Museum of Neon Art (MONA) Announces Fundraiser for Grauman’s Theater Neon-Dragon Restoration

The Museum of Neon Art (MONA), Los Angeles, is launching a crowdfunding campaign to restore one of the neon dragons formerly on the marquee at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, home of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, to its former glory. According to MONA, in 2001, the theater’s owners had planned to remove the iconic neon dragons, which were originally installed in 1958, and donate one to it, and the other to a different museum. However, at the last minute, the owners decided to keep them in an outdoor storage yard. They sat in this condition for six years, and the elements ravaged the dragons. The owners decided to junk the dragons in 2007, but MONA officials found out about the signs’ impending disposal, and were able to salvage them from oblivion.

Today, MONA has retained oen fo the dragons and bestowed the other upon another L.A. nonprofit institution. With the goal of restoring their remaining dragon to its former state in time for the grand opening of MONA’s new facility in Glendale in 2015, the musuem is kicking off a crowdsourcing campaign to subsidize the dragon’s restoration. Their goal is to raise $35,000 by October 10.

The restoration will entail three phases: the first will involve a thorough cleaning and stripping of rust and old paint, as well as making a paper pattern of the handpainted design, priming and repainting; the second requires paper patterns for the glass-neon units and fabrication by a skilled tubebender of the sign’s 65 glass units; and, the final phase includes recreation of the orginal animation sequence, purchase transformers and other neon supplies, wiring and the metal framework that will support the exhibit.

For more information about the campaign, click this link.