Spectacular Illumination: Neon Los Angeles, 1925-1965 is a book that’s focused on Los Angeles’ history of neon signs. It catalogs LA culture and its iconic neon heritage through a collection of more than 200 vintage photographs; capturing radiant lights in the City of Angels from Broadway to Hollywood Boulevard and into the suburbs.

Neon historian and graphic designer J. Eric Lynxwiler designed and edited the book, which features the work of photographers Will Connell, J. Howard Mott, John Swope and many others, showcasing “images that depict, in both color and in black-and-white, what Raymond Chandler, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and countless other writers have tried to put into words.”

Neon was king in the Golden Age. For 43 years, two neon dragons illuminated the landmark Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

+ The Otto K. Oleson Company, whose motto was “Spectacular Illumination,” provided the lighting for the 1930 premiere of Hell’s Angels at the Chinese Theater. Photo via Tom Zimmerman collection

Author and historian Tom Zimmerman was inspired to write Spectacular Illumination after meeting Kim Koga, director of the Museum of Neon Art. “I was also intrigued that the history of neon mixed the impact of Hollywood and great design, two elements that are so important to the history of Los Angeles,” Zimmerman said.

Indeed, LA has long been recognized as the most vibrant city in America by virtue of its love affair with neon as popularized in literature, film, and music. “Neon signs can be found anywhere in the country, but what makes Spectacular Illumination a uniquely Los Angeles story is the glorious Hollywood angle, the number of signs on endless commercial streets, and Vine Street as ‘neon central,'” said Zimmerman.

Transport yourself back to another age by picking up a copy of Spectacular Illumination, and learn more about neon, electric and kinetic art at the Museum of Neon Art.

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• Story by Ariel Katz