Mike's Neon Madness

04/21/2022

Hey I got a nice credit from the American Neon Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio. From 3 years ago when I helped to rescue this massive 7ft tall and 25 ft long outdoor sign can and built two custom wooden crates and shipped this one of a kind neon sign 2500 miles from San Jose, Ca to Cincinnati, Ohio

American Sign Museum adds vintage Coca-Cola sign.

11/21/2021

Hey my fellow Neon Friends I haven’t posted in a long time I was traveling down the old part of San Jose coming up San Carlos St. right at the perfect twilight hour which is always the best time to photograph neon before it gets dark and starts glowing brightly. I shot a few photos of some of the classic vintage outdoor neons still standing and glowing.

The last photo is it is of the once mighty western appliance sign which was just a massive beacon you could see it from miles around the place closed about four years ago and the sign has fallen into disrepair it’s really too big for anybody to re-display it at a museum or such I’m sure its days are numbered it’ll be coming down soon but not to be saved

11/17/2020

Reno’s west side or downtown is still a goldmine for vintage outdoor neon signs, so many Hotels, Motels, Motor Lodges, old Casino’s, small Bars, Taverns, restaurants, dinners, coffee shops

Here’s a few photos I took today of my travels, honestly there was so much to see I stopped taking photos LoL

11/16/2020

Just had a personal tour of Ken Hines facilities here at Color Of Neon In Reno Nevada great person to chat with took the time to talk let me let me wander about the shop and take pictures. Been in the sign business for 45 years as a tube bender

11/16/2020

I’m meeting with Ken Hines the owner of Color Of Neon in Reno he’s been blowing glass for 45 years getting ready to have a personal tour of the shop and his facilities he has a very clean neat operation.

10/13/2020

Continuing my wkend road trip on Highway 49 through the gold country I stopped in the town of Jackson and photographed a few outdoor neon sign cans and by chance I pulled back through the same evening was able to photograph them illuminated what a difference seeing the neon glow, I can never resist photographing a vintage neon cocktail glass 🍸🍸🍸

The Main Event Bar and the old Fargo Club, downtown, somewhere in my photo archives from probably 40 years ago I have all the neon on that brick wall of the Fargo club illuminated in a photo now sadly it’s all destroyed 

10/10/2020

Traveling along old California Highway 49 through the town of Mokelumne Hill I ran across this abandon bar at the cross roads of Hyw 26 & 49 The neon name was off the building so I don’t know what the bar was called but it has an classic double sided martini glass hanging above the front door and this insanely massive sign can up on the roof which is 4 to 5 feet wide and 6 to 7 feet tall outlined in neon tubing the large neon bucket with another neon bucket with a beer bottle inside all with all its original neon still intact I’m assuming the smaller bucket rotated inside the other bucket, kinda like a large ice bucket