EUGENE, Ore. — A crowd of around 40 people watched from a deck on the third floor of the Downtown Athletic Club on Wednesday night as the historic, neon blue J.J Newberry sign across the street lit up for the first time in at least 25 years.
"We came early, just to get a good seat," said Janice Dunn of Eugene. "I think it's an important part of the historic revitalization of the downtown area."
The neon sign was installed in 1959 above the J.J. Newberry store, part of a five-and-dime store chain that's defunct.
Rob Bennett said it has not been operational since at least 1985, when his family purchased the DAC building at 999 Willamette St.
Commercial neon signs were common in downtown Eugene and across the United States in the 1950s and '60s, said Bennett, who expressed the hope that the sign's ambient light will help brighten the urban landscape.
"When my family purchased the (Newberry) building in 1994, we always wanted to fix it and get it up and running again," he said.
The Newberry building, directly across Willamette Street from the main DAC building, houses the athletic club's administrative offices as well as a day care center, basketball courts and other amenities.
Even though the building now accommodates athletes instead of shoppers, the iconic Newberry sign never went down.
Repairs were undertaken by Neon Latitudes, a Eugene company.
The sign will be illuminated every morning from 5 to 7, and every night from 7 to midnight, 365 days a year, Bennett said.
Its restoration complements several other renovation projects under way downtown, he said.
"I think the consensus is that the downtown area needed renovation, and businesses are hoping to get more activity down here," said Bennett, not to be confused with his father, the athletic club's founder and former Eugene city councilor, who shares the first name of Rob.
"So far, the public response has been all positive. People seem happy that we're bringing back history."
Up on the deck, viewers cheered when the neon was initially fired up and afterward unanimously agreed that the sign was a noticeable improvement on the block.
"I think it's pretty great, pretty incredible," said Rick Russell.
"I love the color," said Victoria Harvey of the light blue hue. "I was a little surprised actually that it was a color I liked so much. It's beautiful."
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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com
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