from our leadership in the form or associations, their just as guilty if not enablers of mis-information and mis-characterization of our traditions. The trade magazines? Just as bad, only trade magazine that actually reports now and IS "journalism", is "Signs of The Times". In the end, it's about how you and I conduct OUR business, how we sell to our clients, and how we want our "Signs" left behind. We're forgetting why we came into this industry, what it is to look back at something long after we put it up, long after. Lately it's just been bastardized by outsiders who just want to take our trade and traditions and turn it into a cheap commodity all because THEY have something THEY want to sell to us, we can even go a step further to say what THEY want force on us and what THEY want forced upon the end user. Integrity - To do what's right and not what comes easy, even when no one is looking. Traditions - It's who we are, and what we want to pass on to those after us.
  3. Came across this for those who enjoy Neon http://www.fastcodesign.com/3050290/a-new-book-documents-san-franciscos-disappearing-neon-signs
  4. PSFS lighting: Committee rejects switch from neon to LED http://planphilly.com/articles/2015/05/27/psfs-lighting-committee-rejects-switch-from-neon-to-led Four letters have spelled Philly since 1932: PSFS. High above 12th and Market streets, two 26-foot high PSFS signs have been illuminated by parallel tubes of red neon for 83 years. Now the landmark building’s owners and consultants contend that the sign lighting systems are at the end of their serviceable life, and it’s time for a 21st century replacement. The PSFS building was individually listed in the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1968, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The local designation means any changes to the exterior require Philadelphia Historical Commission approval. On Tuesday Heritage Consulting Group presented an application on behalf of Loews Philadelphia Hotel to the commission’s Architectural Committee to convert the PSFS sign’s illumination from neon to Light Emitting Diodes (LED) designed to closely match the original color and intensity. The committee, which offers advisory recommendations to the commission, unanimously rejected the LED proposal voicing several concerns. Commission staff did not recommend approval of the application because the applicants did not demonstrate that it is not feasible to restore the sign. Loews, which has operated the PSFS building as a hotel since 2000, argued that safely maintaining the sign is a challenge, as is keeping all letters illuminated. What were once parallel tubes of neon have been reduced to disjointed single runs of neon, the result of years of temporary fixes aimed at keeping the lights on. The application package states that the building’s head engineer says the sign can’t even be powered down at this point because “each time the power is cycled, at least one section of the sign goes dark due to damaged electrical wiring.” Though neon restoration could be cheaper the applicants said the conversion to LED would help Loews meet its corporate sustainability targets, save on energy costs, and require less frequent repairs. “Loews is committed to keeping the sign lit,” Danny Smith, a Loews representative, told the committee. Heritage Consulting’s Cindy Hamilton noted that Loews is trying to be a good Philadelphia citizen, but it is under no obligation to keep the sign illuminated. Indeed before the hotel conversion the letters were dark for most of the 1990s. While some committee members were open to the idea of LEDs, they were not persuaded by the application. The applicants, they said, had not demonstrated that replacing the neon in-kind – which would effectively require rebuilding the neon system – was infeasible. The proposed LED design would mimic the neon tubes with two lines of light set in a box. Committee members felt that an LED mockup installed on one section of the sign looked convincing when viewed head on, some had concerns about how the sign would be visible from oblique views. While tubes of neon are meant to reflect off of the coated surface of the sign’s letters, they wondered if the boxed LEDs would glow as visibly. (As of this writing, the mockup is still on the sign – bonus points for the person who can name what letter it is on.) The application argues that unlike art neon signs, the use of neon on the PSFS sign was simply the chosen vehicle for illumination. Commission staffer Randal Baron said, however, that staff regards the neon as an artifact in its own right. The PSFS sign was a pioneering example of integrating illuminated graphics into architecture, designed as part of George Howe and William Lescaze’s bold International Style skyscraper. The sign is a defining feature on the most important building added to Philadelphia in the 20th century. “This is an icon we need to treat as respectfully as possible,” said the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia’s Advocacy Director Patrick Grossi in a public comment. The owners, he said, should make every effort to restore the neon. Plus, he expressed trepidation that an LED sign could open the door to different colors being programmed instead of the sign’s trademark red. (Imagine a green PSFS on a big Eagles game day.) Neon artisan and historian Len Davidson also commented that the PSFS sign’s neon system has been so badly compromised and rigged that it’s stressed, by design. In his estimation a rebuilt, well-balanced neon system would be more enduring than LEDs, which do not perform especially well in high-humidity, bad weather, and high-up installations. Neon, Davidson said, has a long track record while we don’t know the true longevity of LEDs. The Historical Commission will review the application to turn PSFS from neon to LED at its meeting on Friday, June 12.
