Museum Monday - MONA

Everyone should pencil some fun time into their calendar. On Friday, mine was a first time visit to the Museum of Neon Art (MONA) , a hidden gem in Glendale, just a short ride from where I live in Pasadena.

After parking, I strolled on the pedestrian Paseo to the museum entry on Brand Blvd. where I couldn’t help but notice and get excited by the Clayton Plummers sign, which formerly belonged to a plumbing business in Westwood. I could also make out the Jantzen swimmer atop the museum and later learned the swimmers were used in the past on motel signage to indicate the presence of swimming pools on the property.

There is no overhead lighting in the exhibit area, intentionally kept dark to allow you to enjoy the color lighting of the signs. The images above, while nice, don’t do the neon signs justice as part of the experience is seeing some of the lights in “motion”. A favorite of mine was of the space shuttle in flight.

The docents are knowledgable - be sure to ask questions. If you go, make sure to step into the Plasma Room.

Upon learning where I live, the staff pointed out signage attached to the museum store tables that were from Hillcrest Laundry, a former business in Pasadena.

I decided to get a dual membership so I could return for future visits and bring a guest. I also look forward to returning at night to catch the view as shown in the postcard.