Jeremy Ebersole – A Sight To Dwell Upon And Never Forget: Illuminating Strategies For Saving Neon Signs
Recorded March 19, 2021
There is something magical about neon. That indescribable feeling of joy at seeing a giant roadside sign beckoning you into a motel for the night. That little downtown bar sign or rooftop behemoth letting you know you’re home. The word art in your favorite hipster street taco joint. Despite an undying love for neon in SCA circles, however, its fate is far from secure in cities across the country where neon signs continue to decay, BE replaced by LED, or lost at an alarming rate. What are cities that are protecting their neon signs doing that the rest of us are not? If you want to see your city’s neon continue to light the night, what can you do to make a difference?
Join SCA board member and Milwaukee Preservation Alliance Executive Director Jeremy Ebersole as he dives into his Master’s thesis on neon sign preservation. We’ll explore the history of neon and its regulation, why it’s in cities’ best interest to keep these treasures shining, where current preservation efforts fall short, and highlight a few glowing examples of places that have prioritized sign preservation and are reaping the rewards.
More pretty pictures promised than your Polaroid packing parents could ever have prognosticated!
Download Jeremy’s Master Thesis.