“It was like painting with tubes, which could be animated in any way you could imagine,” says Lynxwiler. This “liquid fire” inspired American glassblowers to create advertisements both large (“Vegas Vic,” a 40-foot-tall cowboy who still flashes in Las Vegas) and small (motel signs illuminated to say “vacant” or “No”). Neon became the emblem of the lonely highways of the American West, luring weary travelers to a soft bed, a hot meal, or a hot blackjack table.
Neon has been at the center of some of the funniest architectural styles of the 20th century, gracing South Beach’s Art Deco hotels and apartments in Miami and profiling the restaurants and drive-ins of Space Age Los Angeles in a futuristic form known as Googie, in honor of a now-defunct Hollywood coffee shop. And the Wildwood beach resorts, New Jerseydisplay the style Doo Wopwhere jutting rooftops, sunny colors and kidney-shaped pools come with a neon side.
But in the ’70s, neon fell out of favor. “People used to think of neon as glamorous and pretty, and downtowns were full of it in the ’50s,” says Bovey. “But at some point he was associated with more tacky things, like tattoo shops.” It didn’t help that, as movie theater marquees and hotel signs became more “hip,” neon lit up the facades of pawnshops, adult bookstores, and even the typeface of certain lurid movies.
Because neon requires some maintenance (keeping it clean, lit, and free of harmful bird droppings), many businesses found it easier (and cheaper) to advertise their Broadway shows, pizza joints, or air-conditioned motel rooms with signs. backlit plastic A neon universe disappeared, discarding or simply dimming as mass-produced billboards and television screens proliferated.
The lights come back on
When the neon faded in the late 20th century, American collectors and conservationists began collecting the old signs, sometimes for free. They arranged them to hang in their homes or businesses. “Then neon started to make a bit of a comeback in the ’80s, both with fashion Day-Glo like New Wave bands,” says Lynxwiler. “You just have to see a WHAM music video and you will see it.”