Museum of Neon Art

I was extremely excited to finally visit MONA, and I can honestly say I love every square inch of the place.
Yes, as many other reviews said, it is small, but the signs pack a huge punch and the format allows the guests to get up close and personal with the signs, closer than you would ever unless you were in the sign business. I also love that they seem to be maintaining the signs, instead of restoring them, which is very interesting, as I love seeing how age and weather has affected the signs. The signs rage from massive to smaller (about two or so feet in length).
I personally hope that this museum grows. It’s honestly just the size that makes me go down a star. I would love to see the museum acquire more pieces and expand.
I don’t recommend the museum for children unless they are fully capable of not touching things and are highly respectful.
Other details…
Price: $ 10 (as of June 2016)
Parking: Lot located behind, it was like $ 2 for three hours There is also street parking.

$ 10 bucks to see a single room of neon signs and pictures of neon signs. hmmm… I took a couple of pictures and that’s pretty much the room. Before you enter this area, there’s a little gift shop with little fun things to buy.

MONA Electric Art! Somehow I think there is only one MONA.
Museum of Neon Art in downtown Glendale (not really a museum, it’s a room).
I am mesmerized by neon lights and MONA was founded way back in 1981 by artists Lili Lakich and Richard Jenkins. I saw displays of contemporary neon art from around the world. I’m a nerd but not enough to know all about the chemistry of expanding gases that power up neon signs. Love neon signs, reminds me of Vegas in the old days!
Great place to visit but wayyyy smaller than I expected. It’s literally the gift shop, then you walk into the «paid entrance» area and it’s in a large room. Was hoping for more. Gave myself 3 hours to get through it, took about 30 minutes, haha. And that was really drawing things out. It’s cool though because the signs are truly historic from mostly 50s 60s, and we don’t see those a lot today as they’re very expensive.
Worth a visit if you ever get to Glendale.

Such a cool museum! If these neon signs could talk… what amazing stories they would tell! My husband surprised me with a date night and I so enjoyed the history represented in this space! We enjoyed reading the history of each of the signs from the binder given and then looking for the sign, almost like a treasure hunt! It was also very cool seeing the photography on the wall and I have now found a new appreciation for neon signs after visiting here. They really are beautiful! If you love history and art. you must come check this place out!

I really this place and the idea of it all, i have a high appreciation for neon signage and i definitely consider it art. The museum itself is about 2000 sq feet with about 20 or so very beautiful examples of neon signage in addition to a multitude of pictures of neon signage from around the area. There is a lobby of which you pay for your self guided tour and there are gifts you can buy all before entering the museum.
My issue and the explanation for the 3 stars is the entry fee of $ 10. Now i can see donating $ 10 for my wife and i for the 15 minute self guided tour. I can tell that there is tons of overhead involved here because of the location but this project will never last if it depends on this seemingly growing fee. Whoever is running this establishment needs to get their head out of the clouds so we can all enjoy this for the long term.

Well I live in Glendale and was pretty excited to hear that we’d be having a museum opening up in the city. Here’s what my experience was like:
My boyfriend and I walked into the museum. The guy who was handling the ticket sales was very nice and welcoming! With student ID’s, tickets are $ 8 each. I thought it was a reasonable price until I saw what the museum had to offer…
The museum is all one room filled with neon signs and photos of neon signs. Overall, I think the whole museum is cool and interesting.
However, my only complaint is the price for this. It is not worth $ 8 and I even payed a discounted price. Only takes about 25 – 30 min to enjoy the museum.

Went to the opening reception of a new exhibition at the Museum of Neon Art the other night. They have a beautiful show of small format prints on canvas of photographs of neon art taken by various artists. We were so enamored with one image of a circus clown that we bought it. Very reasonably priced too. Check it out!

Came for a show tonight. What was disappointing was the lack of context, that is, while the neon was certainly appealing, there was nothing about the history of neon or how it’s made, very few signs or plaques on any of the pieces explaining where it came from, the date of item, who the artist was (if known) or what it is. I blew through very quickly. For this place to function as a museum it needs to inform or educate. Otherwise, it’s just another LA art gallery. It’s fairly new so maybe that’s coming. Hope so!

I’ve been greatly anticipating the re-​opening of MONA and it did not disappoint. The sleek building design is beautiful and really compliments what’s inside. The first exhibition that opened was really impressive, showing a thoughtfully curated show of artists that really pushed the boundaries of the medium. The current show of vintage signs is delightful, especially since one rarely gets to be up close and personal with large signage.
I feel the negative comments here are unduly harsh — yes the museum is on the smaller side, but the collections rotate frequently and there’s always something new to see. I can tell that getting this place up and running has been a labor of love from a group of willing volunteers, so $ 8 for entry is not a high asking price in my opinion.
I visit on a regular basis and bring my friends and family when I can. I hope to support this place as much as possible so they can keep their doors open and their lights shining upon Brand Ave.

