Label
PARK
early 1930s
Donated by 8th & Spring, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Co., 2016; with thanks to J. Eric Lynxwiler
The sign’s streamlined simplicity may not have stood out on the busy streets of downtown Los Angeles, but upon closer inspection it’s clear this sign is very special.
Note the sign’s metal can is not smooth as it is made of rippled, or crenelated, sheet metal which dates the sign to a decade-long period of popularity beginning in the early 1920s. The sign industry believed that rippled metal gave neon signs extra strength and support, but instead it was realized such a feature only gave signs extra weight. Smooth metal sheets then became the norm in sign construction.
Also of note is the sign’s rare, raised, metal lettering. The serif typography seems contemporary, but it was hand-cut and shaped to fit the sign in the early 1930s.