Neon Undesirable? To the Contrary

* Re Laguna Beach’s consideration of a further ban on neon (“A Switch in Store for Neon?,” Dec. 27): Just who has decided that neon lighting is a blight?

Neon signage is original, beautiful and creative. The first casualty some 30 years ago of Laguna’s anti-neon rampage was the removal of Hotel Laguna’s landmark rooftop sign, long a beacon to ships at sea and motorists on Pacific Coast Highway. While those ubiquitous “open” signs are hardly creative, one only needs to go to Old Pasadena, Pine Avenue in Long Beach or old strips such as historic Route 66 along Foothill Boulevard to see creative and artistic use of neon.

In my opinion, Anaheim has created a confusing tourist maze along its redeveloped Katella Avenue corridor: The U-turn rate in town must have tripled since those monotonous new square “on ground” signs were installed in front of each business. There’s no way to see your motel or restaurant at 40 mph until you are on top of it. Driving to Disneyland in the early days past the neon zigzags of the Space Age Lodge, the Pitcairn, or the Jack and Jill Motel is a memory not easily forgotten or replaced with back-lit plastic. Neon lives!

KEVIN FLEMING

Long Beach