  5. Erik Sine

    Back to Good

    After some testimony on this subject the panel voted to stick with Neon after all, a VERY wise decision. Good for Lenny to step in. It's too bad they thought they were limited in vendors to choose from to come in and complete the job and restore the Neon. They just need to pick someone who continues to manufacture Neon projects, theirs plenty of them out there and supplies aren't that hard to find especially for this one. Glass, glass housings, GTO & Transformers aren't that hard to find....maybe not looking hard enough or just looking for an easy way out. Just hope who ever does the work re-engineers the tranny runs and does it right. Loews would replace neon PSFS sign with LED letters http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20150527_Loews_would_replace_neon_PSFS_sign_with_LED_letters.html The Loews hotel chain has tinkered for 15 years to keep the neon PSFS sign aglow on Philadelphia's skyline, but officials said Tuesday they believe the time has come to do away with the old and bring in the new. Arguing that the 83-year-old sign has become too costly and burdensome to maintain Loews representatives asked the Philadelphia Historical Commission for permission to replace the neon tubes and transformers of the signature red sign with LED lights. The commission's architecture committee voted unanimously against the idea. The 27-foot-tall sign, atop the skyline since its installation in 1932 by the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, they argued, is a historic artifact that can, and should, be fixed. "The standards are very clear that it's better to repair than replace," said committee member Suzanne Pentz, referring to preservation rules in place. "The neon is its own artifact," said preservation planner Randal Baron. The PSFS matter came during the fifth hour of a busy meeting during which the committee also voted against a high-profile plan for Center City's nearly demolished 1920s-era Boyd movie palace. That proposal, by Jim Pearlstein's Pearl Properties, seeks to build an apartment tower and street-level stores where the Boyd formerly occupied a large section of Chestnut Street between 19th and 20th Streets. The committee expressed a number of concerns, ranging from what materials might be used on new facades, to whether to install a glass enclosure leading into an arcade entryway beneath the theater's original marquee. Both proposals were scheduled to come before the full commission for a vote June 12th. But where the Boyd for years has been a lightning rod of debate and scuttled redevelopment plans as preservationists squared off with developers, the PSFS sign proposal shed light on the fragile goodwill that has kept the unmistakable and enduring landmark visible on the city's skyline. Before Loews moved into the dormant PSFS building in 1999, the sign had been dark for a decade, noted consultant Cindy Hamilton, representing the hotel. Loews has no obligation to retain the sign, let alone keep it lit, despite its prominence and the company's decision to include it prominently on the hotel's Philadelphia website. And yet, the company stitched together a fix here and there for years, until deciding it did not want to spend a hefty sum to rebuild it entirely as a high-wattage neon structure. Now, amid increasingly scarce suppliers of neon, the hotelier said it was eager for an alternative to keep the sign lit. Officials said it would be cheaper and easier to maintain the PSFS sign if it were replaced by a system of lower-wattage LED lights, as was done years ago on Boathouse Row. The popularity of LED has become so great it has contributed to the dearth of once-prevalent neon, said Danny Smith, the hotel's director of engineering. Where there used to be many suppliers, there now is only one for the PSFS moniker, said Patrick Hoban, of Philadelphia Sign Co., whose employees scale and sometimes dangle from the letters to conduct tricky maintenance work. "It's getting harder to get neon components," Hoban said. "It takes me weeks to get the neon to come in," Smith added. Len Davidson, who refurbishes neon signs, did not buy the scarcity argument. Neon for his projects, he said, has been readily available. "This sign is a great example of demolition by neglect," Davidson said. "The sign has been compromised terribly."
