The creator of Decopolis in Tulsa launched a GoFundMe.com campaign to help him install a new neon sign at his store on Route 66.
William Franklin launched the campaign a few days ago, with the goal of raising $3,500.
Franklin wrote:
Our area of Route 66 already has some great attractions and neon signs, like the giant Meadow Gold sign, and Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios with their new neon sign!
Our new DECOPOLIS, Neon Shooting Star sign will compliment the giant “Paper Moon” photo op that stands in front of our store. The sign will be approximately 6 feet tall and 18 feet long! The center of the star will feature blinking lights and then several bands of neon. The center of each letter will have neon bands, and behind, on the 3 stripes, will be lights that flash from left to right, creating a shooting star effect!
The City of Tulsa has encouraged Franklin to “go big” on his neon sign. He has applied for a cost-share grant through the city’s Route 66 Neon Sign Grant Program, which has restored or created nearly two dozen new neon signs along the corridor.
One of the local television stations produced a report about the planned Decopolis neon sign. It reported the sign will cost about $14,000, and that Franklin wants it installed by May 1.
Decopolis, housed in a 1920s building at 1401 E. 11th St. (aka Route 66), is two establishments.“TulsaRama” contains Tulsa-related and Art Deco-inspired merchandise and a mini-Art Deco museum. “Discovitorium” features fantasy and science fiction items from “Star Wars” and “Harry Potter” and an area inspired by fossils, archaeology and dinosaurs.
(Image of Decopolis on 11th Street in Tulsa via Facebook)
This business owner is asking others to help pay for his sign that promotes his business? Wow!
It’s not that unusual. Mary Beth Babcock did the same thing with her Buck Atoms store in town.
I recently gave a gift to Tulsa Fire Station 66 — “Keepers fo the Mother Road” — toward the fundraising effort for their neon sign.
Any business owner on Route 66 is a “Keeper of the Mother Road,” and deserves our support if we want the spirit of 66 to continue.
I plan to give to the Gearhead Curios (Galena, Kansas) neon sign effort next month.