What San Jose can learn from Las Vegas’ Neon Museum

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mThe idea of creating a neon sign park in San Jose has been floating around for a while. Preservations, neon buffs and fans of roadside architecture all love the concept — and Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez even proposed a neon park for the fairgrounds in 2019 — but a solid vision for how to actually create it has yet to appear.

History San Jose has several vintage signs in its collection, the most prominent being the Orchard Supply Hardware arrow sign that is perched next to an OSH railcar in History Park (and which had its own dramatic story of theft and recovery a few years back.) But there’s also the big “E” from the Emporium that was once at Almaden Fashion Plaza, the sign from Mel Cotton’s Sporting Goods, the “diving lady” sign from the City Center Motel, and the Greyhound bus station sign.

Most of these are stored behind closed doors and rarely seen by the public. But what shape could a historic sign park take in Silicon Valley if those signs could be put on display? There’s a good — if grandiose — example in Las Vegas, where Sin City’s retired signs have found a home and a new life at the Neon Museum, a tourist attraction that draws visitors more interested in history than blackjack.

Admittedly, Vegas has a lot more neon and electric-light signs in its history. There are more than 800 signs in the Neon Museum’s collection, with about 250 on display in “The Boneyard.” However, Neon Museum Executive Director Aaron Berger says it’s not about overpowering visitors but telling the story of a community.

“Our audience is very diverse, and they’re coming to have a better understanding and perspective of Las Vegas history by coming to the Neon Museum,” he said. “The medium we use to tell those stories are the signs.”

The neon sign from the Moulin Rouge hotel and casino, on display at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas, helps tell the story of the city’s desegregation. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group) 

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For example, the huge pink neon for the Moulin Rouge, the city’s first desegregated hotel and casino, helps tell the story of Las Vegas’ Black performers, visitors and residents. With that in mind, Berger wants to create tours that are unique to that experience, or for that of women or the LGBTQ or Latinx communities.

San Jose could follow that model, using tours and signs could tell stories of its agricultural past, the rise of suburbia, car culture, and the influx of immigrants from Italy, Mexico and Vietnam. History San Jose CEO Bill Schroh Jr. agrees a neon sign park would be a strong addition to the cultural and historical purpose of the organization.

“Neon signs are just another way to tell our collective history,” Schroh said. “Not only are they pieces of art they also tell the story of the time they were created and the business they once proudly promoted. They are not just pieces of advertising but important cultural artifacts of a time gone by.”

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 29: The full moon rises over the Orchard Supply Hardware neon sign at History Park in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) 

You might be surprised to learn that only 24 of the Neon Museum’s 250 displayed signs are restored and illuminated for nighttime tours. But the Neon Museum has managed to bring to life a collection of 40 unrestored signs in a show called “Brilliant!” The outdoor audiovisual experience, created by experiential designer Craig Winslow, uses music and recorded sound through 24 speakers, along with 360-degree projection mapping, to take visitors through the heyday of Las Vegas to the present.

As San Jose’s collection grows, that could be a way to present some signs without expensive and time consuming restoration.

San Jose’s signs don’t generally match the scale of the Vegas versions, like the 80-foot-high Hard Rock Cafe guitar. But for something like the towering Western Appliance sign, the Las Vegas Sign Project provides a model with a collection of nine restored signs displayed on Las Vegas Boulevard. West San Carlos Street would make a gorgeous promenade of neon from downtown all the way to Santana Row/Valley Fair.

SAN JOSE, CA – JUNE 20: The Stephen’s Meat “Dancing Pig” sign on Montgomery Street was re-lit on Thursday night, June 20, 2019, in San Jose, Calif. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) 



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