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Tucson's Neon Culture, Part Four

From the Visual series: Tucson's Neon Culture series
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The sign for Riviera Motor Lodge, 515 W. Miracle Mile, Tucson, just after sundown on March 17, 2017. According to Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, "The Riviera Motor Lodge sign’s post-World War II “Streamline” design was commissioned by motel owners Mr. and Mrs. Walczak and Mr. and Mrs. Pearson in 1952. The sign, supported by a massive steel post, originally rose from a brick plinth situated in a small reflecting pool."

Arizona Daily Star photographer Kelly Presnell revisited neon signs that dot the landscape in Tucson. Many are a throwback to a time when a handful of longtime restaurants, hotels and bars served a smaller city. Some of the signs are barely hanging on today. Some have been lovingly restored to their former glory. Regardless, there's no way to duplicate the feel of neon when the sun goes down.

The battered sign for the former Desert Edge Motel, 3562 E. Benson Hwy., Tucson, on March 22, 2017.

Empire Pizza & Pub, 137 Congress, and the Screening Room, 127 E. Congress, neon neighbors downtown, part of the Tucson's neon culture on May 11, 2017.

Neon signs at the Hippie Gypsy, 351 N 4th Ave., TD's Showclubs West, 749 W. Miracle Mile, Tucson.


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