Nothing said magic and excitement in an American city more than neon during the first half of the 20th century. The Great White Way in New York City. Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. Chicago's Magnificent Mile. In New Orleans, Bourbon Street.
Neon was found widely — from Route 66 to old Las Vegas. Today, with a few lucky exceptions, much of it has been replaced by bland, but easier to maintain signage or consigned to museums out of context. But it had particular beauty and sexiness in a city. This was true even of a small city such as Phoenix.
The challenge for the visual historian is finding color images, even though Kodak introduced Kodachrome film in 1935. Finding them, at least for Phoenix. Here's what I've got (click on the photo for a larger image):
Neon lights up Donofrio's Cactus Candy store on Central, 1915 (McCulloch Bros./ASU Archives).
The Rialto Theater on Washington Street west of Central in 1921 (McCulloch Bros. collection/ASU Archives).
The Orpheum Theater in 1943, highlighting stars Frank Sinatra and Randolph Scott (McCulloch Bros./ASU Archives).
A ribbon on neon on Central Avenue in the 1940s. Even the billboard above the coffee shop for Schlitz beer features neon.
A circa 1940 view from a postcard.
Sixth Avenue and Van Buren looking west, circa 1940.
The Gass Bros. Chop House at 21 N. Central in the early 1940s. Afterward, you can enjoy an Owl cigar (McCulloch Bros./ASU Archives).
The neon tourist "auto courts" along Van Buren Street (Russell Lee/Library of Congress).
Another shot of the Orpheum lit up for this double feature, plus newsreel and cartoons, 1942 (McCulloch Bros./ASU Archives).
Central between Adams and Monroe, with the photo shop as centerpiece ((McCulloch Bros./ASU Archives).
Looking east on Van Buren from Third Avenue, 1940s.
Two views of Courtesy Chevrolet's iconic sign at 1233 E. Camelback: in 1956 and as it looks today, one of the few survivors.
An Enco station on 56th Street in the 1960s. Enco was a brand of Standard Oil of New Jersey (Brad Hall collection).
The Phoenix Laundry was lit like a carnival for decades 333 N. 7th Ave. This shot is from the 1940s (McCulloch Bros. Collection/ASU Archives).
Phoenix Greyhound Park in the 1950s.
The Red Devil Italian Restaurant at 31st Street and McDowell Road in the early 1960s (Brad Hall collection).
The Village Drive-In at Central and Thomas, out at the city limits in the 1940s.
A familiar shot, but this view from Central and Washington captures the abundance of neon in the heart of Phoenix.
A block north, at Adams Streets, offers more detail of the neon commerce on Central Avenue in the 1950s (Brad Hall collection).
In 1957, the Valley National Bank installed a revolving neon sign atop its headquarters at the Professional Building (from a brochure). You could see it for miles.
This dusk shot circa 1960 shows the VNB revolving sign shot along with First National Bank's neon spread and plenty of sidewalk-level neon, too.
Brookshire's coffee shop in the 1960s. It ran 24-hours-a-day (Brad Hall collection).
Among the best in central Phoenix was this sign topping a flower shop on the north side of McDowell, just east of Seventh Avenue.
Toy's Shangri-La Chinese restaurant at 1575 E. Camelback went in big for neon (Brad Hall collection).
So did Woody's Macayo at its Central Avenue location, before the faux Aztec temple look.
Drive-in movie theaters often featured neon. This was on Thomas Road east of 68th Street in Scottsdale.
Years after neon's decline in Phoenix Bill Johnson's Big Apple held on. This last location, on Van Buren, closed in 2015.
Neon was on the way out by the 1960s, but architect John Sing Tang made a classic with his Helsing's design. The restaurant was on the northwest corner of Osborn and Central.
Maryvale Terrace and Woody's show neon isn't quite gone in this circa 1960 shot.
Neon survives on the New Windsor Hotel at Fifth Avenue and Adams Street in downtown Phoenix.
And one that got away. I don't have a night photo of the Goodyear billboard on Black Canyon Freeway.
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My book, A Brief History of Phoenix, is available to buy or order at your local independent bookstore, or from Amazon.
Read more Phoenix history in Rogue's Phoenix 101 archive.
Dazzling.
Neon installers and technicians are going the way of blacksmiths — still existing, but rare, often elderly, and not being replaced by a younger cohort.
There was an article about the fading away of the neon trades in Las Vegas. A lot of the guys are older and can’t retire even though age has taken its toll. There’s very little in the way of new signs, much of it is in maintenance. Plus, the neon maintenance market in Las Vegas has to rely increasingly on Southern California to come in and do repairs, making California and Nevada one large market.
There is a neon store here in Mesa. If you were to win the Powerball jackpot, you could maybe afford to shop there.
Another treasure of memories. Thank you, Jon!
Allan Starr
“you cant duplicate neon”
https://www.ceros.com/inspire/originals/neon/
https://posterspy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/BladeRunner2049_GoslingOvershoulder_a1_300dpi_RGB_v04_web_snapseeded.jpg
Regarding the above Front Pages today.
The Democrats inability to get their chit together just quickens the eventual death of a star in the universes, we call Earth.
But Sinemas been granted by 12 old white dudes, her own heavenly kingdom where as a God she can have as many mates as she desires.
Wigs included.
Might you be mistaken about the Red Devil? It used to be at McDowell, 31 ST. We used to walk up the canal bank for pizza.
You are correct, Linda. Apologies and corrected.
Longtime lurker and fan of this site, Phoenix history buff and native, grew up in the 70s and 80s. An early memory is riding with my dad out East Van Buren to see Phoenix Giants games 76-81 ish, the drive home was especially interesting! Had I been a little older, I’m sure I would have been a regular at Helsing’s, what an awesome atmosphere. If I win the Powerball, I will try to recreate that somehow.
Morgan, you’ll enjoy this story. I had followed Willie Mays around a golf course in an LPGA tournament in Las Vegas. The following weekend I went with my two young daughters to a Giant preseason game.
Entering the stadium Willie Mays was seated in a section of the bleachers with a couple of security people watching his area. As I walked by I said, ” Willie I saw you play golf last weekend. Those ladies are darn good golfers.”
He waved for me and my daughters to sit with him and we talked about golf for the next half hour. Not a word about baseball.
It was a wonderful experience and a wonderful memory.
Ruben
Neons cool.
When Phoenix was a village was cool.
But i sent Jon an email re
“Fearless” commentary.
I was hoping for some hot comment before i move to Cuba.
Raul has promised me a hot water wheel chair accessible apartment and a 55 Chevy Convertible. And a Senora island guide.
Ammost as good as Hemingway had it.
100 octane i forgot your email.
The Kodachromes my dad shot in the late ’40s, early ’50s (mostly Tucson, sorry) still look as good as they did the day they came back from Kodak. The Ektachromes (process E-1, E-2), not so much. Kodachrome was such a slow speed film that you’d have to clamp the camera to a very solid tripod for any night photography.
nice post
Neon was on the way out by the 1960s, but architect John Sing Tang made a classic with his Helsing’s design.
A little off topic: Akron had a bowling alley with a long neon sign across the front showing a figure rolling the ball down the alley and hitting the pins.
Those huge neon signs are “grand-fathered-in.”
With today’s hyper-restrictive sign ordinances, they would not be permitted on “new-builds.”
(To me, that’s a shame; I see them as contemporary commercial-artworks).
It seems Las Vegas has capitalized on their signage to the point they are one of their main attractions .. . . one we “hicks” enjoy seeing as part of the LV vibe.
I’ll never tire of telling you . . . you and your “mission” are a treasure, Jon!