EVENT
City of Neon Lights
1950s-1960sEVENT TYPE Canadian History
In the years following the Second World War, Vancouver enjoyed a new economic affluence that manifested visually in a dazzling display of neon signs. With over 18 000 signs on display in the late 1950s, reports were made that there was "more neon in Vancouver than anywhere in the world except for Shanghai, China" (Macdonald 51). Tourists came in droves to gape at the city's neon hub, Granville Street's Theatre Row, which became known as "The Great White Way" (Macdonald 48). However, by the late 1960s, neon had fallen out of fashion and out of favor. Bylaws imposing limits on signage were enacted and a vast number of signs were removed.
In 1924, Granville Street merchants brought in Vancouver's first neon signs from Paris, France, where inventor George Claude had been awarded patents for glass tube lights in 1915. One patent-license ended up in Vancouver in the hands of Neon Products, a business that would become "one of the largest sign companies in the world" (Atkin). The local presence of this would-be corporate giant likely contributed to the popularity of neon signage in Vancouver, although many smaller companies disregarded Neon Products' exclusive claim to the technology and produced signs themselves.
By the 1960s, "urban decay" had begun to set in as city residents left the downtown area for the suburbs. In contrast to the natural beauty of Vancouver's setting, the "neon jungle" of the inner city came to be viewed as an eyesore, and was even "blamed…for litter and prostitution problems" (Atkin). This led to anti-neon legislation and to widespread dismantling of neon signage.
Author John Atkin notes that the anti-neon movement had the unforeseen effect of making the city appear drab and lifeless. He writes, "It's not surprising that shortly after the sign bylaws were passed people began discussing the "dying downtown." Atkin also makes the observation that, today, the city is drawing on Vancouver's "neon heritage" in order to once again create an aesthetic of "colorful streets."
In 1924, Granville Street merchants brought in Vancouver's first neon signs from Paris, France, where inventor George Claude had been awarded patents for glass tube lights in 1915. One patent-license ended up in Vancouver in the hands of Neon Products, a business that would become "one of the largest sign companies in the world" (Atkin). The local presence of this would-be corporate giant likely contributed to the popularity of neon signage in Vancouver, although many smaller companies disregarded Neon Products' exclusive claim to the technology and produced signs themselves.
By the 1960s, "urban decay" had begun to set in as city residents left the downtown area for the suburbs. In contrast to the natural beauty of Vancouver's setting, the "neon jungle" of the inner city came to be viewed as an eyesore, and was even "blamed…for litter and prostitution problems" (Atkin). This led to anti-neon legislation and to widespread dismantling of neon signage.
Author John Atkin notes that the anti-neon movement had the unforeseen effect of making the city appear drab and lifeless. He writes, "It's not surprising that shortly after the sign bylaws were passed people began discussing the "dying downtown." Atkin also makes the observation that, today, the city is drawing on Vancouver's "neon heritage" in order to once again create an aesthetic of "colorful streets."
PHOTO GALLERY
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Atkin, John. "Neon!" The Greater Vancouver Book. Ed. Chuck Davis. Surrey: Linkman Press, 1997. 223.Macdonald, Bruce. Vancouver: A Visual History. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1992.
Ross, Becki. "Men Behind the Marquee: Greasing the Wheels of Vansterdam's Professional Striptease Scene, 1950-1975." The Striptease Project. 2008.
