Historic Hollywood Arby’s sign spared, for now
Hollywood Arby’s Sign
From KTLA: James Moody pulled into the parking lot at 5920 W. Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood late Tuesday morning to reminisce and snap a few photographs.
His destination wasn’t one of Hollywood’s typical tourist attractions, like a famous theater or a star on the Walk of Fame, but rather a large neon sign that many consider to be historic.
Over the weekend, the owners of the Hollywood Arby’s franchise abruptly closed the 55-year-old fast food restaurant, citing financial difficulties that began during the pandemic.
Details, renderings unveiled for major restoration of Apollo Theater in Harlem
The current sign and proposed changes to neon LED sign. (LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION)
From the New York Daily News: Harlem’s iconic Apollo Theater is set to undergo its “first full-scale restoration” in the near future, and a first look at the changes was revealed on Tuesday.
New details were shared by the Apollo’s preservation team during a Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting.
First announced in 2022, Tuesday’s presentation provided a glimpse at the “extensive” proposed facelift to the famous facade and interior, some of which require approval from the Commission.
Why Nashville tourists are obsessed with this 19th century alley downtown
A few visitors take a stroll through the historical Printers Alley in downtown Nashville on a Wednesday evening on May 11, 1994.
From the Nashville Tennessean: Known for its neon signs, narrow walkways and thick history, Printers Alley has long been an integral, if sometimes seedy, part of downtown Nashville. Now, tourists are catching on and it’s become a must-see destination.
The popularity of the block between Third and Fourth avenues off Broadway has risen to new heights in recent years and attracted all sorts of new businesses — from the high-end clothing store AllSaints to the swanky nightclub concept relocated from Chicago, The Blueprint Underground Cocktail Club.
Nashville Downtown Partnership tracked the surging interest and put data behind noticeably larger crowds there.
Facing financial hardship, SF hotel turns off the neon lights
The rooftop sign for the Palace Hotel on April 4, 2024, seen from downtown San Francisco. Silas Valentino/SFGATE
From SFGate: A once-luminous gem of San Francisco plans to soon make the switch to a more modern technology — a sacrifice for the bottom line as the city’s hotel industry continues to recover from a difficult period in local tourism.
After months of back-and-forth, the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission sided with the Palace Hotel in its quest to switch the lights on its rooftop sign from neon to LED lighting.
At the June 5 meeting, the measure was debated between the hotel and a not-for-profit organization fighting to preserve the neon glow from fading in San Francisco.
Preserving Greenwich Village Signage History in Miniature
From Print Magazine: When I moved to early aughts New York and was learning my way around, I mastered the Village’s organic middle finger to the Street-Avenue grid last. Village Cigars was my visual cue—my x-marks the spot. If I could stand in front of Village Cigars at 7th Ave/Christopher, I could find my favorite Italian restaurant, the line for banana pudding at Magnolia’s, and get a slice at Joe’s or John’s, depending on whether or not I wanted to eat on the go.
I was sad to learn that Village Cigars closed after more than 100 years in business, but its bright red sign with its charming, handmade letters will live on. Village Preservation, a nonprofit working to preserve the architectural heritage and cultural history of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, has just released a Greenwich Village Building Set. Comprised of 449 genuine LEGO bricks, the set features architecturally and culturally significant places in Greenwich Village, artfully rendered — from Village Cigars and the Stonewall Inn to Jefferson Market Library and the quaint streets surrounding Washington Square Park.