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Elmwood Village "Neon Dancers" Ready For Return

They were installed in 1980 and the neon light fixture known as the "Neon Dancers" quickly became a fixture on the Elmwood Strip. Over the decades, time took it's toll, technology changed and it was time for a bit of a facelift. So in 2015, they were removed from their perch above the corner of Elmwood and Bidwell.

BUFFALO, NY - They were installed in 1980 and the neon light fixture known as the "Neon Dancers" quickly became a fixture on the Elmwood Strip. Over the decades, time took it's toll, technology changed and it was time for a bit of a facelift. So in 2015, they were removed from their perch above the corner of Elmwood and Bidwell.

Over the past several months, Paul Strada's crew at NAS Signs has been hard at work, bringing the art installation to it's original luster. Strada actually got his start in neon. He and his brother opened a small boutique shop near the corner of Elmwood and Forest, not long before the dancers began their fancy footwork down the Avenue. Their shop had nothing to do with it, not having the experience nor expertise to produce a piece of that stature at the time, but people thought they did, and that helped their business along. And it continues to grow. The 2-person shop now employs nearly 20 and has moved from the boutique to a 9,000 square foot building near Elmwood and Amherst. Now NAS does everything from design, to fabrication, to installation.

And some 37 years later, Strada says things have come full-circle. NAS now has the experience and expertise to tackle a project this big. They have totally rebuilt it, right down to sand-blasting and repainting the metal frame of the 12 x 24 foot piece. They have replaced the wiring and transistors and even reproduced each and every piece of neon tubing.

The iconic art installation is now ready to return, once a final location is chosen by the city of Buffalo and the Arts Council.

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