THE PROJECT

Since 1934, the SUN signs have stood atop the Sun Building in Kearney Square and can be seen for miles around. These two large neon signs were regularly maintained over the years but as time went by, the neon became more difficult to maintain and as soon as the signs would be repaired, another section of neon would fail.

In 2017, the Historic Board was contacted about the possible removal of the signs as isolated sections were still lit but for all intents and purposes, the signs had gone dark.  However, they were protected due to their location within the Downtown Lowell Historic District and the suggestion was made to perhaps look at refurbishment rather than removal. The signs were still owned by the newspaper but the building had been sold back in the late 1970s for conversion into senior housing, thus the signs and building were in separate ownership which complicated matters. The Historic Board began discussions with both the newspaper and building owner, The 4th AP Company, to see how the signs could be preserved given their iconic status in the community and at the same time, obtained estimates for the restoration of the signs.

After several years and one pandemic, the project gradually came together.  In late January, 2025, legal documents were finalized and signed that transferred the ownership of the signs from the newspaper to the building owner.  At the same time, the City of Lowell generously provided grant funds to the building owner to cover the approximately $60,000 cost of the restoration.

Over the years, the signs became expensive and difficult to maintain and operate, partly due to the neon components.  As part of this project, the neon will be removed from the signs and LED lighting installed that simulates the neon.  Similar to the Citgo sign in Boston which used LEDs, the LEDs only use about 15% of the electricity that neon does.  LED is solid state and operates at a low voltage of 12 to 24 volts instead of 9,000 to 15,000 volts for neon tubes.  There is also less failure of the LED components when compared to neon that can be adversely affected by shorting and moisture corrosion.  In the past, it would not be uncommon for the signs to see up to four visits a month to perform maintenance on the neon.

In addition, repair of the LEDs or the power supplies is a swap out of parts, not the manufacturing of custom glass shapes filled with neon gas with vacuum and pressure controlled machines and pumps.  So overall, energy usage will be less with the LED conversion resulting in lower energy costs as well as less frequent and lower cost maintenance.  LEDs are considered “green” solutions when compared to neon.

As part of the project, all neon components will be removed and the SUN letter can structures prepared for LED illumination.  This will include patching holes from the neon wiring, cleaning the letters, installing the clips for the LEDs, and scraping, priming, and painting the letters.  Finally, the LED components will be installed including power supplies. 

Undertaking the work will be Signs Now NH who has a familiarity with the signs as their team includes workers who have provided maintenance for them in the past.  The company also has extensive neon and LED upgrade experience.