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New York City Neon

By Daniel Leventhal | Published December 31, 2017

New York still has a wealth of surviving historic neon and other signage.  These pictures are just a glimpse. I have taken these over the last several years. It’s been a longer term project and is still ongoing.

Many of the establishments associated with these signs have a long history. Radio City Music Hall, the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, the original Nathan’s Famous at Coney Island in Brooklyn, the Air Line diner from Goodfellas, the theaters, the iconic bars and restaurants, the classic Jewish delis…so much is still there but, sadly, the number of survivors does dwindle.

The red cursive Pepsi-Cola sign at the East River has resided in Long Island City, Queens, since 1936. The northern section of Gantry Plaza State Park was home to a Pepsi bottling plant that closed in 1999, but the sign has lived on (having been lowered from its original location to its final, prominent position in the park in 2009).

That’s the original Coney Island Nathan’s restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell – the home of the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest.  Some of the signage at the Wonder Wheel in Coney Island is also said to be among the oldest extant original neon in New York.

The “Cafeteria” sign on the side of the Odeon Restaurant in Tribeca is from that site’s days as the Towers Cafeteria. It’s said to be one of New York’s oldest surviving neon signs and is a classic.

The former Air Line Diner – now the Jackson Hole Diner but the original signage is still there – is near LaGuardia Airport.  Astoria Boulevard at 70th Street, Queens. It’s vintage 1952 classic diner. I had a good chat with the owner. His family took it over in 1990 right about the time Scorcese’s Goodfellas was filming there. He remembers it well. It’s where Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) waits to steal a truck in the parking lot. No goodfellas were out front the day I was there. No wiseguys were inside (at least as far as I could tell). It was late afternoon when I stopped by but the neon was still dark. I asked the owner when he normally lights the neon. He kindly offered to turn it on for me. Great guy. 

I took some pix last year at the 7th Avenue location of the Carnegie Deli, including the signage. Good thing I did. It’s now gone – closed December 31, 2016 – after almost 80 years of serving pastrami and other Jewish soul food to generations of New Yorkers, joining its 7th Ave. rival, the Stage Deli (closed 2012), on the list of lost New York icons.  RIP.

Lindy’s sort of survives but not really.  It was opened by Leo “Lindy” Lindemann and his wife Clara in 1921, and was located at 1626 Broadway, between 49th and 50th Streets.  A second location was opened at 1655 Broadway in 1929. The original Lindy’s location closed in 1957. In 1969, the 1655 Broadway location was also closed.  The signage in the photo is from a newer location of Lindy’s on 7th, in Midtown, opened after Lindy’s was resurrected in 1979.  It has none of the charm or history of surviving originals like Katz’s (where Harry met Sally) but it is very good cheesecake, and I like the newer neon in the windows.  Last I heard it will be closing its doors again.

The Lexington Candy Shop Luncheonette (1925) in the UES is a personal favorite and a place I take visitors. A real throwback soda fountain.  It’s just down Lex a few blocks from the 86th St. subway station and is on the way to the Met.  Wait until after 1:30 or 2 pm and get a late lunch if you want to avoid the wait.  I was there last week and asked the owner about the sign.  He said it was put up a few years ago and is not the original sign.  I like it anyway!

The iconic New Yorker Hotel sign dates back to 1941.  The hotel itself was completed and opened in 1930. The sign was rebuilt with new 20-foot letters and LED lights in 2005.  Today’s factoid: 1933 until his death a decade later, Nikola Tesla lived at the hotel. He occupied Rooms 3327 and 3328.  There’s a Tesla exhibit in the restored lobby.

That’s the original C.O. Bigelow store on Sixth Avenue in the West Village.  It was founded in 1838 and is said to be the oldest surviving apothecary–pharmacy in the USA.  The building in the picture dates back to 1902 and the sign to around 1938.

I could go on and on.  If you are interested in neon and learning more about these signs in my photos (and many others), the best thing I have seen is the book “New York Neon” by Thomas Rinaldi which is a wealth of information.  I got most of these dates (and a lot of the locations, too) from his book.  TOTH.  He has a website and blog here.  Reading his book I was struck by how many of the signs he photographed are now gone. 

Another great source of lost New York reading material is Jeremiah’s Vanish New York site. 

A note about dating in the descriptions below each of the photos below:  when a date appears in parentheses immediately after the name of the sign’s location, it is meant to be the date of the location itself; the date of the actual sign, if known, appears at the end of the description.

Happy New Year, dear readers!  That’s it for the year.  See you all in 2018.