When our Hancock Park based neon enthusiast Eric Evavold went out to check out the new neon sign at the Original Farmers Market, he sent us photos of some other notable signs in the neighborhood.
“It’s nice to point out signs that have been reused or repurposed by the new business owners,” Evavold told the Buzz. Evavold is passionate about neon and served as volunteer member of the board of the Museum of Neon Art for 18 years. The museum, whose mission is the historic preservation and restoration of historic signs, will celebrate its 40th birthday next year.
Did you know that LA has a long history with neon and that it actually started here and then spread across the U.S.?
According to Evavold, inventor Georges Claude was the first to seal neon in glass tubes. Initially, the tubes were too bright for residential use, but they became an instant hit for advertising signage. Neon tube lighting and signs were introduced to the U.S. in 1923, with two large neon signs bought by a Los Angeles Packard car dealership once located at Olympic Blvd. and 9th Street.
Not far away from that historic intersection, Evavold noticed two other signs at Met Her at a Bar and Met Him at a Bar Pasta, vintage signs that had not been working for decades but have recently been repurposed.
“With the renovation of the former Firestone Tire store, and these two restaurants across the street, that’s three of the four corners at 8th and La Brea that are being revitalized to their former neon glory,” Evavold told the Buzz.
Closer to home, Evavold preserved our local Larchmont hardware store’s neon sign in a sort of guerrilla salvage operation. It seems that when the building was sold in 2007, the then-shop owner, concerned about the fate of the sign, readily agreed to give it to Evavold, who had reached out to him about preserving this piece of Larchmont history. Evavold scrambled and hastily assembled a crew that was able to “relocate” the sign to the Museum of Neon Art, where it now safely resides.