  6. National Park Service grants available for Route 66 preservation in Tulsa http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/national-park-service-grants-available-for-route-preservation-in-tulsa/article_5f8f6782-2ba6-569a-8f43-71b6040ee1c0.html This is great, money available to the qualified! Now they just need to search for some REAL qualified sign companies who know what their doing to they can IMPROVE (re-engineer) the old sign installations and make them maintenance free for at least 10 years before even so much as a transformer replacement
  7. Return of the Dragon: Iconic sign goes back up on 25th Street http://www.standard.net/Local/2015/01/29/Return-of-the-Dragon.html OGDEN — The folks on Historic 25th Street haven’t been this excited since the repeal of Prohibition. They’re calling it “Return of the Dragon,” and it’s not just a classic Bruce Lee martial-arts film. It’s also a well-deserved party for a long-very-nearly-lost friend. The neon dragon sign that for more than 60 years loomed over the Star Noodle Parlor on 25th Street is finally back where it belongs. On Monday, crews from YESCO, the company that built the original sign, returned the dragon to its rightful place on the famed downtown Ogden street — whence it had been missing since 2008. And now, on Friday, Feb. 6, a “Return of the Dragon” celebration is planned. At 5 p.m., refreshments will be served at the building at 225 Historic 25th St., including a “reinvention” of the famed shrimp salad that the Star Noodle Parlor used to serve. Then, at 5:30 p.m., comes the moment folks have been anticipating for more than six years: Following brief speeches by the appropriate dignitaries, the dragon will officially blaze back to life when a switch is thrown, exciting the dragon’s colorful neon tubes. Carolyn Brierley, executive director of the Historic 25th Street Business Association, said her association’s members are all abuzz about the return of the neon dragon to its rightful place on the famed street. “It’s pretty exciting,” Brierley said. “This is really a famous sign; I had no idea it was such an iconic landmark, even outside Utah. I think it’s going to bring us several visitors. We’re excited it’s going back in.” In 2007, the Star Noodle Parlor building was sold, and the following year the dragon was removed for renovations to the sign and the facade. The dragon was supposed to go back up on the building later that year, but instead went into storage. “It was going to be a temporary removal, to find out what was behind the fake storefront,” said Greg Montgomery, planning manager for Ogden City. “But then the economy went in a different direction.” What was going to be a quick turnaround dragged on for months, and then years. “We were just waiting for the economy to turn,” explained building owner Thaine Fischer. According to Montgomery, the building went up in 1912, and housed both live theater, and later, a projection theater. It was originally called the Revere Theater. The following year it became the Cherry Theater, and then from 1914 to 1933 it was the Rex Theater, Montgomery said. It became Star Noodle Parlor in 1948. The dragon sign wasn’t a part of the original building, so it didn’t qualify for historical status — and therefore any financial help through tax credits, according to Montgomery. As a result, Fischer admits renovating the dragon was “very expensive.” “The sign itself is an iconic sign for the community,” Fischer said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t meet the criteria for a historical sign. … It’s iconic, but not historical.” So then, why restore it? “It was a community investment,” Fischer said. “When we bought the building, we loved the sign. It’s just an iconic sign that we love.” For its part, the Landmarks Commission just wanted to make sure the dragon returned to 25th Street, according to Montgomery. “What the Landmarks Commission didn’t want was for the sign to be removed and forgotten, where the owners say, ‘Oh? What sign?’ ” Montgomery said. “We’ve had others on the street take down signs and take them with them … although nothing as iconic as the dragon.” The excitement about the return of the dragon has been building for quite some time now. Barbara Taylor is marketing director of R&O Construction, the Ogden company hired to do the renovation at 225 Historic 25th St. She says once folks found out R&O was doing the renovation on the old Star Noodle Parlor building, they were inundated with questions about the beloved dragon. “We’ve had so many people asking us about it — ‘When’s it going in?’ ‘When’s it coming back?’ ” she said. “People are pretty excited.” Because the building — which was actually two buildings with a common facade — sat empty for so long, there were some structural issues, according to Taylor. The company also had to level the sloped theater floor, and a tunnel was discovered beneath the building. Fischer says a Salt Lake City restaurant, Pig & a Jelly Jar, will be opening a second location on the main level. An IT company will be housed upstairs. Other tenants are pending. The original neon dragon sign was built by YESCO, of Salt Lake City. YESCO president Steve Jones said his company is honored to have handled the restoration of the dragon. “YESCO had its beginnings in Ogden, in the early 1920s,” Jones said. “We played a role in 25th Street — including this sign — so this is a real treat for us.” YESCO’s Steve White was the project manager for the dragon restoration. The neon wonder was delivered to YESCO, on a pallet, on Nov. 19, 2013, according to White, and he oversaw a crew of 10 to 12 people who completed various phases of the restoration. White says it was pretty much a labor of love. “For every hour I spent on the clock, working on it, I easily spent another hour off,” he said. White figures he’s got about 200 hours, himself, invested in the project. The sign, which is about 10 feet tall and 12 feet long, includes more than 250 feet of neon, involving 68 separate pieces of neon tubing. It’s powered by 12 neon transformers, each with its own circuit. “I’ve worked here since 2006, and this is easily the most complicated sign I’ve ever worked on,” White said. During the restoration, workers carefully removed several layers of “skins” — metal coverings placed over the sign with each subsequent change in name. White says the “Rooms” reference restored to the current sign was on the original. “We found something in the neighborhood of 10 coats of paint on the sign,” Jones said. “And I think we’ve maintained this sign since we first put it up.” Although they can’t be certain exactly when the dragon was built, judging from the methods used, White guesses it was created “somewhere in the late ’30s or early ’40s.” And the newly restored neon sign is getting glowing reviews. “It’s great. They did a great job,” Montgomery said. “It’s been one of those missing pieces on 25th Street — this was the final missing piece.” Taylor praises the fact that “it’s been all local involvement,” from the architect, to the construction company, to the sign restoration company. “We’re excited because it’s a part of Ogden’s history, and we’re delighted to be a part of it,” Taylor said. Added Fischer: “I think everybody, including ourselves, is excited to put the sign back up. I cannot wait to see it up there.”
  8. Pretty cool. Came across this story to a beautiful Neon sign that was was posted here during the production in a thread about the rise of Neon back in the electric sign industry. New Long Beach Dunkin’ Donuts draws a crowd http://www.presstelegram.com/general-news/20141209/new-long-beach-dunkin-donuts-draws-a-crowd LONG BEACH>> Dunkin’ Donuts return to California continued Tuesday morning as dozens awoke before dawn to line up outside the chain’s new store to either taste an old favorite or find out what all the fuss is about. “They go back all the way to my early childhood,” said Glenn Ferdinand, 49, of Long Beach. “My mom worked at Dunkin’ Donuts when I was a kid. Dunkin’ Donuts is part of my life.” Ferdinand grew up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, and dressed for the occasion of the new store’s opening in a pullover Red Sox jacket. “This is the first stop when I travel home. This is the first stop for me,” he said while he waited for a large “regular” cup of coffee and a “honey-dipped” doughnut, which is known on this side of the country as a glazed doughnut. Long Beach’s new Dunkin’ Donuts opened at 5 a.m. near the 7th Street-Pacific Coast Highway intersection. In Long Beach, the doughnut chain’s opening attracted a steady stream of drive-thru and walk-in customers. Some of those who stood in line said they arrived about an hour before the store’s opening trying to become one of the first 100 customers who claimed an orange bag of “doughnut swag” that included a coffee cup and voucher for a free cup of caffeinated brew. The first customer in line received free coffee for a year. That customer was Johnny Hoops of North Hollywood; he has also been the first customer the store’s openings in Downey and Santa Monica, company officials said. The Long Beach spot was once home to The Original Grind, and to the relief of Long Beach history buffs, store operators decided to keep the old business’ giant doughnut to advertise its wares. Franchisee Dan Almquist joked that he had to divert money that he could have otherwise saved for one of his children’s education to pay for the sign’s restoration. “It was a few bucks. It was a six-figure number,” Almquist said, noting that the restoration required a considerable amount of new materials. The sign makes the Long Beach shop unique among Dunkin’ Donuts establishments, and not just the few that have opened in California. Company public relations manager Lindsay Harrington said the 7th Street store is the only Dunkin’ Donuts in the country that has such an iconic, large doughnut sign outside its doors. The Massachusetts-based Dunkin’ Donuts has thus far only established a minimal presence in the Golden State. After