In Search of Neon Signs in Detroit

[walkerpub]

I am an avid student of the neon sign form and am hoping for some advice on where to locate the best of Detroit's neon signs...also love ghost signs as well...

[gvidas]

Yelp says its closed, and I haven't been in a while, but there used to be a little neighborhood dive bar down the street from the Telway out Michigan called Stempien's. They have/had great window signs and a ridiculous great big pink-red arc of neon over the bar. But the real gem was off to the side, over maybe the bathroom doors -- a piece of 15mm clear red that just said 'WINE.' A really ancient piece of glass, bent by somebody who knew what they were doing -- every bend was fluid and smooth and round in all the right ways.

Detroit's been hard on its neon, between vandals and glass block windows and everything else.

If you [[or anyone else) would like the dime tour of a small neon shop / how a neon tube is made, give me a call and we'll set up an appointment -- 313 831 9060.

[EastsideAl]

As gvidas says, Detroit really has very little neon left now. I remember when I was a kid looking up Eastlawn at the glow of the fabulous neon sign that once adorned the Jolly Dutchman bar. I sure wish I had a picture of that! Or that great "Limp In, Leap Out" sign that you could see flashing on the spring shop across Michigan Ave. from the ramp to the upper deck at Tiger Stadium.

[Downriviera]

The law in Michigan recently changed to allow neon beer signs. We missed out on a lot of cool old school neon beer signs like you see in other cities.

[sumas]

Serious surprised that my husband has't posted. He loves ghost signs. Maybe I'll jolt him and he can give you a list.

[Historyguy]

Go to flickr.com and search :detroit "neon sign" or detroit "ghost sign"

[compn]

i'm a neon nut. hooked when i was a kid. touched a few pieces of hot glass as a kid, ouch!

greektown used to have the standard neon signs. not sure how many are left now.
chinatown too? but thats been gone for years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_Detroit

i remember every pizza place used to have neon. its all gone now. all those old pizza joints were ran out of town by the chains selling those $4 and $5 crap.

used to be some in the people mover stops as well. what exits were those?
it has some new neon now: http://www.thepeoplemover.com/Greektown.id.57.htm

used to be an arcade at westland? mall that had a lot of neon.
wonderland mall had neon too.

henry ford / greenfield village has some neon.

farmington civic theater neon
http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com...?id=823&type=5

pinball pete in ann arbor has some :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ktpupp/485252677/

theres the really amazing looking domino's farm building in ann arbor too
which has almost a mile long of green neon.

[walkerpub]

there is actually quite a lot of neon around Detroit- I am looking for the obscure and interesting stuff- here is a shot from my iPhone the other night coming home from a Tigers game

[Downriviera]

My favorite was the Bridge Cafe at Fort St. and the Rouge River. They had 2 old basic neon signs. One said Fresh Booze and the other Booze On The Rouge. The building was recently leveled.

[ferndalien]

Honest John's has a few classic neon truths on the walls. Some are seasonal...

[gazhekwe]

The Plab Bar used to have a neon sign, Plymouth and Abington. It was still there somewhat recently. The Booby Trap used to be fun, with those little dots in the O's. I think that sign was gone awhile back.

We have an old neon sign from the early 30s that we took to a shop on Schoolcraft and Grand River for repair a couple years ago. That is an interesting place.

[marshamusic]

Walkerpub, I took this photo just for you.

This neon mural is at the Kunstalle gallery/museum of contemporary art. On the West Side of Detroit.

It is in an old bank building on Grand River and Warren Ave., in what I call the "deep hood". I was incredulous when I walked through the door, from the so-called "prairie-land" outside into the white-box, high-tech exhibition spaces therein. It is a museum devoted to the "light arts", light, video, etc. Very interesting place, being developed by a group headed by some very driven Euro artist/intellectuals. My husband and I have an installation there.