Featured image credit: MONA Glendale
When Blade Runner hit theaters in June 1982, it introduced us to a portrait of LA’s dystopian future, a constant barrage of polluted rain plummeting into percussive refinery fires. And, at street level, neon as far as the eye could see. Though modern LA can at times echo the film’s art deco dystopia, they got the abundance of neon dead wrong. Fortunately, Glendale’s non-profit Museum of Neon Art is keeping the dream aglow with its vast collection of electric and kinetic curiosities. And, of course, wall-to-wall neon radiance.
An Impressive Collection of Neon Artifacts
You might want to pop on some vintage 1980s Ray-Ban Wayfarers before stepping through the curtain of the Museum of Neon Art. You could find the welcoming glow overwhelming. The admittedly tiny gallery is adorned with all manner of neon memorabilia: art, historic photos, and, of course, plenty of vintage signs. Among the notable representatives of the permanent collection, you’ll find:
- The original Brown Derby sign from 1929 (a relic of the city’s programmatic past)
- A surviving sign from West Hollywood’s legendary Circus of Books circa 1980
- The neon dragon from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre dating back to 1957
Throughout the facility, you’ll find neon nods to LA’s proud Armenian, Japanese, Jewish, and gay communities represented in the displays of former businesses establishments, and clubs. It’s impressive how much of the city’s history can be encompassed in neon.
The Neon Crusade
While the Museum of Neon Art has been a fixture of its Glendale community since 2016, its history starts long before its current residence. It was originally introduced in 1981 by a pair of artists forever enchanted by neon’s unique glow and its use as a medium for conveying facets of the human experience. Lili Lakich and Richard Jenkins appropriately planted their fledgling museum in the Downtown LA Arts District. This still stands as its longest residency.
While later generations may recall the prominence of neon in the 1980s, the art form was declining by then. Its fall from popularity inspired founders Lakich and Jenkins to ensure neon art had a secure place for future generations to appreciate it as a legitimate contribution to culture. This mission was clarified when the duo found one of LA’s historic neon signs unceremoniously buried in a heap of scrap.
Art in Motion
In 1993, the museum moved to the commercially fertile grounds of Universal CityWalk where it was likely lost in the surrounding glow. After three short years, it moved once again to Grand Hope Park, closer to its downtown roots. In 2008, the museum relocated to downtown’s historic district which was perhaps more appropriate for a museum than a theme park or a natural park, but inadequate as far as space was concerned.
Within a year, museum officials were already considering a jump to Glendale, but it wouldn’t be until 2016 that they were able to make it happen. Still, they made the most of their downtown location, becoming a fixture in the Downtown Art Walk at the height of its popularity. In 2013, three years before their move to Glendale, the Museum of Neon Art secured a 2,500-square-foot Pomona warehouse for storing their collection numbering over 250 pieces.
The Glow Comes to Glendale
Since 2016, you can find the Museum of Modern Art in its permanent home at 216 S Brand Blvd in Glendale. It’s pretty hard to miss; a burning Googie-esque beacon topped with a neon swim-cap-sporting colossus diving into the night. But once again, the radiance of the subject matter is bigger than the space that holds it. The museum is pretty much a single open space, though that space is used effectively. Shimoda Design Group oversaw the design aspects of the Glendale location, converting a former pharmacy and video arcade into a surprisingly modern showroom for neon wonders.
How the Museum of Neon Art Serves Its Community
The mission of neon advocacy propelled forward by the Museum of Neon Art pours out of the building itself and deep into the community. They offer guided bus and walking tours, leading guests on a sightseeing safari of LA’s still-standing neon artifacts in the wild. These courses weave through popular neighborhoods and districts, following a florid trail of facts and trivia that are nothing short of illuminating (yeah, we’re wincing too).
But perhaps the most unique yet overlooked way that the Museum of Neon Art preserves its vintage artistry is through teaching. You can actually sign up for classes that teach you the esoteric skill of neon bending; an artistry so obscure that it makes the Red List of Endangered Crafts, an official compilation of specific trades at risk of being lost in the succeeding generation. The course has a verifiable track record of turning the neon-curious into lifelong aficionados. Around 98% of the students who enroll go on to become members of the museum and remain active in its efforts to preserve the art form.
Preserving LA’s Glow
Over the decades, the Museum of Neon Art has managed to salvage and restore over 500 historic signs that would have likely otherwise been lost to time. In addition, they’ve brought the radiance back to over 150 signs across LA. The non-profit made headlines in 2020 when they helped to preserve the beloved iconic Echo Park liquor store sign from House of Spirits after the building was damaged in a fire.
That’s not to say that the Museum of Neon Art was always successful in its crusade. In 2012, they regrettably had to refuse the donation of a vintage Arby’s sign from Santa Monica because it was too large for them to accommodate. It wasn’t their last brush with the fast food chain. Just last year, during the non-controversy surrounding the potential removal of the Hollywood Arby’s sign, the Museum of Neon Art was again consulted for their professional opinion. They ultimately declared that the sign would best serve the community in its originally intended location.
Struggles and Triumphs
Much like the rest of the world, the museum faced profound hardship and threats of closure in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the community banded together to support the institution through the crisis. A combination of donations and consistent membership dues kept the non-profit afloat through the worst of it, allowing us to continue to enjoy its services today.
Even amidst its pandemic-related struggles, the museum managed to contribute significantly to the publication of Neon: A Light History. Critics regard the book as one of few pieces of media that provides a thorough dive into the history of the neon art form. In 2022, the Los Angeles Conservancy awarded the non-profit with its prestigious Preservation Award for its work in the conservation of historic signs all across Los Angeles County.
Visiting the Museum of Neon Art
The Museum of Neon Art is open from Thursday through Sunday except on holidays. Admission is 10 dollars, though Glendale residents enjoy a 50% discount with proper identification. Children 12 and under are admitted free with an adult. Just follow the reassuring glow emanating from Brand Boulevard between Colorado and Harvard. It’s like an enormous nightlight for the entire city of Glendale.
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