Archive for Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Iconic motel sign finds new home with museum
Workers with ACME Sign Inc. work to remove neon bulbs from the White Haven Motor Lodge sign Thursday before dismantling it. The Johnson County Museum of History purchased the sign, though it will go into storage for now due to lack of space to exhibit it in the museum.
July 14, 2010
The Johnson County Museum of History has saved a Johnson County icon for its collection.
The museum purchased an important piece of memorabilia from the now-closed White Haven Motor Lodge in Overland Park— its large, neon sign. The museum disassembled and moved the sign Thursday.
Mindi Love, executive director, said the sign was a great example of Johnson County’s history
“The sign is just an icon for Johnson County and especially Overland Park, so we’ve always thought it was an important piece to have,” she said.
The White Haven Motor Lodge opened in 1957, during a time when the county’s population was really beginning to boom and the automobile was becoming a big part of American culture. While the museum has considered purchasing the signs of one or two other motels, the White Haven sign was certainly the best known in the county.
“The White Haven was able to remain open for such a long time when so many others were closed,” Love said. “Metcalf is such a well-traveled road, so many people in the county and in the region know that sign.”
The museum has had its eye on the sign for some time, first inquiring about purchasing it two years ago when the White family sold the motel to its most recent owners. When the museum learned through a newspaper story that the motel would be closed and that all items would be sold at auction, Love said the museum decided to pool resources to make a bid.
The museum had to bid against a sign museum in the July 2 auction but secured the sign for $5,500. It worked with ACME Sign Inc. to have the sign removed and preserved last week.
But the sign won’t be making an appearance in the museum’s Shawnee facility; Love said the sign would be moved to storage for now as there is not enough space in the current museum to display it. She said the sign would have to remain in storage until the museum is able to move to a new, larger facility.
The museum is setting up a fund to pay for the additional costs to move the sign and eventually restore it for exhibition. Contributions can be mailed to the Johnson County Museum at 6305 Lackman Road, Shawnee, KS 66217, with the identifier “White Haven.” Donations may also be made online at jocomuseum.com.
The community response to the Museum’s acquisition of the sign has been overwhelmingly supportive. KC Modern, a 501(c) 3 organization dedicated to sharing information about mid-century modern housing, architecture and furnishings in the region, has already contributed $250 to the fund to preserve the sign.
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Comments
AmericanSignMuseum (anonymous) says…
Congratulations on saving such a wonderful sign and local icon and keeping it in your community. We at the American Sign Museum always prefer that a given sign remain in its original location and be maintained in working order. If for some reason it has to come down, we like to see it stay in the local area. Failing these two options, we try to save it and preserve it along with its story at the American Sign Museum. Shame on the sign museum - I have to wonder who that would have been - who was bidding against the Johnson County Museum of History!
We'll be watching for news of the sign's restoration and display.