Neon Vancouver

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About Neon Vancouver

Neon signs in the city of Vancouver.

Vancouver was once the “neon capital of Canada”. By the time it reached its peak in the fifties, Vancouver had the largest collection of neon signs of any city in Canada. There were an estimated 19,000 neon signs at that time, and three different neon sign companies were going full-tilt. It seemed as though they had a competition going to see who could be most creative. If you were to look at pictures of downtown Vancouver and Chinatown in the early sixties, the streets were ablaze with numerous neon lights, and after dark, it was a spectacular sight.

By the late sixties, Vancouver City Council began a campaign to have neon removed from city streets. They referred to neon as “visual clutter” and “sleazy”, and claimed that it was the chief cause of an increase in crime and prostitution in the downtown core. As a result of their impending bylaws, most of the neon signs were removed. As a result, the downtown core and Chinatown became drab and lifeless at night, and crime actually increased. In addition, business owners were finding that plastic signs with fluorescent tubes were easier to maintain and used far less electricity, even though it was far less attractive.

Text courtesy of www.vancouverneon.com
By Robert Boyd
canadianstories.net
Vol 8, No.45, 2005 (excerpt)