The Red Lion Vintage Neon is located at the Red Lion text to pay public parking lot located at 412 Bridge Street
Be sure to come to Bridge Street in the evening to see the Red Lion vintage neon sign lit up.
What is the Red Lion Vintage Neon and why is there a sign in the air - yet there is not a restaurant to visit?
The Red Lion was a greasy spoon restaurant that was located on Bridge Street right where Condado Tacos and Nonla Burgers is now located. The restaurant embodied what it meant to be a community. We reinstalled the amazing vintage neon to reflect on our history and the pride we have as WestSiders to continue to represent what it means to be a community. The Red Lion Vintage Neon was a 2021 ArtPrize entry. If you’d like to learn more about this sign and the restoration process please watch the documentary below.
The Red Lion Vintage Neon Documentary was put together by Max Merget. Thank you!
Be sure to stop into Swift Printing during 8-5 p.m. Monday through Friday to get a fun sticker of the neon. The stickers are free, but donations are greatly appreciated.
Please consider making a donation here.
The Social Media Experience & Updates on the Red Lion Vintage Neon
Follow us on instagram at RedLionGR
Join the facebook Group Red Lion GR
Please use the hashtag #RedLionGR for all your photos.
Casey Jones from WOODTV wrote an incredible story on the Red Lion Vintage Neon
Pre restored photo of the Red Lion vintage neon.
The Rehab Process of the Red Lion Vintage Neon
When Walt and Amy Gutowski decided to sell the property at 449 Bridge Street, there was one non negotiable and that was “We are keeping the Vintage Sign.”
You may have seen it cameo before in “30 Minutes or Less” (check out second 34) or you may have had the privilege of eating at the popular establishment. The vintage neon and popular restaurant was the Red Lion.
Vintage neon is a “thing.” Folks travel from all over the world to see them and to buy them. Our friend John Barnes, who wrote the book Neon Road Trip, told us stories of a guy in Texas who has a warehouse to host his signs and a dentist in Ohio who added onto his house to support his habit. There are also shows such as “Riverdale” that are highlighting the past and younger generations can’t get enough of these vintage views.
“We knew as soon as we took the neon down that we wanted to get it back up in the air,” said Walt Gutowski Jr., owner of Swift Printing “So others can continue to enjoy it - but first we thought, let’s restore it!”
Gutowski reached out to vintage sign guru, Scott Urbane, and his associates at Valley City Sign. Together a plan was developed to bring this beauty back to life. There was just one problem, the vintage neon really didn’t work with any of the current city ordinances regarding signage.
“This isn’t really a sign,” said Jes Gutowski-Slaydon, Swift Printing Co. President. “It is a work of art. but that’s not how it works when you want the city's approval.”
The project got going through many conversations with several city officials including First Ward Commissioner John O'Connor and City Planner Krisitn Turkelson. It was taken to the next level when the city decided it was time for a new amendment to the city signage ordinance to allow for vintage signs to be erected outside.
The city has coined it the Vintage Sign ordinance. Technically an amendment to the sign chapter of the zoning ordinance, but the city has consistently referred to it as the Vintage Sign ordinance.
“This ordinance amendment provides us with a tool that can help preserve signs that have added iconic and historical character to our community,” Said Turkelson.
The Red Lion Vintage neon is the first approved vintage sign. The ordinance went into effect on September 9, 2021.
Swift Printing’s hope is that this neon will once again become an iconic sight in a new way. If you ask anyone, especially from the WestSide, the Red Lion meant a lot to them and their families. What the Kukios family brought to our community for so many years is to be honored and what better way than getting this vintage neon back up.
Photos of the Red Lion Vintage Neon restoration process
The Red Lion in pieces at Valley City Sign. This is the arrow.
The arrow originally had chaser bulbs. This means every four bulbs would light up to make it appear that it is moving.
Thanks to Michale Lacroix from Neon Connection for making the new neon for the Red Lion Vintage Neon.
Keep in mind all the faces on the sign are original - just cleaned really well. I asked Butch and Jason, a father son team at Valley City Sign, what the most “annoying” part was in the restoration process. They both agreed cleaning it was the most tedious. This sign is made of porcelain so nothing got re-painted. Just a lot of elbow grease.
What the sign looked like when first taken down
The old rusty cabinets. They feel apart as soon as the faces were removed from the cabinets.
Randy from Valley City Sign & Walt Gutowski Jr. from Swift Printing Co.
Brittany and Lisa from Valley City Sign who headed up the paperwork and research for restoring the sign and getting the ordinance approval.
Walt Gutowski jr. at the Planning Committee Meeting on 9.9.21
Each piece of neon is attached from the outside of the faceplates.