MIDDLE ROW - One Hour Valet Sign

One-Hour Valet Sign, 1956-1986
Mulholland Outdoor Advertising Company
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Donor: Mitzi DeLuca, 1991

For 30 years this sign hung outside the One Hour Valet Cleaners on East Michigan Avenue in downtown Kalamazoo. Nearly destroyed in the 1980 tornado, the sign was restored and continued to glow until 1986 when the building was sold. 

“Saved!”

A simple request from one woman saved this neon sign from the landfill. Mitzi DeLuca, a member of the Kalamazoo Historic District Commission, asked the new building owner if she could take the sign. He agreed and in 1991 she donated it to the Museum. 

The Glow

Neon signs have been popular advertising devices in the United States, beginning with the first signs installed at a Packard dealership in Los Angeles in 1923. Their glow at night drew a tremendous amount of attention.   

The colored light in the glass tubes is caused by an electric charge passing through gas such as neon or argon. Today, as many as 150 colors are possible with neon lighting.