historic neon rooftop signs may be permanently relit
This blog has moved to Twitter! Check out my twitter feed for the latest restaurant, retail, and cultural news in the neighborhood.
A news brief distributed by Museum of Neon Art (MONA) director Kim Koga this weekend states that the dormant signs of two Historic Core landmarks are set to be illuminated in coming weeks.
The twin neon signs of the Rosslyn Hotel properties and the Million Dollar Theatre’s marquee fronting Broadway makeup the occasion, giving us a rare glimpse of Downtown’s younger days.
“These signs will be temporarily lit for a filming on March 31 and April 6 - 7,” says Koga in an email passed along to angelenic. (Those dates are subject to change.)
Rosslyn’s rooftop neon was previously lit for filming of a David E. Kelly TV show back in September, an event which sparked the excitement of many area residents.
If we’re lucky, in the future Downtowners may not have to rely on random production schedules to enjoy these historic symbols of our neighborhood. Koga adds, “The signs are under new ownership, so there’s hope for having them lit full time.”
According to Rosslyn Lofts resident Bert Green who operates an art gallery on the Rosslyn Hotel’s ground floor, those plans could be further down the road. He comments, “It’s true that the north building is under new ownership, but the south building is not. Neither landlord has plans to permanently relight either sign, at least not in the short term. Both buildings are undergoing some renovation, and need to become profitable before spending the estimated $1500 per month per sign to light them.”
“Both landlords would like to eventually restore them, but it’s a low priority at the moment.”
Until then, be sure to get out one of the aforementioned nights and catch the opportunity for some excellent photographs. We’ll share ours next Monday night!
Thanks for Eric Lynxwiler for the tip!
-museum of neon art fizzes to life with ‘soda pop’
-krkd tower neon relit over broadway
3 comments
This is great news about the two Rosslyn signs, but the Million Dollar Theatre’s sign is much altered from it’s past self. The current marque dates back to the 1940s. Originally it had a great neon ribbon and lettering that said “The New Million Dollar”. This is from a time when the theatre did a minor format change and went from first run films to mostly live concerts. There are some great photos from this era in the LAPL.org site. At some point over the years, in the 1980’s I think, the neon blade sign was removed. This may have happened when the tower about the theatre was converted into apartments.
The Rosslyn Sign on the north building is not connected to a power source. When a film company lights it, they use a generator. There was a plan a few years ago to relight the signs, but a dispute with the DWP ended that deal. At that time the cabling to power the sign was removed. (It had something to do with who would pay the bill since the building was not sub-metered).
On the south building, a film company lit it last week, and 2 weeks ago as well. That crew did some repair to the lights, so it’s in good shape now.
It’s true that the north building is under new ownership, but the south building is not. Neither landlord has plans to permanently relight either sign, at least not in the short term. Both buildings are undergoing some renovation, and need to become profitable before spending the estimated $1500 per month per sign to light them.
Both landlords would like to eventually restore them, but it’s a low priority at the moment.
Hey, why not power the signs with solar power?
I know this requires a large capital outlay up front, but, eventually the outlay is paid for, and then it wouldn’t cost $1500 to power the signs, it would be free, apart from maintenance. Yes, the sun would charge an array of batteries by day, which would power the sign at night.