Prepared by
Johnnie V Meier
Updated
Executive Summary
Classic neon signs are recognized as intrinsic to the
culture and history of Route 66 as indicated by their inclusion on both state
and national registers of historic properties.
The New Mexico Route 66 Neon Sign Restoration Project resulted in the
restoration of nine classic neon signs in the communities of Tucumcari, Santa
Rosa Albuquerque Gallup
Table Of Contents
List of
Figures
4
List of
Appendices
.. 5
1.0 Background
.
. 5
2.0 Project
Objectives
5
3.0 Eligibility for
Restoration
5
3.1 Years of Significance . 5
3.2 Location . 5
3.3 Sign Features .. 5
3.4 Adaptive
Use
.. 5
4.0 Project Execution
. 6
4.1 Organization 6
4.2 Project Timeline .. 6
4.3 Public Outreach .. .. 6
4.4 Response to Application Solicitation 7
4.5 Advisory Panel 8
4.6 RFQ for Sign Restorations . 8
4.7 Application Evaluation 8
4.8 Additional Restorations 9
4.9 Restoration Contracting . 9
4.10 Comments on Restoration Contracts .. 10
5.0 Project Restoration Methodology .. 10
5.1 Paradise Motel Sign 10
5.2 The TeePee Curio Shop .. 12
5.3 La Cita Restaurant .. 13
5.4 Sun N Sand Motel .. 13
5.5 The El Comedor Rotosphere 14
5.6 The Aztec Motel .. 14
5.7 Westward Ho Motel . 15
5.8 Grants Cafe Sign .. 16
5.9 Lexington Hotel Sign ... 18
6.0 Restoration Gallery . 18
7.0 PBS Documentary 21
8.0 Collateral Benefits . 21
8.1 La Cita Restaurant . 22
8.2 The TeePee Curio Shop
22
8.3 Increased Awareness Regarding the Historic Value of Classic Neon 22
8.4 Public Awareness .. 23
9.0 Commemorative Plaques
. 24
10.0 Project Recognized with
Award
.. 24
11.0 Follow-Up Project: Architectural
Neon
. 24
12.0 Acknowledgements .. 24
Appendices .25
List Of Figures
Figure 4. Sun N Sand.
Left is photo from a vintage postcard, to the right is prior to
restoration.
Figure 5. The unrestored rotosphere.
... 15
Figure 6.
Left is the unrestored Aztec Sign.
Figure 9.
Lexington Hotel Sign
prior to restoration.
Restored Sign Gallery
==============================================================
Figure 10.. TeePee Curios Tucumcari .. 19
Figure 11. LaCita Restaurant
Tucumcari
.. 19
Fgure 12 Sun
BN Sand Motel Santa Rosa
20
Figure 13. Paradise Motel Tucumcari .,,, 20
Figure 14. Aztec Motel Albuquerque .. 20
Figure 15. Westward Ho Albuquerque .. .. 21
Figure 16. Grants Cafι Grants .. . .. 21
Figure 17. Lexington Hotel Gallup . .. 21
Figure 18. Rotosphere Moriarty . 21
==============================================================
Figure 19. Follow-up neon addition at the TeePee .23
List of Appendices
Appendix A: Sample of Award Plaque . 27
Appendic B: Grant Application Instructions . 28
Appendic C: Grant Application Form .. 30
Appendix D: 1958 Neon Work Order . 33
Appendix E: RFQ for Neon Contractors 35
Appendix F: Budget Detail Sign Contracting Cost/Cost Share 38
Appendix G: In-Kind Contributions
.. 38
Appendix H: Project Budget Summary . 39
Appendix I: Sample Contractor Bid Details . . 40
Appendix J: Restoration Candidate Reference Book .. 43
New Mexico Route 66 Neon Sign Restoration Project
1.0 Background
The roots of the project lie in Public Law 106-45 that was enacted in late 1999 To preserve the cultural resources of the Route 66 corridor and authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance. Congress authorized $10,000,00 from 2000 to 2009, nominally $1,000,000 per year. The National Park Service (NPS) was charged with administering the program and established the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Office. During the year 2000, the NPS called upon various organizations and agencies to submit restoration applications. Elmo Baca of the New Mexico Historic Preservation Department (HPD) responded with a proposal that included a project to restore neon signs along New Mexicos Route 66. The NPS elected to fund Elmo Bacas proposal and after a competitive solicitation, the New Mexico Route 66 Association was funded to manage the project.
