Aurora Fox Arts Center Restoration
This historical sign restoration included 1/8 of a mile of recreated neon tubing
On June 22, the Aurora Fox Arts Center’s circa 1946 neon sign had its official reveal in front of a large gathering at the Colfax Avenue location.
The original palette of the Aurora Fox neon sign and its 760 feet (1/8 of a mile) of new tubing created by Phil Lucero of Neon Underground is restored, thanks to a combination of public funds and the fine craftsmanship of DaVinci Sign Systems, Inc. Restoration of the sign was an 11-month process from start to finish.
There were surprises along the way: when a sign survey found yellow on the tops of the FOX letters, it wasn’t known until after scraping more paint off that the rest of the sign revealed another color combination. In the final version, the vibrant red, yellow, and pale blue honor the original design from 1946 that originated from Denver architect Charles Strong.
The sign is a whopping 61 feet in height, and the work was done without taking the sign down. DaVinci’s team, notably Rudy Cortez, spent many days at the site hovering over Colfax Avenue in an extended bucket while doing expert paintwork. Phil Lucero of Neon Underground, a name reflecting the home basement used to construct 112 tubing units installed on-site, worked his magic and spent months of sleepless nights in the process.
Chris Geddes, the City of Aurora’s Historic Preservation Specialist, worked closely with the project, doing deep research through photos in the archives to ensure accuracy in the color restoration. The yellow background material for the interchangeable letters was replaced with white since the former was from a long-ago repair.
Some notable articles about the project and its origins that appeared in statewide, regional, and local news:
denverpost.com/2024/07/01/aurora-fox-restored-neon-sign-1946/
https://www.9news.com/video/news/community/sign-at-the-aurora-fox-arts-center-gets-some-tlc/
