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(January 2012) posted on Tue Jan 17, 2012

Yack Electric Refurbishes 75-Year-Old Highland Park, CA Neon Sign

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By Steve Aust

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Along North Figueroa St. in Highland Park, CA, a neighborhood on Los Angeles’ east side near the termination point of Route 66, a vintage, neon sign that formerly identified Manning’s Coffee Store, has been relit. Manning’s was a Los Angeles-area chain that operated 20 stores throughout the city from 1908 to 1984. This Manning’s location was opened in 1936, and this sign, which was moved from a Hollywood location when that store was being renovated, was built three years earlier.

The sign sat dark for nearly three decades. Sometime during the 1990s, according to www.theeastsiderla.com, its opal-glass letters were stolen. However, there’s a happy ending; the site reported that the Museum of Neon Art, local preservation historian Frank Purello and other sign-industry advocates recovered the 22 letters, had them cleaned and returned to the original North Figueroa location. An article about the relighting on Highland Park’s Patch.com news site notes that the opal letters that convey “Coffee Store” create a slightly more opaque lighting. Yack Electric’s Victor Yack, Victor Mendoza and David Rivera repaired the sign’s electrical components.

The owners of Las Cazuelas, a Mexican/Salvadorean restaurant that resides in the former Manning’s space, added to the ambience of the Manning’s relighting by also having its star-shaped, neon sign refurbished by Yack Electric.

The photos are courtesy of David Fonseca/HighlandPark-Ca.Patch.com