Signs of the Times - December 2013 - (Page 22)

STRICTLY ELECTRIC Brent Logan is a Reno, NV-based sign designer and graphic artist. By Brent Logan Giddy Up! A Fallon, NV neon sign is restored back to life. F or more than 50 years, the cowboy on Fallon, NV's Lariat Motel sign tossed his neon lasso at passing motorists on U.S. Hwy 50. This section of road was once part of the Lincoln Highway, and, before that, the Pony Express Trail. Years ago, Life Magazine called Hwy. 50 in Nevada "the loneliest road in America". After having driven the long stretch of desert, it was a thrill to see the neon lights of Fallon! (Editor's Note: At the National Signage Research & Education Conference, which took place October 9-10 in Cincinnati, two Univ. of Cincinnati professors recounted their travels across the 3,073-mile expanse of Hwy. 50, for which they documented more than 4,000 signs along the route. Read about it at www. thesignagefoundation.org.) The Lariat Motel sign had been a fixture on Hwy. 50's visual landscape since the early 1950s, when it was first installed in front of the motel at 850 W. Williams Ave. The 18-room motel was a popular rest stop for travelers. It's hosted several interesting people over the years, such as the crew from the 1961 Marilyn Monroe movie, The Misfits, and pilots from the nearby Naval Air Station's Top Gun program. The double-sided Lariat Motel Fallon, NV residents witnessed the public relighting of the neon sign from the city's former Lariat Motel. Brent Logan and Young Electric Sign Co. (YESCO) collaborated to restore the sign, which was installed at Fallon's Oats Park Art Center. sign was designed in a typical, postwar style. From a cloud-shaped cabinet on one end, a Western cowboy, astride a horse, threw his lasso toward the adjacent panel that displayed the motel's name. The cowboy's neon arm and lasso lit up in a dynamic, three-step animation, moving from behind his head, then forward, and ended with the golden lariat capturing the name panel. It was a neon classic that caught everyone's attention! Equipment and Materials Lifts: High-reach crane, from Manitex (Georgetown, TX), (877) 314-3390 or www.manitex.com; Bucket lift, from Elliott (Omaha, NE), (402) 592-4500 or www.elliottequip.com; Scissor lift, from such providers as JLG (McConellsburg, PA), (877) 554-5438 or www.jlg.com Neon: Various colors of 15mm luminous tubing, from Tecnolux (The Bronx, NY), (718) 369-3900 or www.tecnolux.com, and Voltarc (Orange, CT), (203) 799-7877 or www.light-sources.com Paint: 1Shot® lettering enamel, color-mixing system, hardener and high-temp reducer, from One Shot LLC (Chicago), (773) 646-2778 or www.1shot.com; acrylic-latex paint, available from hardware stores. Software: CorelDRAW X4, from Corel Corp. (Ottawa, ON, Canada), www.corel.com 22 SIGNS OF THE TIMES / DECEMBER 2013 / www.signweb.com An icon saved In 2005, the motel was torn down to make room for a commercial development, and a 50-year landmark was gone. Fortunately, local citizens rescued the sign, and donated it to the Churchill County Arts Council (CAC) for future installation at Fallon's Oats Park Art Center. The sign was taken down and placed in storage until funds could be secured for its renovation. Originally built as a schoolhouse in 1914, The Oats Park Art Center has been transformed by the Churchill County Arts Council into an elegant, visual-arts gallery, 305-seat theater and urban-café style bar. After a series of community meetings, Fallon officials determined a renovation of the historic Oats Park School building might be the best way to meet community needs. CAC successfully nominated the structure to the National Register of Historic Places in the early 1990s, and construction and renovation began in late 1995. To date, more than $5.5 million has been raised http://www.thesignagefoundation.org http://www.thesignagefoundation.org http://www.manitex.com http://www.elliottequip.com http://www.jlg.com http://www.tecnolux.com http://www.light-sources.com http://www.1shot.com http://www.corel.com http://www.signweb.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - December 2013

Signs of the Times - December 2013
Contents
ST Update
Technology Update
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Electric
LED Update
Software Update
Technology Review - Universal Laser’s ILS9.75 and ILS12.75 platform lasers
Technology Review - CET Color’s 500K X-Press flatbed, UV-cure printer
New Products
The Hands Have It
Digital Print Update
The First Neon Sign in America
The USSC Design Awards
Advertising index
Editorially speaking

Signs of the Times - December 2013