After reading about the grand openning in the los angeles times about how funky this place was, my wife and I were excited to check it out. The clerk was friendly when we came in and we paid half price admission due to minor construction inside. We wanted to see the museum, but its anything but that unfortunely. Its actually a gallery. One small room, 15 steps from wall to wall and «pictures» of neon advertisements. Granted we were fine that minor construction was going on, but the neon art displays on the wall werent even lit up that was not part of the construction. It sadly was disapointing. After less than 5 mins we came back to the front and asked is this it? One small room? We were told that was it and I asked for our admission to be refunded as this is not a museum. Thats when I was told thats why we paid half admission. I didnt want to argue with the clerk as I could see her onlooking the bosses near by, so we just left. Enjoy the donation. We wont be coming back, sorry.

This is definitely a neat little museum nestled in the Glendale mall, but I will warn you to not put very much money in your parking meter because it is quite small and won’t take you long to do…
Inside the lobby you’ll see a giant neon frog sign, lots of old-​timey neon clocks (very neat), a couple other signs, and souvenirs. An employee informed me that the museum actually owns three warehouses full of neon signs, but because they’re limited space-​wise they have to rotate out the exhibits every few weeks. On the day I visited they were exhibiting predominately modern neon/​gas/​electric art, which was really cool! Some of the pieces were interactive, some were provocative, almost all of them were beautiful — and perfect for photo opps! The employee told me that the next rotation (set to open in about a week, I believe) will feature mostly antique neon signage, which should be really, really neat.
Admission is $ 8 (only $ 5 with student ID!) and it shouldn’t be too hard to find street parking. The employees are really friendly and are more than willing to answer any questions/​talk to you about the art pieces. It’s really a shame they don’t have a bigger venue because this would make for an awesome large exhibit. Definitely worth stopping by for a short visit, though!

After months of anticipation we finally get to visit the new museum in Glendale. Sadly I felt a little underwhelmed, it was not as expected. For what it was worth, I am not certain if I would cough up another $ 8 to visit. The museum is conveniently located across the Americana which is a nice add to the neighborhood.
But as a art enthusiast, felt it needed something more than just 10 to 15 pieces of art displayed. I do admire and enjoy neon art but seeing it captive in a small room took away the magic. This little museum does have potential and possibly willing to give it another try but not anytime soon. The art pieces showed were quite impressive, only wish there was more historical pieces.
There is a nice little gift shop in the main entrance that you can hover around. You can tell they planned well with the design of the building. The glass exterior gives it a very futuristic look. The famous Clayton Plumber sign outside is amazing, surprisingly in working condition.
But that is all there is, even with all the picture taking, it probably only took us less than half hour to get through it all. Thats coming from a guy who likes to stare into an image of the abyss. Will I return, maybe, didn’t really hate it? People are like moths sometimes, we follow the glowing pretty lights.

Finally! A museum in the area. Doesn’t officially open till the 5^th but I got a chance to go inside. Small museum but with a whole lotta character. If you’re a resident, entrance is $ 4? Not bad at all. Wishing great things for this place. Only thing that I’d tell you would be a downfall is that it can be hard to find parking. But besides that, I’d recommend walking from the Americana.

I was very excited to visit this museum. The collection of vintage signs they advertise on there website is what really enticed me to visit. Upon arrival I paid the $ 8.00 admission fee. You enter a fairly large room where you are able to view a little over a dozen neon art displays. You get to the end of the room, searching for an entry way to the next room, only to discover that their aren’t any other rooms. This single room is what you paid $ 8.00 to see. The biggest disappointment was to find that the majority of the signs they have listed as their «collection» on their website were not on display at all. Upon inquiring, I was told that those items are in «storage.» I couldn’t believe it! I felt completely dooped. The website leads you to believe that they are on display, otherwise why list them? I couldn’t care less about what they have in storage. Another employee explained that they will be rotating signs out and in during the months to come. They definitely need to make that clear on their website. If you are interested in seeing vintage neon signs I would suggest The Valley Relics museum in Chatsworth. You pay on a donation basis and it is cram packed with neon signage.

fun neon displays, but it is only one room, so the $ 8 admission charge is way over priced.

Cute little museum with a modest collection of mostly original neon inspired contemporary artwork. Admission is $ 8 and tour is self guided, which is basically browsing a room with some great art pieces featuring use of neon, argon and xenon.
Art on display is absolutely fascinating, but line between restored and original is a bit blurred, as the descriptions don’t really afford the explanation.
The room has a dozen or so pieces on display. If you are a neon geek like me, you’ll have an amazing time, as mostly you know what you are looking at. Otherwise, expect a room filled with cool art and no narration.
To me, the highlight is definitely their «neon cruise», will be booking one of a dozen or so tours soon. They take you on a three hour tour showcasing neon signage around LA.
All is all– stop by and support an «obsolete» art of neon signage!