Douglas C. Towne
Jude and Monica Cook accomplished the seemingly impossible for the fifth-anniversary celebration of their Ignite Sign Art Museum last fall in Tucson. They resurrected vanished elements of the city’s commercial past back to life with the debut of Argon Alley.
Located in the museum’s backlot, the replica storefronts of former local businesses, including the Lotus Garden Chinese restaurant, Clues Unlimited: A Mystery Bookstore, and the Rincon Market, were just some of the establishments the more than 160 attendees experienced again.
“Visitors walked outside and said, “Wow!” or “I remember that sign,” says Monica Cook. “Then they explored the mini-store structures weaving in and out of the functional doors that take you from one storefront to another on the other side of Argon Alley.”
The museum’s motto is “There’s No Other Light Like Neon.” Argon Alley is named after the element argon, a noble gas that produces blue, yellow, green, violet, white, and some pink colors in neon signs.
The storefronts were conceived over a long time of planning and work. “I sketch every night until I come up with the designs that I think are ready for construction,” says Jude Cook. “We’re basically building mini buildings, as the storefronts along Argon Alley are two-sided and 3 feet deep, so each window display in the structure is only 18 inches deep.”
Although Cook makes the finished product look effortless, the construction process is far from easy. “It gets tight by the time you finish the insides with drywall, lighting, and windows,” he says. “It’s a challenge to design the various storefront facades and choose materials to make each building look different from the one next door to create a street scene.”
The streetscape is fun and practical since it provides a place to install signs that would otherwise be sitting on the ground. And Ignite has a lot of signs. The museum started with more than 250 when it opened in October 2018; the number now exceeds 300. Including smaller items like tin signs, clocks, and cans, there are more than 500 items.
Not bad for a museum that began when Jude hosted a 40th-anniversary party in 2016 for his business, Cook & Company Sign Makers in Tucson. “He lit up all the signs in his shop and invited friends and customers,” Monica Cook recalls. “People loved seeing all the signs, and we heard comments like, ‘This place is like a museum!’”
The Cooks found a suitable museum building with parking, high ceilings, and square footage in the former Clyde Hardware store at 331 South Olsen Avenue in Tucson. Ignite also features rotating exhibits and a neon plant, where volunteers do glass-bending demos. Its unique ambiance has made it a popular place for events and classes.
The museum’s lobby features Deco, a boutique that offers one-of-a-kind local handmade crafts and an abundance of sign-themed art. Monica and her sister started the business in 2009 and relocated it to the museum when it opened in 2018.
Argon Alley is open during the museum’s regular hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. The streetscape shows best after dark, however, when the museum is usually closed. According to Monica Cook, there are occasional viewing opportunities.
“We do get asked about evening events to see the lights along Argon Alley better, so we open at least quarterly at night,” she says. “The nighttime events are called ‘Ignite at Night’ and sometimes include lighting a newly restored sign.”
Despite the opening of Argon Alley, the Cooks are far from being finished with their labor of love. “We’re still adding to the entire museum’s collection and looking for artifacts related to the businesses along Argon Alley,” Monica Cook says.
The sidewalks at Argon Alley are paved with bricks, which raises funds for Ignite. “Friends of Ignite and visitors can purchase a brick and have it personalized with their name or logo,” Monica Cooks says. “When they purchase a paver for Argon Alley, they support Ignite’s mission to save and preserve Tucson and Arizona’s iconic sign treasures.”
“The adventure has been fun, but it would be nice to have a lot more money,” Jude adds. “We could do even more.”
Douglas C. Towne is the editor of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, http://www.arizcc.com/, the 2022 Arizona Historical Society’s Al Merito Award winner.
