Double-faced porcelain enamel neon sign was mounted on two poles. Poles were covered with sheetmetal so as to serve as the bottom section of the arch. “Speedee” character at top of the sign between the arches is animated.
This example of the iconic “Speedee” single-arch sign originally identified one of several franchise stores in Huntsville, AL owned by the Steve Johnson family. Richard McDonald created this sign design in 1952. The sign went through several evolutions over time, including the removal of the “15 cents’ in the sign Speedee is carrying and the replacement of the original “ONE” neon with “99.”
The sign was threatened with destruction when the family planned to expand the store in 2008 and needed to move the sign closer to the street. The city would not grant a variance to move the sign and re-install it: A sign such as this is “grandfathered,” meaning although it is too large for the current sign code, it is permitted to remain as long as it is not moved. Various options were explored to keep the sign in its native Huntsville area, but the cost of moving and restoring the sign to a local park or other public place proved to be too much.
The Johnsons then approached the museum about purchasing the sign, but only after it was imminent that it was coming down. A deal was made and the museum arranged to have the sign taken down–amidst much local fanfare–and transported to Cincinnati.
The animated “Speedee” character relates to McDonald’s “Speedee Service System,” imprinted in the porcelain sign face just below the “McDonald’s” neon copy. McDonald’s coined the catchy phrase long beore we identified with the term “fast food,” and used Speedy as a mascot to advertise this long before Ronald Mconald was created.
The sign arrived in “as is” condition with much of the neon missing or broken, the animation not working, and the original graphics for “15 cents” and “ONE MILLION” covered up with painted sheet metal panels. The pole covers that served as the bottom of the arch were missing as were the two poles on which the sign was mounted were also missing.
Total cost for the removal, transportation, installation and restoration was approximately $30,000.
All broken neon was repaired and transformers replaced. New flashers were installed for the 15 cnets and animated arms and feet of Speedee on the “restored side” the sign. The sheetmetal “box” covering the 15 cents copy was removed from both sides of the sign, revealing a second flat sheetmetal panel covering the “15 cents.” That was left intact on the unrestored side, but removed on the restored side. The sheetmetal panel reading”99″ and covering the original “ONE” was also removed from the retored side. Neon for both the flashing “15 cents”and “ONE BILLION” was made and installed on the restored side.There has been multiple times since the original restoration when neon was broken and repaired.
12-30-2016: Neon repair of “ONE” at $135.00
10-20-2017: Neon repair of “ONE” at $45.00
9-14-2018: “ONE” neon section was repaired at a cost of $95.00
10-19-2018: “ONE” neon section was repaired at a cost of $95.00
12-7-2018: “ONE” neon section was repaired at a cost of $130.00
11-9-2018: “OVER” neon section was repaired at a cost of $95.00
4-12-2019: “OVER” neon section was repaired at a cost of $65.00
10-12-2019: “LION” neon section was repaired at a cost of $95.00
1-3-20: Casual Socialite repair “OVER” at a cost of $75.00
2-7-2020: Elizabeth’s Wedding repair/re-pump “SOLD” at a cost of $55.00 Repair/re-pump rose “OVER” broken by museum guest and reported by Jesse
2-21-2020: “OVER” section of neon was repaired at a cost of $70.00
8-9-2021: Serviced flasher at a cost of $42.00
3-17-2023: Repaired shorts in two housings of the vertical apron tubes at a cost of $56.00
National Federation Business & Professional Womens Club Tin Sign