a long absence from California, the chain opened the first of a new wave of stand-alone stores in August in the Central Valley city of Modesto. Dunkin’ Donuts followed that move up with a focus on Southern California. Santa Monica welcomed a Dunkin’ Donuts store in early September, and Downey saw a store arrive later that month. As the chain expands, Long Beach could see more Dunkin’ Donuts open locally. Almquist, who is managing partner of Newport Beach’s Frontier Real Estate Investments, said the company invested around $2 million to open the new Long Beach store and has plans for two or three more stores in the seaside city. Potential locations and future opening dates are “top secret” for now. Besides the new standalone stores, Dunkin’ Donuts products are also for sale in California at Camp Pendleton, Barstow Station and inside the Embassy Suites San Diego Bay Downtown Hotel. The chain has announced plans for more than 200 California stores to open in the next several years.
  9. Merita, curvy roadside icon, finds home at Morse Museum http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-joy-wallace-dickinson-1116-20141116-column.html hen news broke in late 2012 that Orlando's venerable Merita Bread Bakery would close, reaction ranged from concern for workers losing their jobs to questions about the fate of the huge Merita sign overlooking Interstate 4 — a Central Florida icon since the 1960s. Seen from I-4 near the Kaley exit, the large, curvy red letters spelling "Merita" were long accompanied by the homey smell of baking bread, and by a clock that supplied drivers with the time and temperature, too. It was the perhaps the largest surviving sign designed by the Bob Galler, a true artist of neon who died this past August at 84. It's fitting that, like some of Galler's other creations, the Merita sign will soon reside in the collections of the Charles Hosmer Museum of American Art in Winter Park. If all goes as planned, the sign will be relocated this month to the Morse warehouse, where it will join Galler signs for Ronnie's and Gary's Duck Inn restaurants. Artist of our landscape When Galler retired in late 2006 as design vice president of Orlando's Graphic Systems Inc., he signed off on more than a half-century of shaping Central Florida's visual landscape. By the way, when he designed the Merita sign in the 1960s, it bore a round tick-tock clock at the top, instead of the digital display added later. In addition to his work for Ronnie's and Gary's, Galler's credits include well-known signs for McNamara Pontiac, Church Street Market, NASCAR and Walt Disney World. He devised the 1980s version of Orlando's downtown Christmas star that's still in use as the center of the current decoration. The McKean legacy Galler was great fun to talk with about his work because he genuinely loved it, a trait he shared with the late Hugh McKean, who became interested in commercial signs while director of the Morse — a museum most closely identified with the elegant stained-glass creations of Louis Comfort Tiffany. McKean's last sign acquisition before his death in 1995 was the neon banner that hung above Ronnie's in Orlando until the restaurant closed that same year. In 1990, when McKean saved the large neon sign for Orlando's Orange Court Motor Lodge, he told the Sentinel he'd been acquiring signs since the mid-1970s. Most were modest emblems for Winter Park stores, such as the red wooden sign from Cottrell's, Park Avenue's lost and lamented five-and-dime. The Orange Court sign, glowing with coral, green, and orange neon and 115 blinking incandescent bulbs, was McKean's first sign acquisition beyond Winter Park. Signs of community After McKean's death, the Morse continued to make a home for neon icons that otherwise would probably have been destroyed. In 2001, its collection added the sign for Gary's Duck Inn, the Orange Blossom Trail eatery that served locals and visitors for almost 50 years. "It's part of who we are as a community," museum spokeswoman Catherine Hinman said of the Gary's sign. "We're happy to give it a safe home." Providing that home is no small undertaking. Not only are signs such as Merita immense, but they also require restoration that's hard to come by these days. Technicians and materials are scarce. Still, a future display of the signs remains a "continuing hope as we think of the future of the museum," Director Laurence J. Ruggiero has said. When McKean, himself an artist and a former Rollins College president, began acquiring signs, he acknowledged that some art collectors might not understand the appeal. "When we collected our Tiffany, they didn't accept it either, McKean said in 1990, referring to how unfashionable Tiffany glass was to the art world when he and his wife, Jeannette Genius McKean, began building their collection. "We do what we think an American museum should do," McKean said of the Morse. As for the sign collection, "We think this is lively. It isn't self-conscious. It comes right out of society, right out of our people."
