Itinerary: Neon Lights

Neon: a rare, colorless, inert gas.

Run an electric current through it, though, and neon not only takes on color but transforms the look and feel of whole neighborhoods--for better or worse. Some cities (we’re not naming names, but the Zip Code starts 902 . . .) have ordinances to keep the stuff out of residential areas. In other spots, relighting old neon is a sign of revitalization.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This weekend, behold some of L.A.’s neon.

Friday

Once the sun drops and the traffic dies down, hop in the car and take a little tour.

High above Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park, a little bowler rolls a slow red ball toward neon pins. The sign once advertised Jensen’s Recreation Center and was dark for 50 years before being refurbished in 1997.

From Sunset, drive south on Alvarado to Westlake to appreciate the neon Wilshire corridor. The Westlake Theatre and the Wilshire Royale Hotel have two of the grander signs. When the rooftop signs were put up in the ‘20s, they were a sign of modernism, but they were turned off at the start of World War II for fear of air bombing raids. By the time the threat passed, tastes had changed and they were never turned on again. By 1996, however, they were restored with $400,000 from the city.

From Wilshire, turn north on Vermont Avenue to 3rd Street, where the Superet Light Church, with its 11-foot purple neon heart, sits. The church, founded by Josephine C. Trust (who claimed to be able to see people’s auras and rid them of black atoms that represented sins), is a city historic landmark.

Saturday

In downtown, a walk down Broadway reveals neon signage for everything from glamorous movie palaces to storefront wedding chapels. In the Grand Central Market, there are more than 30 neon signs. “Generators of the Cylinder” is also worth a stop. This 270-foot-long installation by Michael Hayden, located on Hill Street between 1st and 2nd streets, has built-in infrared sensors that change the lights in response to body heat.

At 7:30 p.m., arrive at the Museum of Neon Art (501 W. Olympic Blvd. Open Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m. $5. $3.50 ages 13-22 or over 65. [213] 489-9918), or MONA, as it’s more affectionately known. The show opening there--”Northern Lights: A Survey of Bay Area Neon Art”--includes 35 works by nine artists such as neon-art pioneers Brian Coleman and Cork Marcheschi.

Founded in 1981 by artist Lili Lakich, the museum started out in downtown, then moved for a few years to Universal CityWalk before relocating in 1996 to a 7,500-square-foot space at Grand Hope Park. The space is not big enough to display the museum’s collection of historic neon signs--some of which remain at CityWalk.

Later this summer, the museum will begin its popular annual Neon Cruises, a Saturday evening bus tour of L.A.’s classic and contemporary neon signs. The tours--on May 29, June 26, July 24, Aug. 28 and Sept. 25--go through Chinatown, the Broadway theater district, Melrose, Hollywood and Beverly Hills and cost $35.

Sunday

Universal CityWalk (Hollywood Freeway at Lankershim Boulevard, Universal City, [818] 622-4455) may seem like a tourist destination, but it is designed, in part, to recall old Los Angeles. Dave Froelich, the architect of record on CityWalk, said he knew MONA didn’t have room to display the huge signs, so CityWalk leased about 20, the oldest of which date from the 1920s.

Among the classics: a 13-foot Richfield eagle from a 1940s-era gas station; two Pontiac Indians from a car dealer on La Brea Avenue; and the sign from Steele’s Motel, which features a diver headed into a swimming pool.