2.0 Project Objectives
The objective of the project is to restore at least five neon signs along New Mexicos Route 66. Vintage neon signage is intrinsic to the roadside culture of Route 66. Tourists and local communities seeking to rediscover the 66 mystique identify vintage neon signage with the golden age of Route 66. The restoration of at least five vintage neon signs was anticipated to stimulate interest and investment in further Route 66 restoration projects. Completion of the project is expected to draw nationwide attention to this preservation project with rollover benefit to participating communities.
3.0 Eligibility for Restoration.
The following criteria were used to establish a baseline for suitable projects.
3.1 Years of Significance. Neon signs that were
operational prior to 1970 will be defined as eligible.
3.2 Location. Proposed Projects must be for restorable neon signs that would be visible from Route 66 during any of its alignments.
3.3 Sign Features.
Signs can be neon or neon augmented with incandescent light bulbs. Non-original add-ons to vintage signs such as
fluorescent backlit message boards will not disqualify a proposed sign
3.4 Adaptive Use. Restoration applications will be accepted that propose to convert an existing restorable sign to new use. For an example, the cowboy image of the original Simons Western Wear Store in Albuquerque was converted for use as a tavern sign while maintaining the aesthetics of the original sign.
4.0 Project Execution
A Project Leader supported by a panel of subject matter experts administered the execution of the project.
4.1 Organization. The President of the New Mexico Route 66 Association, Johnnie Meier, was selected to serve as the Project Manager based on previous experience as a Project Manager on government funded projects. The Project Manager recruited a panel of subject matter experts to serve on an evaluation and advisory panel to establish the criteria for candidate evaluation and to recommend and rank candidates for restoration based on submitted restoration applications.
4.2 Project Timeline.
Project Milestones were established as follows.
March 2002. Project announcement, public meetings, application distribution.
April 30 2002 Deadline for Application submission
May 31 2002 Announcement of Winning Projects.
June 2002 Contractor Bids sought and contracts awarded for services.
Sept 1. Restoration work completed with sign installed and operational
Sept 30. Final report submitted by New Mexico Route 66 Association.
The original timeline was extended to allow project
completion by April 30 2003. This was
deemed appropriate due to the unusual set of variables associated with
restoration work and the fact that the project was expanded to provide for nine
restorations instead of the original five restorations.
4.3 Public Outreach. The New Mexico Route 66 Association managed a multifaceted publicity campaign to announce the availability of funds for neon sign restoration. The Association used the following venues to publicize the availability of funds.
- Web Site. The New Mexico Route 66 Association web site at www.rt66nm.org
announced the project with online application guidelines as well as a printable application for the project.
2. Press Release. A press release was written and sent to the newspapers that served the Route 66 communities resulting in articles such as the one published in the Business Outlook Section of the Albuquerque Journal.
3. Route 66 New Mexico Magazine featured an issue dedicated to classic Route 66 neon including an article paying tribute to classic neon by Michael Wallis. The issue announced the project and provided informational articles as well as an example of a classic sign restoration.
4. Community Meetings. Working with community organizations such as Chamber of Commerces, public meetings were held chaired by the Project Manager for the Association. Public Meetings were conducted in Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Albuquerque, Grants, and Gallup. These public meetings were used to present project details, distribute information packets and restoration project applications, and answer questions.
5. Individual Meetings. The Project Manager proactively sought out potential applicants through individual on-site meetings with Route 66 business owners.
