Neon light sign says it

Maybe I’ve been in the city too long, but I adore neon lights.

Manufacturers can do stunning things with LEDs and lasers and pixelboards these days, but there’s nothing like the old-school, gaudy charm of neon. Expensive, fragile, hard to shape, but timeless. Dangerous and friendly, sleazy and classy all in one.

As a kid, I used to love looking at neon tubes up close. The way you could see the gas flowing and glowing inside the tubes was mesmerizing and magical. I still stop and stare at them sometimes, but as an adult I look like an idiot when I do so.

I pass 48 neon signs on my way home from work - I counted (more on that later.)

So, last night I thought I’d snap a few pictures of the ones near my house. I looked like an idiot doing that, too, but you have to admit they are pretty in their own way.

Neon “open” signNeon “open” sign and window border
Neon Chinese food signNeon sign for ATM
Neon sign for New Broadview Hotel (Jilly’s)Neon taxi insurance sign
Neon sign for Ring MusicNeon sign for plant store
Neon telephone

Dig that phone? It sits on a desk in a street-level office on Queen St. Who cares if it even works?

Posted by: Paul Gorbould | 02-05-2007 | 10:02 PM
Posted in: Apocalypse signs

2 Comments »

  1. Even though I now reside in the red neon-lit doorways of Amsterdam… I do get a wee bit homesick when I see the Gilly’s sign on your blog. Miss my east end digs!

    Comment by Jayne Bingler — February 7, 2007 @ 4:40 am
  2. The east end is going upscale right quick, but there are a few stalwarts like Jilly’s and the Hell’s Angels clubhouse to maintain our “grit”. There were rumours a year ago that Jilly’s was going to be turned into a boutique hotel, that that was wishful thinking. They could fix their “W”, though…

    Comment by Paul Gorbould — February 8, 2007 @ 2:38 pm

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