North Bend's Neon Sign Glows Again: History of the South Oregon Coast Icon

Published 07/08/25 at 8:15 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(North Bend, Oregon) – Sometimes it's good when history repeats itself, especially in the case of the “Glowing Legacy” of one landmark at North Bend in Coos County. Photo courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast.

For almost 100 years, the south Oregon coast burgh has had a bit of an anomaly when it comes to highway signs. By most standards, that glowing, buzzing beauty made of neon that greets people coming into North Bend isn't supposed to be there. Call it an act of aesthetic rebellion or simply a quirk of history, but the giant neon “Welcome to North Bend” sign was breaking the rules when it was installed in 1936, and maybe even in 2010 when it was replaced.

Either way, the city's glowing greeter was down for a bit in late June, getting a few repairs done: a bit of surgery, if you will. Some of those letters had gone out, but then on June 26 the city announced:

City of North Bend - On the other side it reads “Come Back to North Bend.”

“The iconic Welcome to North Bend neon sign — a cherished symbol of our city's heritage — is undergoing repairs tonight, June 26th! Thanks to our partnership with Art Signs of Coos Bay, the darkened red neon will soon shine bright once again, welcoming residents, visitors, and travelers crossing the historic McCullough Bridge."

This is, after all, as the City of North Bend termed it “a rare exemption from ODOT.” You ain't gonna see this bit of historic and homespun wonder anywhere else in Oregon – in such an official place like the northern edge of the McCullough Memorial Bridge.

It's an interesting bit of south coast history.

First, the latest on the sign:

Photo courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast.

City of North Bend officials say the work was all done late at night on June 26: started and finished. Five letters were out, said Ralph Dunham, Director of Public Works, and the sign had to be cleaned.

“ODOT requires we do the work after peak traffic (reasonably so),” he told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “Thus a night, so took some time to schedule the work.”

Early History of the North Bend Neon Sign

Graphic courtesy Steven Greif, Coos History Center

The original sign (the current one is the second version) went up in 1936 after considerable debate. It was there near the opening of what was then called the Coos Bay Bridge, put up on two pylons and about two blocks from its current location.

Steven Greif with the Coos History Museum noted that it wasn't well received, initially. In July of 1936 (according to newspaper coverage in The Coos Bay Times), the city council voted to “dress up” the city's main street by actually purchasing neon sign for the bridge.

Coos Bay's Conde B. McCullough Memorial Bridge: History, Construction of S. Oregon Coast Landmark

A week later (about July 23), the State Highway Commission at a meeting in Portland said no. There would be no neon sign – that's against the rules.

“City fathers found a way around State Highway Commission rules,” Greif said.

They argued it was being put up on a city street and not the highway (even though it was on Highway 101). North Bend apparently won this, but it wasn't a slam dunk victory. There was still doubt whether the commission would allow this, and the Electrical Products company from Portland that was working on the sign reassured the city that they would assume all costs if it turned out the sign would get yanked. They would, according to the Times in September of 1936, “handle all legal matters pertaining to these rulings” and even refund the city if the sign was ordered removed.

Photo courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast.

During this time, the state still maintained the sign was “a nuisance and contrary to the wishes of the state highway department.” Yet by November 14 of '36 they learned the State of Oregon would not pursue the matter any longer.

Back then there was Dunham's counterpart: city engineer RL Cavanaugh was building the concrete bases that would hold the metal pylons.

So it went up and stayed up for decades, and it seems the commission and later ODOT never really tried very hard to get it taken down.

However, a sizable storm in early '37 broke the sign. It came down for a little while, was repaired, and then in May of '37 it still wasn't working correctly. Not all the letters were lit up. North Bend's mayor at the time publicly expressed his “disgust” with the broken look, and it was fixed around May 21.

Recent History of the North Bend Neon Sign

2025 isn't the first time it had to be taken down, although it's apparently the first time THIS version had to be brought down.

Back in 2010, the original neon sign was decaying, and it turns out the pylons weren't doing so hot, either. It was removed for safety reasons just before Thanksgiving. Set aside at the local fire department, for the next few months city officials mulled over what to do .

They replaced it with a new one.

About here is where Dunham comes in again. He remembers this project fondly as an engineer.

Setting up the new poles that would hold the sign at its new location, he remembers tension in the cables was around 8,800 lbs.

“I do know it was significant because the sign had to be no lower than 19 feet above the highway at its lowest point,” Dunham said.

The cable was stretched very flat, which was a little bit of a challenge even though this is a light load.

“Was a little bit of a fun project for me,” he said. “Corroborated with the logging engineering side as they deal with droop in cable with logging systems more than us normal civil engineers deal with it.”

South Oregon coast officials voted to shell out $50,000 for a replica back in 2011, and the rest is – well, history repeated. They managed to keep the ODOT exemption.

Now the sign – with all its cool 'n kitsch retro vibes – is back, greeting motorists and waving goodbye as they leave.

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