Until the freeways took over the Phoenix Valley as our major routes of transportation, Federal highways 60, 70, 80, and 89 ran along Main Street in Mesa, Apache Boulevard through Tempe, and McDowell Road & Grand Avenue in Phoenix. Neon signs lined the roads advertising motels, restaurants, bars, repairs shops, and retail stores. While the use of neon signs are becoming somewhat obsolete, they are regarded as mid-century functional art that we, in the City of Mesa, want to preserve.

Mesa has several remarkable historic neon signs from the 1940s through 1970s ranging from the Buckhorn Baths on the east side, to the Kiva Motel in central Mesa, and Watson’s Flowers on the west end. One of the most spectacular is known affectionately as the Diving Lady – the last remaining animated neon sign in the Valley. 

Some of the signs that will be displayed in the Neon Garden at The POST include:

• Watson's Flowers
• Dairy Queen
• Bill Johnson's Big Apple
• Ford
• The Diving Lady (replica)