NEON SIGNS MAIN STREET IOWA TECHNOTES NEON SIGNS t was on a warm night in Los the time, neon reflected the growth lights, and so many of the remaining IAngeles, California, during the of technology. A neon sign on neon signs were extinguished never summer of 1923, when advertising your storefront gave the impression to be lit again. (In actuality, neon would be forever changed in the that you were up on the times. signs use 1/10 of the power.) United States. Piercing the dark By the 1950s, neon had become The mid 1980s brought a turn night sky was the neon flash of the forever linked with drive-ins, diners, around in the use of neon. The word “Packard” in the glamour of Las renaissance found new uses for orange and blue com- Vegas and by most neon including a medium for fine ing from the Packard people an extension art. This has helped neon lose its Motor Company. of the American “shady” reputation. This one sign became dream itself. The Now, many sign companies the catalyst for a sign 1950s also brought throughout America specialize in revolution in America elaborate signs of the manufacture and preserva- that we still feel the effects of today. different colors and animation. tion of these historic signs that Even though neon is considered But out of all the cities in Amer- no longer brightly advertise their to be a piece of Americana through- ica, it was a small desert city in business or product. out the world, it was a Frenchmen, Nevada that felt the impact of neon Neon gas glows when an electrical Georges Claude, who first intro- the most. That city was of course charge is passed through it and this duced the concept of neon signs to Las Vegas. Las Vegas has always is the concept behind a neon light. the world during the Paris Exposi- had some of the most dominate Other gases that share this property tion of 1910. After that, neon signs examples of the use of neon in not are argon/mercury, krypton, xenon, soon began to light the night sky of only signs, but as ornamentation of and helium, but only argon/mercury, the “City of Light.” whole building façades. From then and neon are used in neon signs. Neon soon began to gain popular- on Las Vegas became known as the Today, the manufacturing process ity in America, transforming store “Neon Capital of the World”. remains basically the same. Each signs into elaborate flashing and By the late 1950s, the use of neon tube is hand made, heated to a pli- blinking creations that could draw soon began to decline due to the able state by fire with a gas torch, the attention of passing motorist disappearance of neon craftsmen bent to shape, blown out, then laid and pedestrians alike. and the advent of cheaper and more on a heat-proof pattern for final Neon really took off with the modern sign materials, like plastic. adjustments before it cools and 1933 of repeal prohibition, which During the 1960s and 1970s, the becomes hard again. The mechani- created a need for eye-catching reputation of neon began to change cal equipment required to purify and signs above bars across America. and they soon became associated with process the tube into a vacuum tube Neon reflected the trends in archi- strip joints, bars, and shady motels. has improved greatly, thus improv- tecture of the time and soon became The last major decline of neon ing the quality and life of modern synonymous with Art Deco and signs was the energy crisis of the late neon signs. After the tubes have Streamlined architecture. 1970s. Neon signs were believed to been purified, the gas is put in the Like many building materials of used more energy than fluorescent tube, the tube is sealed, electrodes are attached on either end of the components represents one of the tion has especially been prominent tubes and the transformers are major problems that can occur with in Las Vegas and on Route 66, hooked up. a neon sign. where many of the original neon Color in neon signs is created by 1. Broken Tubes - When break- signs still stand but have been dark SIGNS three basic techniques. age occurs and the gas has escaped, for too long. 1. Gases - The simplest way is by there is only one remedy for this In recent years, the American ro- using different gases. Neon gas problem and that is to replace the mance with the neon sign has been gives off a reddish-orange glow and tube that has broken. This can get revived and many of our aging neon argon gives off a blue glow. quite expensive because many times signs have been beautifully restored 2. Colored Glass - Another way there is only one large tube making and brought back to working condi- NEON of creating color is by using colored up the entire sign or letter and re- tion. Most advertise restaurants glass to visually mix light. quires the whole unit to be replaced. and drive-ins that no longer exist 3. Phosphorous Coating - 2. Failed Transformer - A failure but their memory will always live on with the transformer is another through these amazing signs. common problem. Trans- Driving down the highways and formers can be repaired, but byways throughout America you can many times it is more cost ef- see neon signs advertising every- fective to replace it. A flicker- thing from churches to bars and ing neon sign is one symptom funeral homes to movie theatres. of this problem, another Neon truly became the perfect would be that the sign is not medium to convey the confident lighting up at all. vitality of consumerism in America 3. Gas Pressure - A flicker- for most of the 20th century. To- ing neon sign can also mean day, the vibrant colored light that that the gas pressure inside the once burned brightly on so many Coating the interior of the tubes tube is either too high or too low. Main Streets all over the country has with phosphorous powder reacts In this case you would have to have once again regained its rightful place with the gas differently to create dif- the gas repumped. on the American landscape. ferent colors. 4. Metal Cans - The metal cans Neon gas is only used to produce often serve as backdrops to the tub- For More Information: its natural red/orange color. Argon/ ing and need to be cleaned and in Design Consultant, Main Street Iowa Iowa Dept of Economic Development mercury, along with other coloring case of rust, scraped and repainted. 200 East Grand, Des Moines, IA 50309 methods, is used to make all other The repair of neon signs is a 515-242-4762 515-242-4792 colors. highly skilled labor and much of The four basic components of the repair that is necessary is not Additional Reading: neon signs are the tube, the gas, the for amateurs and should be left to “The Preservation of Historic Signs” transformer, and the “metal cans” professionals. Preservation Brief #25 or the metal frame. Each of these The push for neon sign restora- U.S. Department of the Interior.