The Willits Arch originally served Reno, Nevada for about twenty years. When a notoriously intrepid and Willits-boostering citizen discovered the cast-off sign while on vacation to that storied resort town, he set in motion a community project that culminated in 1995 with the emplacement of this reworked landmark. Many travelers have no greater memory of this town than the arch, as they trek to the redwood forest parks to the north. It's also something to look at when rush hour traffic slows to a crawl, squeezing through the eye of the needle.
9 comments:
It is nice to see history and historical pieces brought back to create new memories. Nice photo and good story.
Oooh, it's neon! How cool is that. I also like the story behind the sign.
Thats a great pic. I like how you caught the moon and flag in it.
Nice shot. I'm a sucker neon!
Twilight's my favourite time of day and this photo captures that special light beautifully. What is the strange very sharp semi-transparent spire on the left?
Hey there, Benjamin. I hope you're feeling better. That spire is reflecting some light on one of its four flat surfaces, and it holds up the left side of the arch, with an identical one on the right. A more complete, if distant, view of the arch can be seen here:
http://willitsdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2008/04/peaceful-demonstration.html
(The "Peaceful Demonstration" post)
I obviously don't know how to make links in the comments yet. Sorry.
The glass artist who did the neon for this sign's name is Libby Cahill.
Nice to see this photo here.We always think of it as "Libby's sign"
Libby was a friend of late great hot glass artist Lisa Lebow http://www.lisalebow.com/index.html
Thanks for the information, Marlene!
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