by Rebecca Binno
Remember the neon McDonald's hamburger man's impish wink blinking "one million sold", or the gleam of the starburst on the Holiday Inn sign. Porcelain-enamel and neon signs like these stretched for miles along U.S. highways, from the 1930's to the 1950's. The signs gave life, vibrancy, and character to the area.If we fast forward to our modern day stripmalls, we will find that many of these most ubiquitous, well known symbols of North America are now gone.
Since the 1960's, many jurisdictions have enacted sign control regulations in the name of urban and rural beautification, blight prevention, and even historic preservation. An environmental beautification movement swept through many American cities during the 1970's. Although much was done to restore historic buildings, signs were often scrapped to abide to city ordinances which prohibited roadside clutter.
A notable example was when a downtown bank officer in Beverly Massachusetts proudly announced to the City Planning Department that its bank's forty year old time and temperature landmark sign was in violation of an ordinance prohibiting flashing neon signs in its downtown area. The bank, not wanting to risk even a hint of government challenge or public controversy, had suddenly decided on its own to that the old sign, known and loved by everyone, had to come down.
In the 1990's, some preservationists and city planners are realizing that the old signs are not replaceable; that their quality, rarity, unusual appearance, animated graphics, or other distinctions are just as worthy of preservation as the unique buildings to which they are attached. Hopefully many more will understand the importance of these wonderful signs and how they represented a time so special to us. How about another Vernors?