Drugs
This sign may have originally been installed on the Armstrong Drug Store, but the story remains unconfirmed. Armstrong opened on 103 Avenue in 1907 and continued to operate at that location for almost 90 years, closing in 1993.
The sign’s original run was much shorter, however, and it was found in an office complex’s basement in 1910. Donated by Edmonton’s municipal government, the sign has been restored by City Neon.
Mike’s News
One of Edmonton’s most distinctive neon signs depicted an engrossed Toronto Star Weekly reader wagging his foot. Mike’s News opened in 1912. The sign was installed in 1934 and remained illuminated until 1979, when the newsstand moved.
The sign was then donated to the city’s artifacts centre. It has now been restored by Newlook Signs, requiring more than 1,200 hours of labour.
Northern Alberta Railway
Like the CNR sign, this one sat in a barn
at the Alberta Railway Museum before it was donated for Holdsworth’s project. It was restored by Landale Signs.
Originally, the sign was installed on Canadian Pacific’s office building in downtown Edmonton, which served as the railway’s headquarters (HQ). Northern Alberta Railway (NAR) actually comprised a group of small railway operators, which were eventually taken over by Alberta’s provincial government, consolidated and leased to Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and then CNR.
The W. W. Arcade sign was donated by the Edmonton Downtown Development Corporation (EDDC) before the restoration of the namesake building.
W.W. Arcade
When the W.W. Arcade building opened
in 1912 at Edmonton’s main commercial intersection, it was known as the Goodridge Block and the ground floor included a barbershop, a men’s wear store, a pool hall and a wine, liquor and cigars store. Offices were housed on the second and third floors.
W.W. Sales Hardware took over the main floor in 1932 and the building was renamed in 1942. The sign remained until the hardware retailer moved out in 1991. The Edmonton Downtown Development Corporation (EEDC), which subsequently received federal funding to restore the building, donated the sign for the museum and it was restored by Hi Signs/The Fath Group.
X-L Furniture
X-L Furniture, a carpet and furniture cleaning business, opened in 1952, moved in 1955, was rebuilt in 1961 and expanded in 1972 and 1986. Its iconic neon sign was installed in 1961 under a rental arrangement with Blanchett Neon and then it was repainted and repaired as needed over the following years.
Current X-L co-owners Al and Wayne Struzynski donated the sign for the museum in 2013. As such, unlike most others in the collection, it was still somewhat in working condition when PM Signs restored it.
A daunting effort
While work began on restoring the neon signs, the venue for the museum was not secured until 2012.
“There were waves of enthusiasm about the restoration work, but the sign industry in Alberta was busy enough with its regular business while the museum was being figured out,” says Pedrick. “For a while, it seemed it would never get done.”
There were also delays due to the daunting nature of the necessary repairs. McGeachy, co-owner of Newlook Signs, had not anticipated each restoration would take hundreds to thousands of man-hours.
“The Canadian Furniture sign was so beat up, they pretty much had to rebuild it,” Pedrick says. “Some signs had to be gutted while others were lightly retouched.”
In December 2013, the municipal government suddenly informed the sign companies they only had until February 2014 to finish the work.
“Although efforts had ramped up in the summer of 2013, now the pressure was really on,” says Pedrick. “I had to beg and plead with the companies to get them done.”
Finally, in mid-February, 17 installers and 22 sign professionals gathered in -28 C (-18 F) weather to install the eight restored neon signs on the Telus building.
“It required tremendous co-ordination,” says Pedrick. “We got the street shut down and there were eight pieces of installation equipment. We got a lot of news coverage.”
Fortunately, the installation was successful and all eight signs were up and running in time for the official public unveiling the following week.
Other than the delays, Pedrick says the entire process moved smoothly because the city, Telus, ASA and the sign companies were all working together with a common purpose.
“This project benefited from a lot of bridge-building and co-operation,” he says. “We like to celebrate things in this city.”
