signs Main Street Iowa technotes neon signs

t was on a warm night in Los the time, neon reflected the growth , 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 and 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 , 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 . 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 /, , xenon, soon began to light the night sky of only signs, but as ornamentation of and , 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 tube Neon reflected the trends in archi- strip joints, bars, and shady . 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 NEON SIGNS rtemtlfae Ec fthese or themetalframe. Each of andthe“metalcans” , neon signsarethetube, thegas, the colors. methods, isusedtomake allother mercury, alongwithothercoloring color.its naturalred/orange Argon/ ferent colors. differentlyto create dif with thegas with phosphorouspowder reacts thetubes Coating theinteriorof 3. Phosphorous Coating tovisuallymixlight. creatingcolorisby usingcolored of 2. Colored Glass ablueglow. givesargon off glow and areddish-orange gives off using differentgases. Neongas 1. Gases three basictechniques. hooked up. are tubes andthetransformers the are attached oneitherendof h orbsccmoet f fourbasiccomponentsof The isonlyusedtoproduce Neon gas Color inneonsignsiscreatedby - The simplestway The isby

- Anotherway - - professionals. for amateursandshouldbe leftto isnot thatisnecessary the repair highly skilledlaborandmuch of scrapedandrepainted. rust, case of ing andneedtobecleanedin asbackdrops tothe tub often serve 4. MetalCans repumped. the gas In thiscaseyou would have tohave tube iseithertoohighorlow. 2. Failed quires thewholeunittobereplaced. up theentiresignorletterandre tubemaking there isonlyonelarge quite expensive becausemanytimes tube thathasbroken.canget This the problem andthatistoreplace there isonlyoneremedyforthis hasescaped, occursandthegas age 1. Broken a neonsign. major problemsthatcanoccurwith the oneof components represents The pushforneon signrestora The neonsignsisa of repair The that the gas pressureinsidethe that thegas ing neonsigncanalsomean 3. GasPressure upatall. would bethatthesign isnot thisproblem,another of ing neonsignisonesymptom fective it.Aflicker toreplace many timesitismorecostef but canberepaired, formers common problem.Trans isanother with thetransformer T ransformer T ubes - The metalcans The - When break When - - Aflicker Afailure ------and drive-ins exist thatnolonger restaurants tion. Mostadvertise and broughtback toworking condi signs have beenbeautifullyrestored ouragingneon revived andmanyof mance withtheneonsignhasbeen for toolong. signs stillstandbuthave beendark theoriginalneon where manyof in LasVegas andonRoute 66, tion hasespeciallybeenprominent on theAmericanlandscape. itsrightfulplace regained once again Main Streetsallover has thecountry brightlyonsomany once burned day, thevibrantcoloredlightthat the20thcentury. Tofor mostof consumerisminAmerica vitality of medium toconvey theconfident funeral homestomovie theatres. thing fromchurches tobarsand see neonsignsadvertising every byways throughoutAmericayou can through theseamazingsigns. willalways livebut theirmemory on ..Dprmn fthe Interior of U.S. Department #25 Brief Preservation HistoricSigns” of “The Preservation Additional Reading: 515-242-4792 515-242-4762 200 East Grand, Des Moines, IA 50309 EconomicDevelopment Iowa of Dept Iowa Design Consultant,MainStreet For MoreInformation: In recentyears, theAmericanro Neon truly becametheperfect Neon truly Driving down thehighways and - - - -