Finally! THE AMERICAN SIGN MUSEUM VISIT!

After many previous trips down I-71 from Columbus to Cincinnati without visiting, I FINALLY made it to the American Sign Museum back in late February! This post is a gathering of the photos I took. I was not even there an hour (3 kids, one being my tired and grumpish 3-year-old son..his older sisters enjoyed it more) but what an hour it was. The museum is all I dreamed it would be. If neon had a heaven, this may be close to it (Vegas and the sign museum there may disagree though). So this is at least a slice of neon heaven. While my main interest was of course, the neon, the museum also exhibits nearly all forms of signage and advertising of the 20th century, with 1930s-70s neon being the largest part of the collection! I would definitely recommend a visit to anyone, even if neon is not your main interest, anyone interested in modern American history would enjoy the exhibits here. Visit here for the museum's website with all sorts of information regarding the museum (location, hours, admission, etc) as well as links the staff posts regarding museum updates, news, and general preservation news. The Wikipedia article is also worth a read. All pictures were taken during my visit on the afternoon of Sunday, 2/23.

My next post will include some videos I took from the visit, and some of their non-neon collection! I cannot wait to go back again soon.

Live from Cincinnati, the American Sign Museum coming up!

I do realize it has been a while since I have been able to post much of anything in the way of new neon, but I am excited about an upcoming opportunity for a great post. I am in Cincinnati (well, actually Northern Kentucky) and tomorrow, Sunday 02/23 I will be visiting the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati! This is THE neon sign museum. There is another in Vegas but still, WOW! I cannot wait to take in the heaven and snap the pics! Tomorrow! In the meantime, enjoy some phone files that I have taken over the course of the last few months. Including some very recent pics of my latest visit to the Cincinnati area.

     In order, the above pics: Connell Hardware. One of the older signs in the Columbus area, and one of the oldest businesses. Connell was in operation well over 100 years before WalMart and other big boxes rendered the Reynoldsburg hardware store obsolete last summer. Pic was taken Thursday, 01/16. Next we have the kids section of The Shoe Department, located along Stringtown Road in Grove City. Taken Sunday 01/19. Next we have a good ole Chinese food sign. No Sino-like characters, unfortunately, or even a Chinese style typeface but still, good solid sign. Taken at The Great Wall the evening of Sunday 01/26. Well the next sign was on this trip to the Cincy area, of which I make usually at least 1-2 per year. This was in Newport on the Levee, one of my favorite hangs. Saturday, 02/22. And finally, the last 2 pics. Two independently owned classic style neons for a rather ho-hum sorta business. From the hotel I am staying at on the SW side of the Cincinnati area, off I-275 on KY  route 20 in Hebron, KY, this awesome sign at Huff Floorcovering. In an age when Vegas is starting to see an iflux of LED lights, this small Kentucky business is choosing neon for its imaging and signage! Taken in Hebron, KY, the evening of Saturday 02/22.
     Well tomorrow is the day to visit the museum! Look for a related post soon ASAP! And also closer to home I have noticed some awesome newbies in various Columbus neighborhoods. Hoping once this AWFUL weather breaks for good to get out there and enjoy the springtime! Happy evening y'all, from Kentucky!

Time for an update?!

Yes, I know I need to update Columbusneon! It has been long overdue. This year has been a mixed year of challenges and opportunities. I am in school fulltime as well as working FT and taking care of my 3 lil ones. I barely have time to eat, shower, or breathe, so time for neoning has been in short supply. Not to mention the fact that my car has been half drivable for most of this year. All this being said, I miss neoning. I have also been spending time updating my Instagram account for my non-neon photo adventures. Please visit my Instagram at Instagram.com/paulied1977. Or add me via your own Instagram account on Android or iPhone. I have some neons on there, but I am sincerely thinking of creating another account for neon purposes, as a supplement to this blog (much as I did between 2007-10 with Flickr).I hope to get back to neoning very soon. I do have a few updates that I think you will enjoy and will post shortly.

