NEON GLOW NOSTALGIA BUFFS WILL TOUR VALLEY TO SEE THE SIGNS.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer VAN NUYS - When Chris Pelonis needed extra sizzle siz·zle intr.v. siz·zled, siz·zling, siz·zles 1. To make the hissing sound characteristic of frying fat. 2. To seethe with anger or indignation. 3. for his eighth Chris' & Pitt's BAR-B-Q, only one fire would do: neon. Hot pink. Azure blue Azure Blue is a fictional character who was created by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. He first appeared as an evil miser in The Golden Helmet in Donald Duck Four Color #308. . Canary yellow. A Milky Way Milky Way, the galaxy of which the sun and solar system are a part, seen as a broad band of light arching across the night sky from horizon to horizon; if not blocked by the horizon, it would be seen as a circle around the entire sky. of neon stars - blinking and beckoning barbecue buffs from up and down Victory Boulevard Victory Boulevard is a major thoroughfare on Staten Island, measuring approximately 8.0 miles (12.87 km) and stretching from the west shore community of Travis to the upper east shore communities of St. George and Tompkinsville. . ``I got that in Vegas, the flickering lights Flickering Lights (Danish: Blinkende Lygter) is a Danish action-comedy from 2000 by Anders Thomas Jensen. Plot Flickering Light is about a gang of four men, who on a mission robs a case with four million kroner. ,'' said Pelonis, 80, whose Downey-based Chris' & Pitt's empire once covered 11 states with the tangy sauce. ``My wife and I frequented the Sands, the 'Rat Pack.' ``It's doing very well.'' Twenty-five years later, neon enthusiasts will celebrate the Chris' & Pitt's sign and other Valley neon landmarks during the first San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. neon cruise. The sold-out double-decker tour, hosted by the Museum of Neon Art The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) is a small museum in Los Angeles, California devoted to art built using neon lighting. This includes preservation of old neon signs as well as display of original fine art. According to its flyer, the museum was founded in 1981. on Saturday and on Aug. 24, will ferry signage aficionados on a 40-mile journey of radiant nostalgia from Universal CityWalk Universal CityWalk is a part of Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Japan originating from Universal's first park, Universal Studios Hollywood. to Burbank, Studio City, North Hollywood, Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks. The goal is to draw attention to the Valley's unique neon heritage - some still lit, others now dark - from the 1940s to the present. ``People have never seen this part of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. ,'' said Eric Lynxwiler, a neon cruise guide from the Museum of Neon Art, as he gestured toward the museum's flickering neon collection high above CityWalk. ``Los Angeles has the biggest collection of vintage neon signage, but people don't stop long enough to look at it.'' Neon, a sign of the future, took the world by storm following its discovery in Paris in 1898. Bent glass tubes, filled with neon, argon argon (är`gŏn) [Gr.,=inert], gaseous chemical element; symbol Ar; at. no. 18; at. wt. 39.948; m.p. −189.2°C;; b.p. −185.7°C;; density 1.784 grams per liter at STP; valence 0. or mercury gas, was charged with electricity to create the original Day-Glo spectacle. But it was Los Angeles businessman Earle C. Anthony who in 1923 launched an American obsession for neon by erecting a glittering sign above his Packard showroom. ``It literally stopped traffic, people couldn't believe the beauty of the sign,'' Lynxwiler said. ``It literally transformed America.'' The city - and the nation - exploded with ``ribbons of living flame.'' And the booming Valley was right behind. ``This is the first-ever comprehensive tour of East Valley neon, with over 100 signs,'' said Valley historian and neon cruise guide Mary-Margaret Stratton, retracing the route in a Jackie Onassis scarf, vintage Key lime Key lime n. 1. A lime indigenous to the Florida Keys, having a yellow rind and yellowish-green fruit. 2. A yellowish green. Noun 1. pantsuit and a '63 Falcon convertible. ``Luckily, we have some wonderful gems left from that age.'' Hot nights and postwar neon. Magic drives along the boulevard. The Valley awake, in the money and on the move. A pink-clad woman dives into a pool of blue at the Sherman Oaks Steele's Motel, whose 1934 sign has been saved at CityWalk. The Burbank Safari Inn's 1958 spear and shield still glows in electric orange. ``A drunken clown in front of a liquor store,'' said Stratton, cruising by the red-and-white 26-foot Circus Liquor jester in North Hollywood. ``It's not a drunken clown, not yet anyway,'' contends Circus Liquor owner Roy Hawara, who spends between $1,000 and $1,500 a year to keep his clown grinning. ``I'm very proud, it's a landmark ... we love it, we're going to keep it.'' NEON HIGHLIGHTS Here are some of the highlights of the San Fernando Valley Neon Tour: --Universal CityWalk, Universal City --Safari Inn, 1911 W. Olive Ave., Burbank (1958) --Samuel's Florist, 921 W. Olive Ave., Burbank --Bob's Big Boy, 4211 Riverside Drive A number of cities around the world have a Riverside Drive. In the United States:
--Circus Liquor, Burbank Boulevard and Vineland Avenue, North Hollywood. --Hart's Jewelers and Pawn Shop, 6362 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys. --Bookstar (formerly Studio City Theatre), 12136 Ventura Blvd. CAPTION(S): 5 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) The giant clown at Circus Liquor in North Hollywood is one of the picks for the Valley neon tour. (2 -- color) Bright neon lights reflect in the street fountain at Universal CityWalk. (3 -- color) Neon tour takers will see this vintage sign, the slogan for the old Earl Carrol Theater, at its Valley home in CityWalk. (4 -- color) This neon sign, now in CityWalk, originally graced a Pontiac dealership in Los Angeles. (5 -- color) The colorful Steele's Motel sign, originally in Sherman Oaks, is one of the sights on the Museum of Neon Art's tour. David Sprague/Staff Photographer Box: NEON HIGHLIGHTS (see text) |
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