
Stephen Stout checks out the super-sized Crackle Tube at the Museum of Neon Art. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

“People ask, ‘Where’s the Brown Derby?’ ” said Kim Koga, the museum’s director, referring to the neon sign that once stood atop one of the city’s most famous dining establishments and is now in the museum’s permanent collection. “We couldn’t get it in the door here.” (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

The Pep Boys, Manny, Moe and Jack, are depicted in neon. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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The museum leaves a part of downtown L.A. that in the last decade has been transformed from an area of empty office buildings and sagging storefronts to one of the city’s most vibrant gallery districts, where thousands converge for the monthly Art Walk. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)