Vintage neon signs

[2jakes]

Astor Theater 1946

Crowds line up to see a Hitchcock thriller.

Times Square 1946

Fresh Pop's popcorn makes for better tastin' popcorn at the flicks!

 

[2jakes]

NYC 1946 (Color foto)

Made it ...."Film Noir"

Film Noir (literally 'black film or cinema') was coined by French film critics (first by Nino Frank in 1946) who noticed the trend of how 'dark', downbeat and black the looks and themes were of many American crime and detective films released in France to theatres following the war, such as The Maltese Falcon (1941), ...

What I wouldn't give to be that dude looking down on Bogie & Bond doing their thing!

 

[Fading Fast]

 

[2jakes]

1920s Utah Power and Light sign

Original Skipping Girl neon. 1936 ~ 1968.
The end of a Melbourne landmark.

 

[2jakes]

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[2jakes]

• 

  
  
  Rob

  
  This two-tone color always reminded me of soap!
  
  
• 
• I remember the smell of new car when my dad brought this home the
• first day.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Back in the good ol' days, when a man could order a salmon-colored car from the dealership, and still be confident in his masculinity. [emoji3]

Rob

 

[2jakes]

Back in the good ol' days, when a man could order a salmon-colored car from the dealership, and still be confident in his masculinity. [emoji3]

Rob

I had an uncle who drove an Edsel.
He loved that car which he polished so much,
You could see the paint’s underneath primer around
the fenders. No kidding!

Some things for reasons unknown stay with me.
I was 5 and this is one of them.

 

[Fading Fast]

Calling something "Historic" on your sign isn't a positive.

 

[BobHufford]

Calling something "Historic" on your sign isn't a positive.

They may be following the lead of the Gov'ment in that the highway was decommissioned and the new signage denotes its historic status.

 

[Fading Fast]

They may be following the lead of the Gov'ment in that the highway was decommissioned and the new signage denotes its historic status.

That's fair, but it still ups the touristy quotient and tamps down the cool quotient.

 

[2jakes]

I’m posting this here because of the triangular Coca-Cola sign which I believe is a neon sign.
But wondering if anyone knows what that contraption is on the seat. Radio perhaps?

The vehicle appears to have been built by this company.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Noir.

Rob

 

[Ghostsoldier]

No vegans or vegetarians allowed.

Rob

 

[2jakes]

Hooray for Hollywood!

 

[dh66]

This one might be more well suited for the ghost sign thread.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Lost Ronin]

This thread is amazing. I love neon signs. Why don't we see more of them anymore ? Nothing is as eye catching. These nee giant LED screens for signs are blinding and an eyesore. Neon is soft and soothing whilst also being eye catching.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Neon disappeared for a lot of reasons. People like to blame the highway beautification campaigns of the 1960s and 1970s, but the real reason was a lot more practical. Neon is a horror to maintain -- the fact that you've got a 10K volt electrical transformer and a lot of wiring, usually exposed to year-round outdoor weather conditions, means constant attention is needed to keep a sign lit, and the bigger and more complex the sign is, the more it costs to bring in a truck and a crew to go up and fix it when it starts to buzz or flicker or blink out completely. The glass tubing is very susceptible to vandalism as well -- all it takes is one kid with a well-aimed rock, and you're looking at $$$ in repairs.

The first back-lit plastic signs came along in the late 1940s -- the first to be used on a significant basis was the illuminated, vacu-formed plastic Shell gas station logo deployed starting in 1948. As soon as these were proven feasible and durable by the development of industrial-size florescent light systems, neon was doomed. It took a couple of decades for the plastic signs to fully take over, but once the momentum began it was inevitable.

I've been dealing with an actual large-scale outdoor neon sign for nearly thirteen years now, and it's about the biggest headache I have. There's only one company left in our area capable of maintaining it, and they aren't inexpensive. The only thing worse than neon on a maintenance basis is individual incandescent bulbs.

 

[Lost Ronin]

Neon disappeared for a lot of reasons. People like to blame the highway beautification campaigns of the 1960s and 1970s, but the real reason was a lot more practical. Neon is a horror to maintain -- the fact that you've got a 10K volt electrical transformer and a lot of wiring, usually exposed to year-round outdoor weather conditions, means constant attention is needed to keep a sign lit, and the bigger and more complex the sign is, the more it costs to bring in a truck and a crew to go up and fix it when it starts to buzz or flicker or blink out completely. The glass tubing is very susceptible to vandalism as well -- all it takes is one kid with a well-aimed rock, and you're looking at $$$ in repairs.

The first back-lit plastic signs came along in the late 1940s -- the first to be used on a significant basis was the illuminated, vacu-formed plastic Shell gas station logo deployed starting in 1948. As soon as these were proven feasible and durable by the development of industrial-size florescent light systems, neon was doomed. It took a couple of decades for the plastic signs to fully take over, but once the momentum began it was inevitable.

I've been dealing with an actual large-scale outdoor neon sign for nearly thirteen years now, and it's about the biggest headache I have. There's only one company left in our area capable of maintaining it, and they aren't inexpensive. The only thing worse than neon on a maintenance basis is individual incandescent bulbs.

Wow. thank you for the explanation. That's why I love this forum. It's such an incredible wealth of knowledge. You, yourself have an amazing plethora of knowledge.