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Gallup Sun VOL 11 | ISSUE 515
www.gallupsun.com
February 7, 2025
Route 66 Centennial
Bringing the lights back to life Gallup Tourism Department working to fix neon along famous highway
By Molly Ann Howell Managing Editor
U
.S. Highway 66 was established Nov. 11, 1926. It spans eight states and consists of 2,448 miles of highway. New Mexico and the other seven states are gearing up to celebrate the huge milestone of the road’s 100th anniversary. In all, 23.74 miles of the historic road run through Gallup. Gallup’s Tourism and Marketing Manager Matt Robinson said he’s got a multitude of projects and events in the works for next year’s big milestone. Some of those projects include beautification, cleanup, and creating murals. But one of the biggest projects Robinson is currently working on is the refurbishment of the neon signs along Highway 66. NEON OR LED? Robi n son est i mated t hat t here a re about 20 neon signs along Gallup’s stretch of Highway 66. He said he’s been trying to reach out to the business and property owners who possess the signs. However, f ixing a neon sign ca n be expensive. Robinson said a sign owner can expect to spend anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000. But Robinson said the City of Gallup is willing to work with business owners to find grants to help them fix their signs. He said he’s also looking into whether or not the business owners would be willing to sell or relocate their signs to a more centralized area, that way the city could create a sort of neon museum. He also suggested the idea of using LED lights instead of neon. “LEDs are more accessible, more cost-efficient, and they still produce a pretty shine,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s possible to replicate neon, that’s such a unique look, but LED lights are pretty good.” Ultimately, Robinson said it’s up to what the business owner wants to do. HOW DO THEY DIFFER? Neon is a noble ga s a nd thus in the
eighth ma in group of the per iodic table (group 18 according to the newer classification). Like its “siblings” helium, argon, krypton, xenon and radon, it was discovered in the 19th century. The inventor of the neon tube as we still know it today is considered to be the Frenchman Georges Claude, who developed the technology as the first practical application of the gas around 1910 and patented it in 1915. Using neon tubes as a form of illuminated advertising began in Paris. A “classic” neon sign consists of individual glass tubes with electrodes at both ends, one negative and one positive. The glass tubes are filled with a small amount of gas or gas mix, and the electrodes are typically painted with a covering color. But while neon lights are considered fragile because of their use of neon gas, LED lights use tiny semiconductor diodes that emit light directly, resulting in greater energy efficiency, durability, and versatility in color options. A lter nating cu r rent is supplied from both sides of the glass tube, which is why a high-voltage cable leads from each of the two electrodes to the converter. The choice of the right transformer model with the individually required voltage influences the function as well as, among other things, the lifespan of the neon sign and is therefore a bit of a science in itself! Sounds complicated, right? That’s why classic neon lights require a certain level of expertise when it comes to troubleshooting issues that cause malfunctions. Robinson said there aren’t that many neon light experts in the local area, which causes a problem. There are two major companies somewhat nearby: one in Albuquerque and another in Amarillo, Texas. REASONS TO PRESERVE Despite these facts, Melissa Lea Beasley, the President of the New Mexico Route 66 Association, hopes that Gallup business owners don’t go down the LED road. “People are starting to appreciate the history, the beauty, and the look of neon lights,”
she said. “People put in LED lights and say ‘Yeah, it’s OK, but something’s missing.’ It’s the hum! When you get close to a neon sign you feel it, you hear it.” That liveliness is something Beasley strives to preserve. As the President of the New Mexico Route 66 Association and a member of the Route 66 Centennial Commission, she helped bring the issue of honoring Highway 66’s centennial to the U.S. Senate. The commission asked the governmental body to recognize the milestone in 2016,
See ROUTE 66, Page A5
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