 |
| |
 |
Red River Advertising
By Robin Jett
Any business worth its salt has a way of telling us where they are,
even at night. By advertising themselves through signs that light
up the sky - the older establishments using bright neon to do so -
not only can businesses beckon customers from near and far,
their signs can become attractions in their own right.
While Las Vegas may be the neon capital of the world, all sorts of
places - from mom and pop roadside inns to little coffee shops,
from gas stations to movie houses - make use of this kind of
illuminated advertising. The business owners along the Red
River Valley are no different. Especially downtowns - like the
Theater marquees in Denton, or the shoe store sign in Fort Worth
- keep customers interested by letting their signs speak for
themselves. The photos you see on the main page show other
examples of old neon signs from around the region.
Alas, while neon has become yet another relic in our fast-paced
world, signage isn't necessarily ho-hum now. Okay, granted, the
movable letter marquees underneath bland plastic rectangles are
really blah. But in the 1950s, when signs started to consist for the
large part of fluorescent tubes encased in plastic, the space-age
designs still reflected the fun shapes made by neon crafters.
How did neon come about? Well, we've got a Frenchman to
thank. In 1902, Georges Claude, a scientist and an inventor,
created the first neon lamp, building upon earlier work of 17th
century chemists who discovered that neon gas could conduct
electric discharges in color. He discovered that while the gas
only produced red light, chemicals could be combined to create
at least 150 different hues. A man who combined innovation with
business sense, Claude patented neon advertising and sold his
creations to American businessmen. The first neon signs were
bought by Packard dealerships - and other businesses soon
followed. The 1920 through the 1940s looked almost like neon
Nirvana across the American landscape, and the bright signs
became so prevalent in this country that many people consider
them - even today - to be an American art form.
The 1950s space age edged out the old metal neon signs. Plastic,
more durable and easier to maintain, became all the rage. And
lest you think that plastic signs couldn't compete with the beauty
of neon, just look at the photo below of a cafe off of US 380 in
McKinney, Texas. In order to lure customers, small businesses
had to keep putting eye catching signs out front, and unlike the
bland rectangular monstrosities that dot the landscape today,
plastic signs from the '50s through the '70s looked as great as the
old neons.
If the business of America is business, then these old signs are
just proof in the pudding - they helped to create American culture
while doing their owners some profitable good. And keep your
eyes open for these great signs, because soon - thanks to
stripmalls and the make-the-fastest-buck-you-can mentality of
today - they will become ghosts of a past era.
A fine example of space age plastic
signage!
Texas
of vintage neon. This sign, though
defunct, is still a beauty.