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A neon-sign and marquee restoration brings vitality to a Michigan city’s downtown.
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Jim Winter-Troutwine, a Grand Rapids, MI architect who specializes in restoring historical buildings, contacted me regarding a unique project for Allegan, a small town about 45 miles southwest of Grand Rapids. The city owned its local downtown movie theater and, using grant funding from the State of Michigan, wanted to restore the theater’s marquee and sign to their original condition. Allegan officials wanted the old theatre to serve as a central cog in downtown development while preserving the town’s well-known sense of history.
During my 25-year, neon-sign career, this was certainly the first time a customer possessed the funds and motivation to completely re-do a sign – let alone consider it “historic.” Back in the ’80s, it seemed people couldn’t tear down vintage, porcelain-enamel signs quickly enough. As a collector and sign aficionado, I was thrilled at the opportunity to complete a “frame-off” restoration.
Onsite conditions
The 10 x 20-ft. marquee and 10 x 12-ft. sign appeared, at first glance, to be in fair condition. Considering they were built in 1936, they looked remarkably vital. It had what I considered classic, art-deco lines, 11W, yellow, incandescent chaser bulbs, backlit marquee panels and tasteful, clear, green and blue argon and neon accents.
-->However, the red porcelain enamel had badly faded, and, besides numerous rust stains, the bottoms of the cabinets had been repaired with 0.040-in.-thick, white aluminum some time ago. The original, galvanized sheetmetal was long gone. Because the cabinets were secured to a heavy, I-beam subframe and bolted together, the loss of the bottom pieces didn’t seem to impact the overall structural integrity.
Amazingly, all but three of the 52 units of neon worked, and most appeared original. The project also included refurbishing the original, white, porcelain-enamel ceiling. Roof-drainage problems had exacted extensive damage to these panels as well.
The project’s mission required restoration of the entire structure to its original condition. Anyone familiar with restoring cars knows how much work this means. Every brass nut, bolt, screw, panel and socket has to be original as possible, saving as much of the structure as possible in the process.
No quick fix
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