Kansas Free Fair Sunburst
Kansas Free Fair Sunburst
Our brilliant sunburst neon dates to 1948 when it adorned the entrance to the Home Appliance Hall at the Kansas Free Fair, situated in the heart of Topeka, KS on the grounds of the original 1871 Kansas State Fair.
Having had a long history of use for activities related to agriculture and farming, the Kansas Free Fair survived lean years prior to and during WWII. It then picked up where it left off a decade earlier, completing an ultra-modern Appliance Hall in 1948. The unique hall was designed to direct foot traffic in one direction, entering one end of the hall beneath the neon sunburst and exiting another, supposedly beneath a second neon sunburst. By 1950 when an impressive Exhibit Hall opened, the Kansas Free Fair was one of the nation’s largest and most modern facilities of its kind. In 1959, attendance peaked at 410,000.
Over the years, with building additions and ownership changes, the Kansas Free Fair went through a number of name changes, including the Mid-America Fair, the Sunflower State Expo and the Kansas Expocentre. The first event at the Expocentre was a Topeka Sizzlers basketball game. Now the Stormont Vail Events Center at 1 Expocentre Drive Topeka, Kansas, sporting events are still the main attraction.
Our unique mid-century neon comprises a grid of 20 separate red, square, porcelain panels supporting an 11-feet tall by almost 15-feet wide yellow neon sunburst. It was built in 1948 by Arthur Carruth, Jr. of Topeka’s Neon Light Tube Company.
In the mid-1980s, as the property went through another of its many evolutions, collector Michael Stubbs discovered and single handedly salvaged the stack of sign panels, sans neon, from a barn. He later found LUMI through the assistance of Robert McLaughlin at the Kansas Historical Society. LUMI is grateful for Mr. Stubbs’s generosity, as well as the opportunity to see this sun rise again amidst our ever-brighter collection.
Much of this historical content was first written by Joyce Townsend in 1990, with updates by Phil Thompson in 2008. Sources include Kansas Historical Society, The Topeka Capital-Journal, Shawnee County Clerk’s office, Shawnee County Election Office, and Expocentre employees.
Our brilliant sunburst neon dates to 1948 when it adorned the entrance to the Home Appliance Hall at the Kansas Free Fair, situated in the heart of Topeka, KS on the grounds of the original 1871 Kansas State Fair.
Having had a long history of use for activities related to agriculture and farming, the Kansas Free Fair survived lean years prior to and during WWII. It then picked up where it left off a decade earlier, completing an ultra-modern Appliance Hall in 1948. The unique hall was designed to direct foot traffic in one direction, entering one end of the hall beneath the neon sunburst and exiting another, supposedly beneath a second neon sunburst. By 1950 when an impressive Exhibit Hall opened, the Kansas Free Fair was one of the nation’s largest and most modern facilities of its kind. In 1959, attendance peaked at 410,000.
Over the years, with building additions and ownership changes, the Kansas Free Fair went through a number of name changes, including the Mid-America Fair, the Sunflower State Expo and the Kansas Expocentre. The first event at the Expocentre was a Topeka Sizzlers basketball game. Now the Stormont Vail Events Center at 1 Expocentre Drive Topeka, Kansas, sporting events are still the main attraction.
Our unique mid-century neon comprises a grid of 20 separate red, square, porcelain panels supporting an 11-feet tall by almost 15-feet wide yellow neon sunburst. It was built in 1948 by Arthur Carruth, Jr. of Topeka’s Neon Light Tube Company.
In the mid-1980s, as the property went through another of its many evolutions, collector Michael Stubbs discovered and single handedly salvaged the stack of sign panels, sans neon, from a barn. He later found LUMI through the assistance of Robert McLaughlin at the Kansas Historical Society. LUMI is grateful for Mr. Stubbs’s generosity, as well as the opportunity to see this sun rise again amidst our ever-brighter collection.
Much of this historical content was first written by Joyce Townsend in 1990, with updates by Phil Thompson in 2008. Sources include Kansas Historical Society, The Topeka Capital-Journal, Shawnee County Clerk’s office, Shawnee County Election Office, and Expocentre employees.