Information Management was coordinated by the Association An agreement between the business owners and the sign restorations companies was reached that stipulated that all media contact regarding this project shall be contingent on approval of the New Mexico Route 66 Association. This allowed the Association to plan a coordinated and comprehensive media campaign to optimally communicate information about the project.
4.4 Response to Application Solicitation. Although the media publicity was effective in soliciting applications, it was observed that a number of notable properties were not responding to the press releases. Personal visits were required to address preconceptions about the project that had discouraged some potential applicants from applying. The combination of public outreach initiatives resulted in 16 applications representing Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Moriarty, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Grants, and Gallup. An additional inquiry from San Jon was received however the motel property was not an active enterprise and the property was declared ineligible.
It was learned through the interview process that business owners expressed a variety of reasons for not originally responding to the public solicitation.
a. Application Paperwork. Some business owners, particularly immigrant owners, felt inadequate to the task of filling out forms.
b. Skepticism. Business owners expected that the restoration decisions were preconceived and that the winners had been decided prior to the application process.
c. Cash Match. Some business owners were not able to provide a full cash match up front and therefore were not inclined to apply.
The Project Manager addressed the paperwork situation by personally assisting some business owners in filling out the forms. The Project Manager addressed the skepticism by assuring that the panel of independent experts have the full authority to evaluate proposals and that the neither the Project Manager nor any government official was a member of the decision making panel. The Project Manager emphasized that there was no formula for the decision process and that the process was merit based. Therefore there was no quota of restorations for distribution among the communities and that if a community did not have a meritorious project, it would be excluded. On the other hand, if a community submitted five of the most meritorious applications, that community could conceivably receive all five restorations. With regard to cash matching, a system of periodic payments (i.e. monthly payments) were structured to allow businesses to avoid large lump sum payments. This enabled some businesses to apply that would be otherwise excluded.
4.5 Advisory
Panel. A panel of subject matter
experts was assembled to contribute to the application process and to evaluate
the applications. The panel members were
Dr. David Kammer, Don Usner, Steve Fitch, and Michael Wallis. David is a well-known historian who appeared
in the PBS special Route 66 in New Mexico and has published studies of
historic properties on Route 66. Steve
Fitch is an accomplished neon tube bender, contributor to the book Vintage
Neon, and author of several books including Diesels and Dinosaurs, a
photoessay on roadside culture. Don
Usner is a published author whose most recent work is New Mexico Route 66 on
Tour The Legendary Architecture from Glenrio to Gallup. Michael Wallis is the Pulitzer Prize
nominated author, speaker, and champion for Route 66 and roadside culture. The panel operated independently as an
advisory group to the Project Manager.
The panel was empowered to select the projects for restoration. The Project Manager did not participate in
the selection process except to answer questions from the panel.
4.6 RFQ for Sign Restorations. A Bidders Book (also called the Candidate Profiles Book) was prepared and sent to the following neon sign vendors. The format included sign identification, points of contact, photos, and other data pertinent to assisting the sign companies formulate their bids. The following companies were invited to bid.
- BriteLite Neon, Albuquerque
- Southwest Outdoor Electric, Albuquerque
- SignArts, Albuquerque
- M&J Signs, Albuquerque
- Zeon Signs, Albuquerque
- Clovis Sign Company, Clovis
- Hinkley Signs, Gallup
- Santa Fe Sign Co., Santa Fe
Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Moriarty and
Grants were not served by a community based neon company. For the eastern part of the state, Clovis
Sign Company is the prime contractor.
Bidders were invited to bid on signs individually. Bids were received from all companies except
Santa Fe Sign. For reference, a sample
bid is provided as an appendix to this document that provides insight into
costing for restoration tasks associated with a vintage neon sign restoration.
4.7 Application Evaluation. The panel was advised by e-mail of project progress and candidate profiles based on applications were posted on the web at a private address for the panels review. The web site provided summaries of all applications in a common format including photographs.
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