While many people might view neon signs as a garish, tacky eyesore there can be little doubt that they are visually mesmerizing, providing eye candy and excitement, with the intent on attracting you into the business they advertise so you will spend some money there. Regardless of the detractors, places Las Vegas and Times Square probably couldn’t exist as world renowned icons without them! Just a brief history here: although neon gas was discovered by two British scientists in 1898, it was not until late 1910 that it started coming into general usage. At that time a French company called Air Liquide was using the gas in a demonstration at the Paris Auto Show.
Once voltage was applied to electrodes within the glass tubes containing the neon gas, the glow from this discharge was the result. It had the ability to appear in a variety of colors when fluorescent tube coatings were included with the sign. By the 1920s neon signage spread quickly throughout the United States and became a major part of advertising, especially in large cities like New York and Los Angeles. Neon signage peaked in popularity by the close of the 1950s and thereafter was considered by many to be something of a visual pollution.
However, at some point nostalgia for things from the past always seems to arise and in the last couple of decades there is significant interest in restoring and preserving this signage from a bygone era. Among the places actively pursuing this are Wildwood, New Jersey, Amarillo, Texas and Casa Grande, Arizona. On April 13, 2019 Casa Grande opened the Neon Sign Park. Most of the signs exhibited here are actually from the town rather than a collection point for old neon signs from various other places.
The collection at Neon Sign Park largely represents businesses that flourished in the town’s past. According to the official website the main purpose for establishing the park is for “preserving Casa Grande’s authentic history” said Rina Rien, who is the executive director of the local non-profit Casa Grande Main Street. Along with Neon Sign Park, Casa Grande has a fun downtown with several mom & pop type businesses like gift shops and places to grab a bite while visiting the area. I always love a road trip to discover other towns with local shops like these and to investigate fun cultural artifacts like the dazzling neon signs from decades past.
Another thing that makes the restoration of the fifteen signs in Neon Sign Park stand out is that the signs were replaced with real neon gas. Many other neon restorations now use LED’s instead, which naturally lacks authenticity. Of course, somehow that’s just not quite the same thing — and is a little disappointing to learn. Anytime the restoration of an artifact from the past is as faithful to the original as possible shows a great amount of dedication and love for that project. Along with Neon Sign Park, and the historic downtown area, the Museum Of Casa Grande (which will be the subject of a post in the near future) is right across the street on the north side of Florence Blvd.
Nearby, visitors can also see the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument which was the ancestral home of an ancient indigenous Sonoran Desert agricultural community. Casa Grande is easy to reach, being only 47 miles southeast of Phoenix just off the I-10 or 69 miles northwest of Tucson on the 1-10 freeway.
For more information on these attractions, check out the following websites:
Casa Grande Ruins: http://www.nps.gov
Museum Of Casa Grande: http://www.tmocg.org
Neon Sign Park: http://jwww.neonsignpark.com
