Museum of Neon Art

The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) is an art museum in Glendale, California, dedicated to historic neon signs, electric art, and kinetic art. Founded in 1981, it is the only museum in the United States devoted to neon as an art form, treating the medium as a bridge between scientific principles and artistic expression. Its collection includes iconic signage from Hollywood landmarks such as the Brown Derby and Grauman's Chinese Theatre, alongside works by contemporary artists. Under executive director Corrie Siegel, appointed in 2020, MONA continues to operate from its Glendale facility while offering exhibitions, educational programs, and guided tours.

MONA was founded in 1981 by Lili Lakich and Richard Jenkins in Los Angeles's Arts District, where it remained until 1992. The museum then relocated to Universal CityWalk from 1993 to 1995, followed by a move to Grand Hope Park in Downtown Los Angeles's South Park district from 1996 to 2007. A subsequent move to the Historic Core in 2008 proved problematic due to inadequate space, prompting plans by 2009 to relocate to Glendale. After a period of dormancy from 2012 to 2015, during which the museum declined the donation of a 20-by-35-foot Arby's sign in Santa Monica due to its size and operated a 2,500-square-foot storage warehouse in Pomona housing more than 250 collection pieces, MONA reopened in Glendale in 2016. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the museum to the brink of closure in 2020, but increased memberships and donations enabled its survival. A belated 40th anniversary celebration featured the exhibition "40 Years of Light," with artist Roxy Rose acknowledging MONA's support for the LGBT+ community.

MONA's collection encompasses neon art, kinetic art, clocks, and photographs, with particular strengths in historic neon signage and electric art. The museum's holdings span commercial signage from the 1920s through the 1990s, including rare vintage neon signs and contemporary works ranging from abstract geometric forms to kinetic mechanical sculptures. The collection emphasizes the intersection of electrotechnology, creative design, and fundamental concepts of physics and chemistry. A significant portion of the collection documents Los Angeles's commercial and cultural history, including businesses associated with immigrant communities and LGBT+ establishments. The museum also actively restores objects in its collection and presents the history and technology of neon signage and art.

Signature works in the collection include the Derby sign from the Brown Derby (1929) and the dragon sign from Grauman's Chinese Theatre (1957). The museum holds the "Rugs" sign from Pasadena Rug Mart, an early Armenian American-owned business from the 1930s, and the sign from Matsuno Sushi in Little Tokyo, one of the few businesses to survive the internment of Japanese Americans. From the 1950s, the Billy's Deli sign represents one of the few Jewish businesses in Glendale during its sundown town era. Notable holdings from LGBT+ history include the animated sign from Body Builders Gym, a gay-friendly gym in Silver Lake from the 1970s; architectural art from Man's Country, the longest-running gay bathhouse in Chicago; a parking sign from Midtowne Spa, a former gay bathhouse in Los Angeles; and the sign from Circus of Books, a bookstore and gay pornography store in West Hollywood from the 1980s. The collection also includes signs and a clock from Faultline Bar, a gay bar formerly in East Hollywood from the 1990s.

MONA's Glendale facility, which opened in 2016, was designed by Shimoda Design Group and adapted from two existing structures: a pharmacy and a video arcade. The design incorporates a public paseo created through strategic demolition, which bisects the site and draws visitors across a landscaped deck toward Central Park and Central Library. The paseo is planned to connect to the under-construction Armenian American Museum. The facility includes a studio where the museum offers introductory classes in glass bending.

The Museum of Neon Art is located in Glendale, California, and operates under the leadership of executive director Corrie Siegel. The museum offers exhibitions and tours, including guided walking tours through various Los Angeles neighborhoods. In addition to exhibitions, MONA provides introductory classes in glass bending held in the museum's own studio. The museum is governed by a Board of Directors and an Advisory Board. Recent programming has included the 2021 window-based public display marking the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and the 2023 exhibition "Light in the Dark: Queer Narratives in Neon," organized as part of the One Institute's Circa: Queer Histories Festival. The museum's website is http://www.neonmona.org.