In June of 2025, the Carolina Theatre of Durham came to us with a request - rather than performing piecemeal fixes on their iconic neon sign, what would be involved in a full restoration in preparation for the Theatre’s 100th anniversary in 2026?
They’d been talking with a few other sign companies, primarily looking at conversions to LED illumination, but found that LED was coming up short compared to the art & style of real neon tubing. We put together a proposal for them that included replacing all the aging mercury tubes, repumping any neon tubes that needed it, thoroughly cleaning and repainting the sign, and installing brand new hardware, wiring and power supplies.
For on-site support, we turned to Kemco of Burlington’s Outdoor Lighting division, who provided a team of talented electricians and sign professionals to carefully disassemble, clean, paint, and rebuild the 32 year old cabinet. While we were creating new glass tubing at Lightship Neon, our friend Joseph Giampino from SPCLSIGNS repainted all the text and doodad elements by hand, matching both the original text as well as our newly made neon that would sit on top of it.
In total, this project ran just under five weeks from the time when the first glass tubes were taken off the sign to the point when the entire sign was re-lit and came in on budget for the customer. Contact us today to restore your classic neon sign!
A before-and-after view of the Carolina Theatre’s blade sign. The left image, taken in June 2025 during our consultation, shows the sign lit during the daytime. Glass tubes are broken or outright missing, paint is faded, and the tubes have dimmed over the course of their 32-year life. On the right, the sign in November 2025, following a complete overhaul.
On October 6, 2025, Mike, Josh, and Robbie from Kemco begin disassembling the neon sign; all the glass is carefully removed, labeled, and traced on paper as it comes down, so that accurate replacements can be created. Measurements are taken between housing centers so that the new tubing will fit into the existing openings.
By the end of the day on October 6, all the glass has been removed. The Kemco crew makes a series of return trips that week to remove all the metal channel letters, existing housings, and aged magnetic transformers (some dating to 1993) from the sign.
At Lightship Neon, we create a series of new tubes for the sign based on the tracings of the original units. Since these tubes have to fit into the existing housings in the sign cabinet, accuracy is paramount. These arches and bullnoses use cool white, noviol yellow and rich blue tubes.
New script neon for the top and bottom of the cabinet is bent, processed, and painted with special light-blocking paint at Lightship Neon.
At this point, the sign has been pressure washed, and all the channel letters cleaned, repainted and reattached. New glass housings with rubberized gaskets have been installed and new tube supports are mounted on the cabinet, waiting for the neon.
On November 6, SPCLSIGN's Joseph Giampino repaints all the text and flourishes on the sign using traditional hand-painting techniques.
In total, the sign had 64 individual neon tubes, or units, which all had to be carefully transported from our shop in Raleigh up to the Carolina Theatre in Durham for reassembly.
Dexter and Mike from Kemco begin reintsalling the glass on the sign cabinet.
In 1993, Neon Impressions created these triple-stroke neon letters out of 11mm clear glass tubing. We were able to save and reuse all these units, giving the newly refurbished sign a link to its past.
Monday, November 10, 2025: fully restored "The Carolina Cinemas" blade sign at sunset in Durham, NC.
The Carolina Theatre and cinemas wing at sunset, with the restored sign glowing brightly at center.
Durham's skyline, with the newly restored sign featured at bottom right.
After restoration, every electrode housing was equipped with a color-matched gasket to provide a good seal between the glass housing and the metal sign cabinet, and every neon tube was fitted with a silicone grommet, to seal the housing opening closed. This will prevent water, dust, or small critters from climbing into the sign cabinet through unprotected openings.
The courtyard of the Carolina Theatre, glowing with neon lighting.
As the sun sets, the sign stands out strikingly against the darkening sky.
See this sign in person at The Carolina Theatre, 309 W. Morgan St, Durham NC, 27701