Deer-O Motel sign
I would make a home for all the old neon relics that could still be found and restore them to their proper colorful, blinking status. Van Buren Street in Phoenix was the old US Highway 89 (and 60) through Phoenix, and many of the old motels are congregated together in a couple of blocks. Imagine driving across the desert from Tucson, no air-conditioning in the car, the sun is setting into a red sky as you finally hit the strip of new car dealerships and motels on the eastern approach to Phoenix. One of the old signs is in the shape of a swimming pool, others advertise in room air-conditioning and tvs. It must have seemed like a mini-Las Vegas. Now most of the signs are covered with plastic back-light panels, or gone altogether. Or going fast. Phoenix is installing light rail a couple blocks to the south of Van Buren, and the whole area is headed toward redevelopment, even if the Arizona State Hospital and Salvation Army are the anchor tenants right now. I hope someone saves the neon. I'd better go buy some lottery tickets--that someone is probably going to have to be me.
