Wilder’s neon sign reinstalled; relighting event set for Saturday

The historic rooftop neon sign at Wilder’s Steakhouse in downtown Joplin, Missouri, was reinstalled Thursday after being taken down for several weeks for restoration.

The official relighting ceremony for the sign will be at dusk Saturday, April 14. Sunset that day is 7:52 p.m., but it may become dark faster if skies are overcast.

Here’s a video from Facebook of the Wilder’s sign being returned to its roof:

According to a news release, the animated sign had not operated for least 25 years. The restaurant at 1216 S. Main St. landed a $24,000 cost-share grant from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program to restore the sign. (The other Wilder’s neon sign at its front entrance has been continuously maintained for years.)

Sign Designs of Joplin oversaw the restoration. The company told the Joplin Globe the project encountered “no problems at all.”

More images from the sign re-installation may be seen here.

According to the newspaper:

The street in front of the restaurant will be closed so that the public can watch and participate in the lighting. A vintage car show is planned.

Wilder’s will serve as host for a luncheon meeting that day for about 125 members of the Missouri Route 66 Association. Also planned is a cocktail party at 7 p.m. at Wilder’s. Tickets are $100 per couple. A chef-prepared meal, which has sold out, was available for $500 per couple. It will take place after the lighting.

Wilder’s sits several blocks south of Route 66, but the rooftop sign specifically was designed to catch the eyes of travelers on the Mother Road.

Verne Wilder opened a drugstore at that site in 1930 but switched to the restaurant business three years later. The neon signs at Wilder’s date to the 1950s. Mike and Marsha Pawlus have owned the restaurant for more than 20 years.

(Image of Sign Designs workers putting the Wilder’s neon sign back on the restaurant’s roof via Facebook)

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