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Show BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examine! Steve White attaches neon tubes to the face of the Star Noodle dragon while co-workers from YESCO prepare the building where it will be mounted behind him on Historic 25th Street in downtown Ogden, White has spent the past year and a half rebuilding the historic sign. Dragon From 11A sign to be removed and forgotten, where the owners say, 'Oh? What sign?' " Montgomery said. "We've had others on the street take down signs and take them with them ... although nothing as iconic as the dragon." The excitement about the return of the dragon has been building for quite some time now. Barbara Taylor is marketing director of R&O Construction, the Ogden company hired to do the renovation at 225 Historic 25th St. She says once folks found out R&O was doing the renovation on the old Star Noodle Parlor building, they were inundated with questions about the beloved dragon. "We've had so many people asking us. about it — 'When's it going in?' 'When's it coming back?' " she said. "People are pretty excited." Because the building — which was actually two buildings with a common facade — sat empty for so long, there were some structural issues, according to Taylor. The company also had to level the sloped theater floor, and a tunnel was discovered beneath the building. Fischer says a Salt Lake City restaurant, Pig & a Jelly Jar, will be opening a second location on the main level. An IT company will be housed upstairs. Other tenants are pending. The original neon dragon sign was built by YESCO, of Salt Lake City. YESCO president Steve Jones said his company is honored to have handled the restoration of the dragon. "YESCO had its beginnings in Ogden, in the early 1920s," Jones said. "We played a role in 25th Street — including this sign — so this is a real treat for us." YESCO's Steve White was the project manager for the dragon restoration. The neon wonder was delivered to YESCO; on a pallet, on Nov. 19,2013, according to White, and he oversaw a crew of 10 to 12 people who completed various phases of the restoration. White says it was pretty much a labor of love. "For every hour I spent on the clock, working on it, 1 easily spent another hour off," he said. White figures he's got about 200 hours, himself, invested in the project. The sign, which is about 10 feet tall and 12 feet long, includes more than 250 feet of neon, involving 68 separate pieces of neon tubing. It's powered by 12 neon transformers, each with its own circuit. "I've worked here since 2006, and this is easily the most complicated sign I've ever worked on," White said. During the restoration, workers carefully removed several layers of "skins" — metal coverings placed over the sign with each subsequent change in name. White says the "Rooms" reference restored to the current sign was on the original. "We found something in the neighborhood of 10 coats of paint on the sign," Jones said. "And I think we've maintained this sign since we first put it up." Although they can't be certain exactly when the dragon was built, judging from the methods used, White guesses it was created "somewhere in the late '30s or early '40s." And the newly restored neon sign is getting glowing reviews, "It's great. They did a great job," Montgomery said. "It's been one of those missing pieces on 25th Street — this was the final missing piece." Taylor praises the fact that "it's been all local involvement," from the architect, to the construction company, to the sign restoration company. "We're excited because it's a part of Ogden's history, and we're delighted to be a part of it," Taylor said. Added Fischer: "I think everybody, including ourselves, is excited to put the sign back up. I cannot wait to see it up there." Contact Mark Saal at 801-625-4272, or msaal@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @Saaiman. Like him on Facebook atfacebook.com/ SEMarkSaal. |
