Best Neon
A Route 66 restaurant next to Museum Club in Flagstaff looks more vibrant with its script neon across the roofline. (Austin Corbett photo)
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In 1923, Earl Anthony’s Packard car dealership in Los Angeles put up the first neon signs in the United States. It was more than a decade after Georges Claude pioneered the illuminating technology in Paris.
The Packard signs created a sensation and for nearly a century neon signs have burned bright across the American landscape. Arizona's neon-lit highways, including Route 66, lured travelers to restaurants, bars and motels. Tucson had its luminous Miracle Mile. The enduring message of the warm, welcoming light was "stop here" instead of motoring on to the next town and its roadside neon forest. Phoenix entrepreneurs developed motels with gaudy signs along Grand Avenue and Van Buren Street, including the Rose Bowl, Kon Tiki Hotel and Log Cabin Motel. Mesa’s neon lit the night with Buckhorn Baths signs and the diving lady at Starlite Motel. El Trovatore Motel, which opened in 1939, has a 100-foot sign easily visible for travelers pulling into Kingman on Route 66. It's been restored and towers over an historic 20-room motel. Miracle Mile link: http://bit.ly/2gcp5tn Tucson neon links: http://bit.ly/2eMcbii http://bit.ly/2vt4H9g Phoenix neon links: http://bit.ly/2vdzr2J http://bit.ly/2vCXhVM |
In recent years, Kingman has added other refurbished neon signs. The Old Trails Garage has a neon Packard sign. A Kingman Club sign now lights up Beale Street with its neon cocktail glasses.
Neon's brightest era was the 1950s. A decade later, tastes started to change and city sign codes reined in lavish neon displays. On Route 66 in Holbrook, Flagstaff, Williams and Kingman neon is still lighting the way. That includes the wonderful sign for the World Famous Sultana Bar on eastbound Route 66. in Williams. Even sun-baked neon signs that have gone dark often have a retro appeal. And there's always the chance that the best neon will be restored someday and once again illuminate the night. In April 2019, Casa Grande opened its Neon Sign Park at 408 N. Sacaton St. with 14 restored signs The Mesa Preservation Foundation spent more than $120,000 to restore the Starlite Motel's Diving Lady sign on East Main Street (US 60). Sign maker Paul Millet created the sign in 1960 and it stood for 50 years before a storm blew it over. Larry Graham, an apprentice of Millet, refurbished the 70-foot neon sign in 2013. See the Best Arizona Saloons: http://www.ontheroadarizona.com/bestbars.html |
Since the early 1950s, the neon sign at the Western Hills Motel has been lighting the way along Route 66 on the near eastside of Flagstaff.
A dark blue Packard sign graces the restored Old Trails Garage in Kingman.
Westward Motel in Salome has a simple green neon sign.
Flagstaff's century old theater lights Aspen Street. (Austin Corbett photo)
A side-door neon sign beckons at the Monte Vista. (Austin Corbett photo)
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Las Vegas hotelier John Miller built El Trovatore in Kingman in 1939.
Neon martini glasses light up the House of Hops' historic sign.
Frontier Motel on Route 66 in Truxton is closed and its sign has gone dark.
World Famous Sultana Bar in Williams pitches cocktails & Coors with neon.
Nackard Downtowner Motel sign towers over Flagstaff's southside.
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The Sunset Motel sign on US 60 in Wenden is rustic but can still stop traffic at the former motel transformed into an art gallery and courtyard for artists.
Mesa's Buckhorn Baths were popular with Cactus League ballplayers starting in the 1940s. But the baths closed in 1999 and the motel in 2007.
The warm, welcoming neon of the Deserama Mobile Ranch is on Mesa's Main Street near the Starlite Motel.
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Under pressure, Dairy Queen allowed the Holbrook DQ (left) to keep its old-school sign. The Mesa DQ (above) also has an historic blue neon sign at the drive-in on Main Street. It opened in 1949.
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Startlite Motel opened in 1958 on US 60 in Mesa. Sign maker Paul Millet created the Diving Lady sign that went up in 1960. The Mesa Preservation Foundation restored the sign in 2013 after a storm blew it down.
New Windsor Hotel in downtown Phoenix opened in 1893.
A burned out neon "O" transformed the Flamingo to Flaming at Andy Womack's Motor Hotel on Route 66 in Flagstaff. It reportedly operated from the 1930s to 1997. Lumber salvaged from the Flamingo was used for new construction in Flagstaff.
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Sign maker Paul Millet created this sign in 1960 and it stood for 50 years before a storm blew it over. Larry Graham, an apprentice of Millet, refurbished the 70-foot neon sign in 2013.
Guayo's neon attracts diners but the food keeps them coming back to this restaurant north of Globe on State Route 188.
A classic Indian-motif neon on Route 66 in Williams.
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