Funky Philly Facades: Neighborhood Signs, Sages and Storefronts

Part of the 2026 Fall Speaker Series

In the 1930s, a nationwide push to modernize main street store facades was begun, encouraged by New Deal policies and the emerging popularity of streamline modern design. When the economy exploded after WWII, this design trickle led to a torrent of storefront modernization. Striking storefronts were constructed in every corner of mid-century Philadelphia, largely designed by mom and pop business owners and local contractors. Most architects ignored and dismissed such common man creation as “vernacular,” and “not really architecture.”  This talk, excerpted from a book of the same name that is being published by Schiffer Books , tells the story of how Philly artisans used four ordinary materials--tile, stainless steel, neon and wall advertising--to create a distinctive storefront architecture. 

Len Davidson is a PhD sociologist and Philly native who grew up in Oxford Circle.  In 1979, after teaching at University of Florida and apprenticing at a neon sign shop, he returned home to Philadelphia. He searched the city for old neon signs which led to establishing a 40+ year neon design business, publishing Vintage Neon (Schiffer Books 1999), and opening the Neon Museum of Philadelphia in 2021. 

Q&A and refreshments to follow. 

Book Recommendations:

Davidson. Vintage Neon, Schiffer Books, 1999

Esperdy. Modernizing Main Street, U of Chicago Press, 2008

Treu. Signs, Streets, and Storefronts, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012.

Photo courtesy of Neil Benson