‘Lido’ Shuffle: The Showgirl Show May Be History, But the Signage Shines Bright at the Neon Museum
From The Los Angeles Times: As much a Las Vegas legend as Elvis and the Rat Pack, the famed Lido de Paris revue at the legendary Stardust Hotel staged more than 22,000 performances across 22 years before its final curtain call in 1991.
Nearly as famous as its scantily clad Vegas showgirls, the Lido’s legendary neon sign also went dark that year. But in a city that cherishes its glitzy past, it was perhaps only a matter of time before the sign found new “light.”
After more than a quarter century in storage, the Lido de Paris found a new home at the Neon Museum Las Vegas. After meticulous restoration – funded by local gallery owner, lightning impresario and vintage junkie Todd VonBastiaans – it was relit during a special invitation-only ceremony this past February.
The public’s invited to the relighting party for Webb City Florist’s neon sign at dusk Saturday
From the Webb City, Missouri, Sentinel: Not since the ’50s, when it was still Route 66, has there been as much excitement on Jefferson Street as there will be at dusk Saturday when the restored Webb City Florist sign’s neon tubes are turned on.
Courtney Smith says restoring the sign was one of the things she wanted to do when she bought the business in 2021 but didn’t have the money.
She learned that the Route 66 Association of Missouri had approached Marcia Musgrove, her friend and former owner of the business, about adding the Webb City Florist sign to its list of relighting projects. It’s the same group that redid the neon circling Boots Court in Carthage.
Signs have changed for Dazed Cannabis at former Magic Lantern strip club in Monson
From masslive.com: MONSON — Rest easy, preservationists: The owners of the soon-to-open Dazed Cannabis still have the old “Exotic Dancers Lounge” neon sign from the Magic Lantern.
“It’s in storage,” said Ryan McCollum, a consultant and spokesman for Dazed Cannabis and part-owner of the Monson business. “But our new sign is up. It’s Dazed Cannabis now.”
The vintage sign — which also glowed with the word “topless” — is gone from the building at 399 Boston Road West — with Dazed Cannabis planning to open on or around Thanksgiving. The sign’s fate remains unclear, though.
Visit By His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner For North America To Electric Works
From Wowo.com: FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Ancora L&G, Thursday welcomed Emma Wade-Smith OBE to Electric Works, in her capacity as His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for North America and HM Consul General New York, during an official visit to Indiana.
During the visit, the Trade Commissioner also met with representatives from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the City of Fort Wayne, NEI, and Greater Fort Wayne Inc., as well as regional business leaders.
Electric Works, the former site of the General Electric campus, was developed by a public-private partnership of Ancora, Biggs Group, and Weigand Construction, together with the City of Fort Wayne, Allen County, and the State of Indiana. Construction started in 2020, with a strategic focus on urban redevelopment and a commitment to community revitalization.
Historic England asks for ‘ghost sign’ photos to create online map
From The Guardian: They are haunting reminders of a bygone age, some so faded the writing can hardly be deciphered, others still vivid reminders of the colour and variety that high streets once had.
Over this Halloween weekend, Historic England is asking people to help record the “ghost signs” still to be found on buildings across England and send them in for an online map.
Ghost signs are typically hand-painted advertising signs or old shop signs from the late 19th or early to mid-20th centuries preserved on buildings that have since changed use.