  10. What began as Galveston Island’s Sears and Roebuck store is now home to one of GHF’s more public endeavors. To celebrate the recent exterior restoration work as well as the recently installed neon sign, the public is invited for a day of vintage fun at our 1940 Sears’s Building, located at 2228 Broadway, on Saturday, Sept. 13. http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/humble/living/galveston-historical-foundation-s-sears-building-to-host-open-house/article_5e325713-87f4-5ab6-88b4-5e804fe285ce.html
  11. Despite the few historic classic signs that lost their way into newer technologies and lost themselves it's apparent more and more that Neon's demand is back in the horizon by the consumer. We know more custom sign shops are preferring their fabrication to go all LED because they lack the technical "know how" & creative craftsmanship compared to the signs shops that are more diverse in their manufacturing integrating all light sources. These sign shops even go so far as to convince the minds of the consumer by feeding them made up and false brochure marketing claims such as the The Pillsbury Dough Boy Sign fiasco. But within the last year we've seen a turn around especially in the wholesale side of our industry. Demand for neon is coming back, via the consumer. If you're still doing neon then I'm sure you've seen how the competition is less and obviously this means the margin is higher.....well because if there aren't very many who have continued in the market or remember, well that means there isn't anyone around to compete. Chances are if you're still around doing neon, it means you were doing something rights and the low quality shops have been washed away leaning the market out. Matter of fact, if you're still fabricating & installing Neon you might want to stay ahead of the curve and integrate the word "Neon" back in your business name. Some shops over the years have chosen to toss the word "Neon" out of their business name because they didn't want the consumers to associate them with "just" Neon. Maybe not such a smart move after all, consumers who want to pay for what they get will be looking up shops with the word "Neon" because it will be a nich market, a specialty that won't be associated with "Sign Shop, or Graphics". On the story below, interesting how the shop owner chose not to accept any kind of rebate or subsidy for the revival of HIS sign. A light source that can stand on it's own and by it's own merit. Maybe that's just his character in understanding that he doesn't want to tax the taxpayers (his neighbors), or steal from Pete to give to Paul like some of these other state and energy tax rebate programs they give consumers by choosing light soures like LEDs (where government picks the winner not the consumer) that are more expensive that give an unfair advantage to justify undefined and false Return On Investment figures. This man should be applauded, he's doing it on his own, paying for his own project because he knows it will last, just like it has since 1965 with just a "little" bit of help. The California Sign Association Tree Hugger , or Broccoli Eater once prided herself in saying that "Green is not a trend, it's a migration". I said back then she didn't know what she was talking about and nothings changed today, she still doesn't know what she's talking about because she's still nothing more than a "Marketeer". Trust me when I say, Neon will snowball back into the market. Those outside of our industry (Light source manufacturers & Marketeers) tried their best to have it shamed out of the market place and in marketing guilt by using the fictitious "Green Movement" to mischaracterize all conventional light sources as a "dirty" word. A lot of the sign industry especially our leadership bought into it, they still do today. If you think about it, CCFL light sources are VERY efficient!!! Neon....LED....Fluorescent all