Restoring the Golden Star Radio Neon

With the Golden Star Radio sign safely accessible and its vintage neon carefully removed, the next stage of the restoration moved across the Bay to the neon shop in Oakland.

There, the restoration team could finally see just how much of the original Golden Star neon had survived — and what would need to be recreated.

At the shop, Jim Rizzo and Adam Taylor examined and tested the original Golden Star Radio neon tubes.

The results were remarkable.

Some of the glass tubing had survived on the sign for more than 80 years and still illuminated when powered up.

For a historical radio organization, the comparison was irresistible: these lights are like radio vacuum tubes — ageless!

Preserving as much of that original neon as possible became an important part of the restoration. Tubes that remained usable could return to the sign, while missing or damaged sections would need to be recreated.

Making replacement neon isn’t simply a matter of ordering new letters.

Each section begins as straight glass tubing that must be heated and carefully bent by hand to follow the original pattern. It is precise work requiring both technical skill and an artist’s eye.

Adam Taylor recreated the sections that could no longer be used, including new versions of the Golden Star Radio sign’s Cantonese characters.

Placed alongside the originals, the new characters demonstrate just how carefully the historic neon was reproduced.

The neon is only one part of bringing Golden Star back to life.

The restoration also includes new transformers, wiring and electrical service, along with extensive work on the metal sign itself. Back in Chinatown, the sign was being de-rusted and prepared for new paint while the neon work continued in Oakland.

Piece by piece, the Golden Star Radio sign was beginning its transformation.

And an unexpected discovery during that work would soon help answer one of the project’s biggest questions: What did the sign originally look like?