Let there be neon light Flashy and hard to maintain, the vintage signs still hold the power to attract
By Robert Preer, Globe Correspondent | January 4, 2009 The Boston Globe A few feet from the curb on Route 9 in Framingham, the glowing soft-pink sign for Ken's Steak House seems to warm the winter night. The amoeba-shaped neon sign, now half a century old, commands the attention of even the most distracted driver. "It's from a day gone by," said Tim Hanna, owner of Ken's and son of the restaurant's founder, the late Ken Hanna. "It's an important part of the business. It's Ken's Steak House's persona." Amid the malls, big-box stores, and strip plazas of the Route 9 retail megalopolis, the sign for Ken's stands out. "It's that neon miracle-mile sign that sits out by the side of the road and pulls you in," said David Waller, a Malden sign collector and an authority on neon artifacts in the Boston area. "It's also important because it's the only one left there." For several decades, neon's glow has been fading from the region, with the signs costly and difficult to maintain, and new ones are banned or limited by most communities. Also, in recent years, a new threat arrived: energy-efficient LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, which can provide a similar look. But while neon clearly is under pressure, survivors from another century can be found scattered across the region. One of them is atop Bigelow Cleaners on Sumner Street in Newton Centre, a sparkling pink sign that brightens the nighttime scene. It dates to the 1930s, according to owner Peter Stavros, making it one of the oldest neon signs in Greater Boston. ... http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/01/04/let_there_be_neon_light/ *********************************** * POST TO MEDIANEWS@ETSKYWARN.NET * *********************************** Medianews mailing list Medianews@etskywarn.net http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
