I could hear everything, together with the hum of my hotel neon.
Jack Kerouac
Real neon - the kind hand-made from glass tubes and gas - changes everything.
Real neon signs are vivid and a bit dangerous, traits imbued on the places they illuminate.
Real neon is like lightning in a tube. It amplifies places. We real estateurs should use it as such.
Roy’s Motel & Cafe, in the desert outside of Amboy, CA, did just that.
Waylon Jennings describes living a life of neon with “lovable losers and no account boozers” in Honky Tonk Heroes:
Them neon light nights, couldn't stay out of fights
Keep a-hauntin' me in memories
Well, there's one in every crowd, for cryin' out loud
Why was it always turnin' out to be me?
Waylon is neon, manifested.
A real honky tonk isn’t possible without real neon.
But neon is also Miles Davis, manifested.
And a real jazz club isn’t possible without neon.
Like Miles, neon brings a bit of edge, a hint of excitement within.
...Hey Miles why do you have a green trumpet? Hey Motherfucker I didn’t ask you why you have a black Camera! He scared the shit outta me...
- Jim Marshall
Neon works with jazz. But also steaks, seafood, and cocktails.
Or rockabilly.
And it amplifies motels.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7b7f60-14eb-4d65-a5fc-4619143dc3b9_737x1067.jpeg)
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And restaurants of all types.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff17999a9-41fc-476b-aa6d-086fd892b206_750x1000.jpeg)
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It can animate a place.
The only trick is using real neon.
With real neon, the everyday becomes exciting.
Neon can define a neighborhood.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40386685-35ed-4e8b-9336-dcc18e70868e_750x876.jpeg)
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And it exists across America.
Reno, Chicago, Fargo…
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7fd72305-ceba-4a41-8ad5-c0da14367e95_1000x750.jpeg)
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Neon defines some of our most memorable places.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd4965a08-a58f-4ce8-ac73-2ad42f4b6854_500x333.jpeg)
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Use it in small doses
Or large.
And make places that hum.
Eric appreciate your posts. Most are an art form. Next time you're in Charlotte let me take you to Belle Acres, where the owner Bud Nachman has preserved many of the iconic signs from establishments that are no longer with us.
Agreed. Neon is cool.