McHahn's Neon Blade Sign
Name/Title
McHahn's Neon Blade SignEntry/Object ID
2021.0004.0004Description
Vertical blade sign with open channel neon letters on painted aluminum. Known as a “blade sign,” this sign’s shape is tall and skinny shape, and its text runs vertically. Vertical blade-style signs often projected at a 90-degree angle from a building’s facade and their versatile, street-level viewability was one of their many advertising strengths. Also, a projecting sign will often be double-faced, so that passersby may view from any side. Blue-painted aluminum makes up the sign’s cabinet, and the wording is created with open-face channel letters. In this example of open-channel, the empty space within the three-dimensional block lettering is fitted with exposed neon tubing that illuminates the letters spelling the name of the business. McHahn’s was a sportwear clothing store in downtown Cincinnati located at 7th and Race. After operating for more than 30 years, it closed around 2014 and the building was eventually redeveloped. This sign likely dates to the retailer’s earlier years in the mid-1970s.Collection
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