Swinging Into the Neon Dusk
Helen’s Children’s Wear, Burnaby. Photo by M.J. Milloy
Vancouver used to be one of the world’s capitals of neon before its dour city fathers ruined the fun in the 1960s and the signs were banned. A handful of gems managed to survive, though, and over the past decade, Vancouver’s neon heritage has become increasingly appreciated. The city even encourages the use of neon on a handful of streets. Still, a number of great signs have vanished in recent years. The latest to go is one of the most unique: Helen’s swinging neon sign in Burnaby Heights, an old streetcar suburb centered around East Hastings Street.
Helen Arnold opened her children’s clothing store in 1948. At the time, Vancouver’s cityscape was littered with a collection of neon signs rivalled only by a few other cities like Hong Kong; presumably, she needed a particularly remarkable sign to stand out. So she leased a sign that depicted a girl on a swing that actually swung back and forth, thanks to magnets and a timing mechanism. Even though the sign cost a lot to operate, Helen credits it with bringing in a lot of business over the past fifty years: “We often get people in here who say that if it wasn’t for that sign, they would never have found us,” she told Burnaby Now in 2004.
Unfortunately, Helen is retiring, and now her sign’s future is in jeopardy. Rumour has it that the City of Burnaby will buy the sign and use it to welcome people to the Burnaby Heights neighbourhood; problem is, in doing so, they would change the sign’s text to “Heights” and prevent it from swinging, since local by-laws prohibit animated signs. This strikes me as a particularly backwards way of saving the sign; not only would moving it and changing the lettering completely decontextualize it, stopping the swing would ruin what made it famous in the first place.
Tags: Neon, Signs, Vancouver
Heights Merchants Association says:
After a 16-month hiatus, the legendary Swinging Girl sign is returning to the Heights! To celebrate the much anticipated return of the Swinging Girl, the Heights Merchants Association welcomes you to join them on Saturday, December 20 at 1 p.m. at Cioffi’s Meat Market and Gourmet Kitchen (4142 Hastings Street) for a special ceremony to honour this occasion.
The return of the Swinging Girl is the grand finale to the Heights Merchants Association’s holiday event, Light up the Heights. Shoppers can visit with Santa, enjoy the sound of carollers and indulge in a sweet treat from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the three Saturday’s leading up to Christmas (Dec. 6, 13 & 20).
Please visit http://www.burnabyheights.com for more information about the Swinging Girl ceremony and Light up the Heights.
December 12th, 2008 at 6:57 pm