A grassroots campaign raised $22,000 to restore Petaluma's iconic 91-year-old Baby Chicks neon sign, sparking hopes for similar preservation efforts across California.
A beloved but neglected sign has been reborn in the North Bay. The Baby Chicks sign in Petaluma was relit over the weekend, all thanks to a grassroots campaign.
A grassroots community effort successfully restored Petaluma's historic 91-year-old "Baby Chicks" neon sign over the weekend. The $22,000 restoration project was funded entirely through a GoFundMe campaign started by the Petaluma Signs Project. Advocates hope the project serves as a model for hundreds of other California communities to preserve their own historic signage.
The age-old question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, may have finally been answered over the weekend in, where a beloved but neglected historic sign was reborn through community power. In this case, the chicken and the egg both came first. Petaluma's "Baby Chicks" neon sign, located in front of the former Poehlmann Hatchery, looks just like it did the day it was first mounted 91 years ago.
From the 1920s through the 1940s, Petaluma was known as the "Egg Basket of the World," and it remains an important agricultural center today. The Baby Chicks sign was originally erected in 1935, but it fell into poor repair as the decades passed. The total $22,000 restoration was strictly a grassroots GoFundMe effort. Historian Katherine Rinehart served as the initial catalyst for the project.
"These signs need a spokesperson, need an advocate. So, I formed the Petaluma Signs Project," said Rinehart, the organization's founder. Local leaders praised the community's willingness to step up for local history.
"Petaluma is really a community that will stand up when there's need, make sure the project gets completed," said Stacey Atchley, Executive Director of the Petaluma Museum. Organizers said choosing the iconic hatchery sign to launch their preservation efforts was an easy decision.
"Of all the signs in Petaluma, which is the one we should kick it off with? And, it was a natural," Rinehart said.
"People love this sign. It's just like it's this happy, welcome to Petaluma. Really heartwarming; people are just ecstatic.
" "Our history isn't confined to textbooks and museums like this one," Atchley said. "There's special qualities in our historic environment that can really not only transport us to the past but help us feel grounded in the present, and I think the sign is a great example. " Preserving forlorn and abandoned old signs may be a growing sign of the times, and organizers already have eyes on other potential candidates in the area.
The Elm Court sign is a neon sign that currently has no neon. While it is still sitting in place, advocates hope that one day it could shine again. Another option includes local "ghost signs," such as a Coca-Cola sign painted in the 1940s that is an official city landmark. Proponents say it could easily be restored with proper funding and community will.
Additionally, a Ghirardelli Cocoa sign was recently unmasked when a shed was torn away from the side of a building, making it a high priority for refurbishment. While some local business owners have taken it upon themselves to restore their own signs, others now have the opportunity to do the same. are currently underway in California cities like San Jose, San Francisco, and San Diego.
However, organizers believe there is a massive opportunity for hundreds of other cities, towns, and hamlets to start their own historic preservations. If you've ever basked in the warm glow of a neon sign, you'd know the attraction to the light is something unique. We've highlighted San Francisco's vibrant neon signs and it's like taking a trip through time
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