When the sun goes down, the neon lights take over the stage of the city. People often relate vibrant nightlife to these flashing signs. However, the neon lights that are well-accepted today were a great dispute back in the 1950’s to 1970’s. “Neon Vancouver, Ugly Vancouver” featured in the Museum of Vancouver demonstrates the development of neon lights in the city.
“Neon was one highly visible sign of Vancouver’s transition from a sleepy west coast port into a striving, happening city,” explained in the exhibition. The lights differentiate bustling urban areas to peaceful suburbs. Some find it exciting while some consider it to be mind-numbing.
In 1958, the Community Art Council (CAC) launched the attack on Vancouver’s accumulation of signs, including neon signs. The CAC proposed limiting neon and other signage on the newly built Granville Street Bridge but was unsuccessful. “More signs seem to be erected each year to obliterate the view of the downtown and mountains,” the CAC noted.
The CAC attempted again in 1961 and 1966, encouraging citizens to write to the mayor expressing their concerns, and displaying an exhibit illustrating good and bad signage. Eventually, in 1974, Vancouver passed its first comprehensive sign control by-law, grandfathering in existing neon but greatly restricting new neon signs.
Rescued from the junk yards, these old neon signs remind us of the old time when going Downtown was an occasion to dress up. Loggers flooded into town for wild weekends with neon lights decorating the city as a play land. Neon symbolizes a special meaning in our coded urban language. It sparks wild imaginations of reckless city life. Its tawdry and blatant signs seduce people to step out of their comfort zone.
Neon lights are the shimmering eyes of the city. It has also stimulated artists to create artwork with this material. The Neon Museum Las Vegas and the Museum of Neon Arts in Los Angeles also display abundant neon artwork. But you don’t have to go that far to appreciate the beauty of neon signs, go to the Museum of Vancouver and join a Curator’s Talk and Tour on the first Thursday of each month to get the in-depth scoop on the tension behind neon signs in Vancouver.
Murality 