Neoning to resume soon

After a long winter and hiatus from photographing the neon treasures of Columbus and occasionally other locales, I am happy to say that with spring here, and things looking a little more favorable in my personal life, I will be back to snapping neon! I have missed this project, now over five years old, and I am eager to get back on the streets, camera in hand! Look for a neon tour VERY soon! In the meantime, check out my instagram collection, centered around mostly my non-neon photographic pursuits, which include, but are not limited to, my kids and cityscapes/skylines. Again, look for a tour and new post very soon, possibly within the month! I hope everyone is having an absitively tanfastic spring :)

 

The Hiatus

Hello everyone this is Columbusneon. Just want to apologize for my lack of posts as of late. The last few months have been a very trying time for me as I am going through some personal issues related to relationships. And I have not had much time nor desire to neon as of late. Once I get back on my feet I will be back, hopefully sooner rather than later and will be showcasing more of the great new and classic neon signage that Cbus has to offer. I hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving and has a happy holiday season.

Hot summer days, cool neon lights.

     I admit that despite my initial gung ho-ness I had at the beginning of the summer, I have been pretty lazy about neoning despite the lack of bad weather. Unless you consider heat to be bad weather, as we have had plenty of that this summer. Too much personal stuff going on. Despite this I was able to get a few photo ops in over the summer, including another road trip, which was shortened by my camera's dying battery. So this post is a roundup of what I managed to shoot during June, July, and August. It's not a lot but I did get a few goodies in. The good news is that we will be heading into the fall, which is my favorite season to shoot neon. The nights are often comfortable and cool and the sun sets early. Hopefully I will be able to get a few good tours in and the crown jewel of Columbus neon signage, the Short North. For now, enjoy the pics of summer, descriptions follow.

Set 1: Beer Dock East, in Whitehall. Hard to snap the neon in here and I didn't want the employees to get mad at me for snapping pictures of their signs. Cool signs though. Taken the evening of Thurs. 06/14.

 Set 2: Inside the "Beer Cave" at the Bellstores/Marathon at Feder and Hilliard-Rome Road. Nice little cache of neon for a gas station. Taken the evening of Sat. 07/07. Set 3: Just one pic I noticed while in the Polaris area. Park Avenue Cleaners. Taken Sun. 07/08. Set 4: The neon inside Nasty's, a sports bar and grill in Hilliard. It is FAR from nasty. The wings are awesome and every once in a while they have all-you-can-eat wings on Saturdays, which is why I was here that afternoon. Taken the afternoon of Sat. 07/28. There is another sign or two in here that was not lit..next time I am there I will shoot it, hopefully. Set 5: Nail salon in Galloway. Was at Sloopy's, just next door and noticed this rather elegant, newer installation. Taken the night of Sat. 08/04. Set 6: Cleveland road trip! I was in Cleveland for the Red Sox/Indians game this evening and had hoped to catch some good neon. Well unfortunately, like my road trips to Cincinnati, my batteries did not cooperate. But I was able to get some cool shots. Most of these are from Tower City, a large urban mall in downtown Cleveland which also serves as the RTA transit hub, as well as a direct link to other downtown Cleveland attractions like the new casino, QC Arena, and Progressive Field. I would have loved to have taken more, but my battery was at less than 15%. Also included in this is Panini's, bar and restaurant a block or so from Progressive Field. Notice the sports themed neon that hangs around Tower City. Wicked awesome! Wish I had been able to snap it all. I have to be honest..I actually was again in Cleveland less than a month later, but again, low battery :( All pics in this set taken the evening of Thurs. 08/09. Set 7: Cleveland trip, continued. Actually these pics are not from Cleveland but the Marc's grocery store in the suburb of N. Olmsted, close to our hotel. All of the department signs are NEON! All in this set taken the afternoon of Fri. 08/10. Look for more pics soon! Hope everyone had a great summer..