Neon Museum of Philadelphia

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Neon Museum of Philadelphia

The Neon Museum of Philadelphia is dedicated to preserving historic signage as an important element of community heritage in Philadelphia and America.

The Museum also promotes neon art and appreciation of the 20th century American roadside.

05/12/2024

Wonders in plain view

Blow up and check out these figures on what is now senior housing in Grays Ferry. Building looks like it was built as a school, but I don’t know. Anybody up on the history of 1701 South 28th Street?

How do the Mighty Diamonds fit in? I don’t know; it’s just a great song.

05/07/2024

A major archeological find!

Like discovering the Caves of Altamira only the gates were locked and the turntable busted. Joel and I pawed and cried and howled.

Eventually the owned emerged to check on the mad beasts at his windows. We transformed back into humans, chatted and kept our delirium at bay.

And last week we returned; he OPENED the gate and took us in. We learned it had been Eddie’s Confectionery in its last incarnation when it closed in the 80s, but the Victorian storefront probably goes back to early 1900s.

In the 50s Philly had dozens of such “candy” or “variety” stores. Walk down the street and get cards, magazines, medicines, toiletries, comics, whatever. Some also had cosmetics or hosiery, others hardware and linens, most sold toys and games—especially pimple balls.

Merchandise overlapped with newsstands, pharmacies and luncheonettes. You might find a soda fountain with ice cream in any of these places. All in your neighborhood—sans Amazon.

But back to this remarkable store in Port Richmond. The woodwork! Those rounded windows and swoon-worthy decals! You saw decals in all kinds of businesses back then and you can still spot some ancient ones today.

Does anyone know who made these decals, how they were made, and what you paid for them? Or did manufacturers like Coca-Cola supply them for free?

But best of all, owner Nick Cassway, who graciously took us into his candy store (now his art and music studio) has plans. Richmond Street is coming back and he’s toying with the notion of displaying his work in one window. An art gallery candy store. Merging computer graphics, wax lips and wax records. Maybe doo-wop groups singing in the alcove…It’s not about nostalgia, it’s about culture.

05/01/2024

Unzip your mind for national zipper day.

A couple days ago was national zipper day, whatever that is. So to pay our respects, let’s celebrate Zipperhead for a minute. A beloved punk clothing store from 1981 to 2005, their iconic logo was restored by Sky Neon. It can still be seen inside the original space at 407 South St.—which is now a sort of community center and South Street Museum. Therein are earthy photos from pushcarts to punk.

The neon job was originally bent by Carol Falone, a bender’s Bender, who came from a family of tubebenders. She looked at the zipper pattern, specifying 12 mil coated ruby and said this should not be done in Neon. But she bent it anyway.

There was lots of spacey Neon at Zipperhead, but even funkier were the giant ants on the facade of the building. They looked like monsters from a Tokyo comic book sent here to eat South Street.

if you got through this much of the rap, then you deserve to be rewarded (penalized?) by this philosophic part of the rap:
If you learn to unzip your head, you can
1. Take new stuff in
2. Share your consciousness with others
3. Look at yourself

.history

04/28/2024

Been lamenting Lego and tinker toy buildings, but this is ridiculous. My homey, warm formerly brick city is being assaulted by this stuff.

A big time developer recently told me that water is likely to get into lots of the aluminum panel construction that they’ve been doing lately. With brick you re-point, with aluminum panels you gotta pull them off and replace the wet insulation on top of the lovely particleboard.

Sorry to do another old guy rant, but I needed to post an uplifting photo after today’s Sixers game.
.history

04/27/2024

Gathering caveman roots to defeat the Knicks.

Ultimately after the biggest game: mastodon. AKA the evil Celtics. vintagesigns -gatherer

12/12/2022

The Neon Museum of Philadelphia is permanently closed.

Please follow our web and social channels, and join our email list for updates on the future of the collection: https://neonmuseumofphiladelphia.org/contact

Thank you for your love and support. ❤️

12/06/2022

❤️💙💜💛💚🧡 whole lotta neon love these last few weeks. Thank you. We're open Friday, 1-6pm. Saturday & Sunday, 12-5pm. The time to visit is now.

11/28/2022

Just replaced a bad transformer on this sign we made for the Craft Tea shop in Mt Airy. Nice to see this glowing smile again. We love supporting local small businesses like Craft Tea. Check 'em out for feel good & functional teas, each with unique artwork and a vinyl record pairing.

Glass bending by the excellent Robert Bodek (pictured in the 4th photo alongside our HoJo lamplighter).

Take your own photo with the lamplighter at the museum! We're open Friday 1-6pm, Saturday & Sunday 12-5pm. The lamplighter is spectacular, but most of our collection represents Philly mom & pop shops over the years, offering a commercial history of Philly through the beautiful & unique signage.

11/23/2022

The museum is closed Friday, November 25th. We're open 12-5pm Saturday and Sunday. See you then!

11/10/2022

Saturday, 11/12: opening reception for PHILLY-BASED. Join us to celebrate this beautiful show from 12pm to 5pm. See work from 13 international artists who currently practice in the city of Philadelphia.

PHILLY-BASED celebrates the creative contributions, flavors, and styles brought to the city by these artists, representing Philadelphia’s strength as a hub of cultural diversity.

Featured artists:
Lara Cantu-Hetzler (USA)

Chau Nguyen (Vietnam)

Lauren Whearty (USA)

Yuliya (Ukraine)

Linda Fernandez (Cuba)

Ziania Narvaez (Mexico)

Daniel Mendez (Colombia)

Annabel Perrigueur (France)

Madeline Conover (USA)

Nicola Wescombe (UK)

Paola Lambertin (Bolivia) .lambertin.photos

Jessica Carvajal (Colombia)

Karina Puente (USA)

Curation & poster by Jessica Carvajal.

On view November 11, 2022 through December 4, 2022.

Tickets and info: https://neonmuseumofphiladelphia.org/visit

Address

Philadelphia, PA

Telephone

+1 267-534-3883

Website

http://neonmuseumofphiladelphia.com/

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The Story of NMOP

The Neon Museum of Philadelphia was established in 1983 but its foundation was laid in 1950s Philadelphia and the 1970s South.

In 1977, while teaching sociology at the University of Florida, Len Davidson opened an American Dream theme tavern, The Gamery. This multimedia scene contained racing Lionel Trains, antique pinball displays, a Hollywood celebrity booth, superhero figures, and game-playing customers decked out in hats and masks.

Presiding over this lunacy was NEON. Len and friends picked through neon boneyards and mounted dozens of alluring signs on the ceiling. The Gamery beat teaching undergrads and Len’s professor persona was left in the dust.

Davidson apprenticed with Jim Williams, an old-time sign man. “Neon is an absolute art,” Williams preached while rotating glass in the fires. A true believer, Davidson hit the road, scavenging Florida and New Orleans for relics and lore.