have their place for signs. One thing I've always said, a successful shop/individual should do is always find that niche market and DO what the others AREN'T! Maybe I should stop giving away free unsolicited business advice on how to make money and stay ahead of the curve myself! Pocatello business refurbishes its sign: Project in keeping with Light up the Night effort POCATELLO — A businessman whose family has been in the shoe repair business since 1956 restored his shop’s street sign in keeping with the ongoing efforts to “Light up the Night.” “I took the old existing sign and had it totally repainted,” said Jerry Meyers, of Meyers Shoe Repair at 508 E. Center St. “I had all the neon fixed on it. I actually refaced it also. They put new metal on both sides to straighten it up. It really looks nice.” He took the sign to Blaze Sign and Graphic Design, which worked on it for three weeks before it was reinstalled on Friday. While the Light Up the Night committee offered Meyers grants to help cover the cost, he declined. “I didn’t feel right about it. I felt better doing it myself,” he said. Meyers’ inspiration came after several neighboring business opened up shop and repaired their signs. It also helped that Randy Dixon of the Light Up the Night Committee met with him about doing so. “He kind of helped convince me to go ahead and have the neon sign fixed. I got a bid to get the whole thing done and decided on what I was going to do from there. I just decided to have the whole thing fixed,” Meyers said. After nearly 60 years, the sign really needed an upgrade, he said. “The paint was peeling and everything. Everybody was putting in new signs and fixing things up. I followed suit and had my sign fixed up,” he said. He said it’s good to see the new sign. “I feel better when I come to work. Instead of looking up at an ugly old peeling paint sign, I see this one,” he said. The improvements are what the lighting committee has hoped for ever since it reinstalled the old Chief Theatre neon sign at its old location, according to Dixon. “Jerry did a great job,” he said. Neon signage proves an important issue in Pocatello, Dixon said. “It’s a hot item right now. I like to think that (Meyers) set an example. It’s a great decision. His sign may be the first of many signs that are updated, restored or repaired by business owners,” he said. The interest in neon signage got its boost thanks to the relighting of the old Chief Theatre sign about 18 months ago. The old sign spent 20 years in storage at the airport before being restored and placed in its former location. “When we see somebody like Jerry relighting his own sign, we are encouraged because it has caused excitement in the community,” Dixon said. Those old signs take people on a trip down memory lane while also establishing interest in Old Town Pocatello, Dixon said. “Our priorities have come back. There is a real honest moment of historic preservation. Old signs are public art. We’ve got to preserve our history; it’s our responsibility,” he said. It’s hoped that other businesses will follow suit in upgrading their old neon signs. “We’re trying to convince business owners to restore their signs as well. We can really create a historic feel and a great old town feel. It may even be a draw for tourism,” Dixon said. He noted that Las Vegas has an old neon sign display that’s turned into quite an attraction. "We’re never going to rival Vegas. I don’t think we’re trying to do that. What we’re trying to do is relight what we have. The potential is there to relight,” he said. The community has 25 or 30 really nice neon signs that the group hopes will be restored. “We’re certainly trying to get attention to Pocatello’s history with our neon signs,” he said. As for Meyers Shoe Repair, Jerry Meyers says that his customers have taken note of the refurbished sign, too. “So far, I’ve had some people tell me it’s great,” he said.
