What happened to Felix the Cat?

In 2007, the city of Los Angeles almost declared the historic Felix Chevrolet neon sign and dealership an official landmark. Then Mayor Villaraigosa's office asked the Cultural Heritage Commission to stop the process, claiming it would be bad for business. Darryl Holter of Felix Chevrolet promised to maintain the sign for future generations. Five years later, Felix Chevrolet partnered with General Motors to rip out the vintage neon tubes and illuminate Felix the Cat with LEDs. If you want Felix Chevrolet to honor its promise to the city and restore this great neon sign, please sign the petition.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

What Happened To Felix the Cat? Compare / Contrast (updated 11/24/12)

Update 11/24/12: An entire letter "L" has now burned out, only 10 weeks after the new LED sign was installed.


Update 11/8/12: Place a photo of the neon Felix the Cat sign taken by Toby Hancock in August 2012 beside one of the LED sign taken by Chinta Cooper in November 2012, and you'll see how this classic Los Angeles sign has been ruined by the substitution of LEDs in place of neon tubes. Not only are the stripes of LEDs too perfect-looking and the colors and thickness incorrect, but less than two months after the LEDs were installed, individual diodes are already burning out. There is no way to replace individual diodes without replacing the entire row. (11/24/12: image updated to include missing "L")



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