A legendary hot dog sign in Worcester, Massachusetts, is getting a makeover.
Seven years after celebrating its centennial, George’s Coney Island is restoring its neon sign depicting a hand grasping a hot dog.
Coney Island first opened in 1918 and has been owned by the same family for four generations. In a press release Friday announcing the restoration project, it noted that immigrant S.C. Romanoff designed the original sign in 1940.
“Its image has been featured in museum exhibits, magazines, and countless t-shirts,” the restaurant wrote.
“This restoration tells people that we’re here to stay,” Kathryn Tsandikos, the restaurant’s president and third-generation owner, said in a statement. “It’s been a difficult time for so many family owned restaurants, and we’re overjoyed to be able to make this investment in our historic sign with the help of the City of Worcester. We’re grateful to the people of Worcester for supporting us now for 107 years.”
“We’re doing this for the people who light up when they see our neon sign,” added her son, Chief Operating Officer Solon Kelleher. “We considered switching to LED’s as so many landmark neon signs have done like the Citgo Sign above Kenmore Square. There was a recent article in the New York Times about the famous NBC Studios and Rainbow Room sign as well as the Apollo Theater marquis switching over from neon to LED’s. We want to keep that neon glow in Worcester, and we’re grateful to the city for their assistance and investment in our restaurant.”
Work begins Monday with the removal of the old neon tubing. Coney Island says it will be “the most significant investment to the neon sign in over 25 years.”
The restaurant says it received a grant from the Façade Program, administered by the city’s Executive Office of Economic Development.
“Coney Island is an iconic part of our city’s past, present, and future,” Mayor Joseph Petty said in a statement shared by the restaurant. “I am looking forward to seeing a newly restored sign, helping people find this fine establishment for years to come.”
Preservationist Dave Waller of Somerville-based Neon Williams will lead the work. The restaurant notes he has worked on Boston’s Citgo sign and the sign for the Paramount Theatre.
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