I run, walk, or drive past this sign every day. I see it so often that sometimes I forget how unique and beautiful it is. Neon signs like this are a dying breed. Something in me wants to collect them. They are huge and boring when they aren’t fully equipped with glowing neon, light bulbs and electricity. There is no feasible way to keep them for myself.

Is there a Museum of Neon somewhere that could rescue the rusting and abandoned beauties? Dirk’s Dry Cleaning is beautifully maintained, but what about the Nu-Crisp Popcorn sign? What about the Salt Lake Costume Company sign? They sit advertising businesses long defunct on abandoned buildings. Sometimes I fantasize about stealing them, but where would I put them? If the world lost them to a thief, isn’t that as bad as losing them to rust?

I guess there ARE a couple of museums for this stuff. I wish they would acquire my Salt Lake City favorites…

• The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) – Los Angeles, CA

• Neon Museum – Las Vegas, NV

We’re going to Vegas over the Thanksgiving weekend. The ONE thing I want to do is go to the Neon Museum.