The City of Joplin, Missouri, is exploring a proposal to allow neon signs in its historic downtown districts.
According to the Joplin Globe, city staff and the Joplin Historic Preservation Commission are seeking input for the plan at a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the 530 Somewhere restaurant at 530 S. Main St.
Lori Haun, executive director of the Downtown Joplin Alliance and a member of Joplin’s Historic Preservation Commission, said the meeting is “primarily to be able to see some neon signage options for downtown.”
There are restrictions on these signs, she said, but there also is interest in going back to “historic looking” signs.
She noted that historically, a number of downtown businesses had neon signs, including Newton’s Jewelry, the Fox Theatre, and Pearl Brothers hardware store.
“There are a lot of requests for that,” she said. “We haven’t had the opportunity to use that the way the current code is written.”
The size of any signs, their brightness and their hours of operation also likely will be discussed.
Troy Bolander, the city’s director of planning, development and neighborhood services, said the plan has to be mindful of neon signs being a nuisance for upper-level residents in those districts.
I confess I wasn’t aware of any neon sign restrictions in Joplin.
I suspect the city, looking at the great success of the City of Tulsa’s Route 66 neon sign grant program about 100 miles away, is exploring the possibility of such a program there.
Route 66’s centennial in 2026 probably is on many Joplin officials’ minds, too. Joplin contains several Route 66 alignments that go through downtown.
(Images of Wilder’s Steakhouse sign in Joplin, Missouri, courtesy of Jim Thole)