  12. Warning, common sense ahead.... http://theworldlink.com/news/local/n-or-th-bend-welcomes-overhaul-of-neon-sign/article_7d6774da-a3fa-5c80-90c7-1587a31c53de.html
  13. A situation where the people fight back when you attempt to take away their history and heritage. There is no bigger power than when the tax payers & voters who are composed of the people and business owners come together. http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2014/04/sherry-beacon-beams-again-after-apple-battle
  14. Pillsbury Dough Boy Done Down & Dirty Article http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/252366791.html And we have another! Leak gas??? They make it sounds like a health hazard. This time right now it's in the hands of the city's heritage preservation commission. I wonder if the Heritage Commission has all the facts in front of them presented by Lawrence sign before they're about to make a grave, costly mistake. Once again we have a marker, a pinpoint for the future that we can look back on and there is no need to predict, it will happen, because they're choosing to change a light source to this classic retro sign which are lamps pumped with neon gas, in turn they are nothing more than glass and gas a light source that does NOT degrade in light overtime, who's light output is NOT affected by outside temperatures, and to be retrofitted to one that is. We've seen it a couple years back Genesee Beer http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/topic/5364-signs-of-the-times-february-2012-issue/ Just recently in Chicago http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6406-the-drake-hotel-sign/ If we were all to be a fly on that wall at the time of the sales pitch, I'm sure they heard fictitious and misleading facts like "Energy Efficient".."Green"...."it's GOOD for the environment"...."Return on Investment in just s a few years!"....and according to the article cost of operation will go from $15,000.00 to $1,000.00. Someone may even have pulled out a pamphlet from the Ventex marketing playbook which exaggerates a 15kv neon transformers as having 500+ watts and costs to be doubled. Someone could have even pulled out a Sign Builder Illustrator and pulled out the article where Magic Mouth says LEDs he can save everyone 80% in cost of operation because his magic way is more "Efficient". I'm just very sure that whatever sales pitch was pulled it was unbelievable, somehow the Genesee Beers that were served were labeled as a IPA Craft beer. But for whatever reason maybe it was the overwhelming marketing moment, the show pony walking on it's hind legs, the salesmen juggling fireballs and no one bothered to take a sip of the beer to notice it tasted like tap water....maybe that was the idea, conjure a distraction. Should we so much as dare to take a thought at the idea that it was NEVER even brought up that maybe a money saving way to all this could be to keep things in heritable preservation, keep the historic value, is maybe just cut the ends off all the red neon pumped glass and re-pump the lamps? Wow, 60+ more years of life!! What else can we do? Hmmmmm, let's think about re-engineering the Transformer placement. Make some shorter runs maybe? Replace all the wiring? Hmmmm, do all that and we can add maybe another 20 years until a neon transformer replacement somewhere in the sign MAY be needed. Oh look, Red Neon Lamps do NOT degrade in light over time but LEDs do. How long before another retrofit should we predict? Or the replacement of a Electronic LED Driver? Couple years, less than a year? If this sign has been around since the 40's, the LED light alone won't even last a fraction of that. Should we even think that someone ever mentioned that the Neon cost of operation is only 3.6 watts per foot to the average 1.25 watts per foot to that of a Flex LED strip when it comes to red? If so, how did they get the $15k to $1k a year in annual operation??? What were these magic numbers that's saving in over 93%??? These numbers even top that of Magic Mouth himself and The New England Sign Spinner. We have a new player in town obviously. Of course it's been in "disrepair", I'm sure it's been nothing but talentless sign and lighting companies who have just over the years been replacing lamps and components and never actually fixing the issue that started it all in the first place. When said and done, and after the dog and pony act is finally gone long gone from the conference room, the excitement of of something "new" is diminished in the minds of the project managers and architects and the once classic sign, morphed into political correctness will soon turn into maintenance calls. The one year warranty by the sign contractor will expire, the 3 to 5 year warranty of LED lamps manufacturer will maintain for a short time but the labor costs in that period to change out those components will be absorbent. Shoulders will shrug, the look for answers will just turn into excuses and "...well...". That sexy attraction of this project will loose it's luster and maybe if the same people within the city are still employed in the same positions maybe, just maybe someone will take an actual sip of that ol stale beer to see what it tasted like and discover what it was that they actually got served that day. Then just like the Citgo Ballpark sign, they will have bought their own little Citgo project that went from Neon to LED Retrofit, to LED to LED Retrofit. Just like the other previous projects. I hope Lawrence sign doesn't remove all of the Neon Housing holes, they WILL need those down the road a lot sooner than they think. Somethings definitely getting/coming out of this oven for those 93% in saving that we saw on the baking product box, but it won't be a batch of cookies that mama used to make, something coming...it's just going to be a little flat in appearance and tasteless after the first bite and so on after that. With the cookie tray out and ready to eat and for a most likely 48 year Return on Investment. Retrofitting this project from Neon to Neon could have been in the thousands ($) range in materials alone, instead it will be in the tens of thousands range + the labor........well...that's what you get!! Bon Appetit Minneapolis!!!
  15. Came across this bit of news, thought it was interesting enough to post here
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