Neon lights last a long time (Dr of BBQ)

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 09:12:02 GMT

I never turn off my interior neon lights and they last a long time. But I'm not sure what it cost to leave them on 24 hours a day. I just stumbled across this story and found it pretty interesting.

A landmark's light fantastic........... from the LA Times

A neon lamp that was switched on during the Depression is found shining behind a partition at Clifton's.
A long-forgotten neon lamp that was switched on during the Great Depression and left burning for about 77 years has been discovered hidden behind a dusty partition at Clifton's Cafeteria.

The find was made amid an extensive renovation of the downtown eatery, according to the building's owner, Andrew Meieran.

The neon fixture is believed to have been installed in 1935 when Clifford Clinton purchased the lease to Boos Bros. Cafeteria on Broadway and 7th Street and converted the place into a forest-themed restaurant.

The discovery has delighted fans of neon lighting, who point out that America's first neon sign was erected blocks away at Olympic Boulevard and Hope Street. That's where automobile dealer Earle C. Anthony installed a glowing "Packard" emblem outside his showroom in 1923.

"Neon lamps can last 20 to 40 years before the glass deteriorates or transformers go out," said Kim Koga, executive director of the Museum of Neon Art. "That this one has survived, lit, for as long as it has is incredible."

The newly revealed lamp isn't exactly a work of art, however.

The walls of the restaurant featured numerous hand-tinted transparencies of mountain and forest landscapes, each of which was backlit by a rectangular neon light.

One such light was installed in a window-like nook in a basement restroom, where it softly illuminated a woodland scene. In 1949, the nook was covered over with plastic and plywood when part of the restroom was partitioned off as a storage area. But for some reason, workmen never got around to disconnecting the electricity. For the next 62 years the illuminated tubing was hidden within the wall. Meieran estimates that the neon tube has racked up more than $17,000 in electrical bills.

(I'm Not sure if this $17000.00 figure from the article is correct $17000.00 divided by 62 = $275.00 per year??)

The glowing light was discovered Feb. 9 when Meieran inspected the small storeroom with a member of his renovation crew. "We were using flashlights, and I thought I caught a glimpse of a little light coming through the wall," Meieran said. "I asked, 'What is that?'"

The pair shut off their flashlights, thinking the beams were reflecting off something in the wall. A faint light still glowed within the pitch blackness of the storeroom. Wondering whether the light might be coming from the basement next door, Meieran peeled away more of the wall covering. When the hole was large enough to stick his phone camera through, he reached inside and snapped several pictures, including one that clearly showed electrodes at the base of neon tubing.