Salt Lake Telegram | 1936-10-15 | Page 19 | Along Broadway with Winchell!

ALONG BROADWAY WITH WINCHELL Columbus Circle Bright Lights Rapidly Gain Gan in ill City's Favor By WALTER WALTE WINCHELL New York by Night Columbus Circle continues to be the fast fastest st growing area of Bright lights in America Today with a skyline of seven spectaculars lars it ranks fourth in the country First is Times rimes Square quare second Chicago's Michigan Blvd third A Atlantic lantic City's Boardwalk and fourth Columbus s Circle For the past 40 years business and theaters have been moving northward from street then to then 3 th and Broadway Today roday most of the Times Square electrics are are concentrated between and streets showing to traffic moving moving moving ing north Columbus Circle ircle is a natural amphitheater and is better laid out for electrics than Times Times' Times Square There There is La isa Laa a civic movement movement movement move move- ment on foot today to put changing changing chang- chang ing ng color fountains at the base of ot the Columbus statue Columbus Circle is considered the hub of ot New NewYork York York all all mileage counts by the A. A A. A A. A and New York State are taken from Columbus Circle as the center of the city Instead of Times Square In this column a year ago we told you that there were bulbs on Broadway Now there are and 22 miles of ot neon Guess the broken hearts hearts' are increasing All this brilliance causes a pink haze laze which rises five miles in the sky over Broad Broadway way You can see seethe the he pink haze from three sta states states- es ew York New Jersey and Connecticut Con Con- And aviators can see the rosy glow low for 25 miles Wrigley canceled 10 electric signs to o buy the big one full of ot fish on Broadway at a month Electric current for tor the big g signs is about 20 per cent of the entire cost The Shearer Howard-Shearer Romeo and Juliet sign has bulbs If It you ou like those fish on the Wrigley spec you'd betler better start chewing It requires three million packs of gum at h cent a pack to o pay for the sign each month Glass blowers are versatile The Corning Glass works that made the giant lens lem for the Mount Wilson observatory snakes makes all aU the neon glass for the signs sIgns sIgns-as as we well l as the beautiful Steuben decorative glass The beam of ot light from the Radio Radio Ra Ra- dio dlo City tower is weak because Itis it itIs itis is red A red bulb loses lose 60 per percent percent percent cent of ot Its Iu brilliance Red is the strongest in neon but one of the weakest in bulbs A watt 50 white bulb gives 50 watts of light but buta a watt 50 red bulb gives only 20 There are five live neon colors Red gold white green and blue but recently off oft shades of ot these same Bame colors have been developed such as ruby red turquoise lavender and amber On one building each flash of a sign caused static caused static until a recent radio interference eliminator was Invent Invented d. d The difference between just a abig abig abig big sign and a spectacular is the element of memory value A big sign with nothing but words is soon forgotten but a big sign with witha a kitten a penguin steaming cup of ot coffee etc all in lights and action action action ac ac- ac- ac tion Is La long remembered Jacob Rupp Ruppert has a sign painted paint paint- ed a block long at St St. and more than triple the size of ot the next largest painted sign In N. N Y Signs Sigm of ot the future will embody the elements in addition to bright brio lights For example fog tog water sparks etc de I Citroen paid francs a month f for or the privilege of ot putting his Ms hIsame n name ame on the Eifel Eitel tower The leading g the theatrical advertiser I o on on- Broadway n is its youngest producer producer pro pro- d ducer Sam Byrd with three signs a advertising White Man That pink haze again Its It's stronger strong strong- e er r on damp nights Moonlight is the bright lights' lights b biggest competitor its competitor its it's too near I d daylight Rain makes the neon do doa a Gilda Gray You never see this o on n a dry night of ot rain t the he A. A P. P coffee spectacular is la asgood as asgood g good as the weather If the s steam team from the cup is watery its it's a a. sign of dry weather weather weather-It if it is very I Intense it is a sign of ot rain I