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The neon sign that once marked drug store where Tower Records founder Russ Solomon first started selling music adorns the Tower Theatre in 2010.<\/p>\n
ANDY ALFARO<\/p>\n
Sacramento Bee file<\/p>\n
Several months after a historic neon sign associated with Tower Records was installed inside a Broadway office without permission from the city, a Sacramento official said it can remain there.<\/p>\n
The sign, referred to in a mid-2010s interview by Tower Records founder Russ Solomon as \u201cthe dancing kids sign,\u201d dates to 1949 and formerly was installed atop Tower Cafe. It vanished roughly 2-1\/2 years ago before being installed around the holidays inside offices at 1508 Broadway for the Tower District<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Endowment Board, which owns the Tower Theatre building that the cafe and Tower District offices are located in and didn\u2019t respond to an interview request for this story, applied to install a replica of the historic sign. In the process of investigating, the city also learned that a replica Joe Marty\u2019s sign had been installed on the building, with the original sold to an unknown buyer. Its whereabouts are unknown.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s preservation director, Sean de Courcy said in a recent interview that the city will approve replica signs being installed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re basically going to approve what they requested,\u201d de Courcy said.<\/p>\n Why the original Tower and Joe Marty\u2019s signs can\u2019t be reinstalled<\/p>\n The original \u201cDancing Kids\u201d sign was taken down with permission from the city and an understanding that it be renovated and reinstalled, according to Bruce Monighan, the city\u2019s urban design manager.<\/p>\n Tower Theatre has been on the local historic register since 1982, with \u201cthe dancing kids sign\u201d part of the building\u2019s listing. The original sign for Joe Marty\u2019s, named for a prominent local baseball player once thought to be a better prospect than Joe DiMaggio<\/a>, wasn\u2019t part of the listing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a cool, old sign,\u201d Monighan said of the original Joe Marty\u2019s sign.<\/p>\n Signs being listed gives the city \u201cmore control over what happens to them,\u201d de Courcy said.<\/p>\n Still, this control isn\u2019t absolute.<\/p>\n Gretchen Steinberg, who\u2019d raised concerned about what was happening with the historic Tower sign, made a Facebook post about The Bee\u2019s December reporting on the signs. This led Ryan Drury of Pacific Neon to offer assistance to Steinberg, who is no relation to former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.<\/p>\n A different company, Alpha Architectural Signs made the replica signs, but Pacific Neon has worked on some of Sacramento\u2019s most iconic signs<\/a>, including the historic Tower sign.<\/p>\n On April 24, Drury emailed Gretchen Steinberg and Henry Feuss of the city\u2019s preservation office. Drury wrote that he\u2019d met with Frank Yoachum, who manages the Tower Theatre property and that he\u2019d inspected the sign. Yoachum, who didn\u2019t respond to an interview request for this story, presented Drury with a report from Sullaway Engineering.<\/p>\n \u201cSullaway\u2019s report concludes that the sign, in its current condition, is not suitable for reinstallation,\u201d Drury wrote. \u201cThis aligns with a common challenge in our industry \u2014 legacy fabrication methods often do not meet modern structural standards without significant modification.\u201d<\/p>\n Drury added that his company would \u201cnot recommend reinstalling the sign without significant structural revisions as outlined by Sullaway Engineering.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview for this story, Drury said it could be possible to reinstall the existing sign.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re willing to find someone who can underwrite the project and take it on, I think there still is viability to bring that sign out of that office on the wall,\u201d Drury said.<\/p>\n Drury said his firm is currently restoring the sign for W.F. Gormley & Sons funeral home, which is planning to relocate from Capitol Avenue to the former George L. Klumpp Chapel of Flowers location in Land Park<\/a>. He said that the sign would be moved, though he didn\u2019t know when this would be.<\/p>\n Drury noted that the Gormley sign was another that might not meet current city code or standards.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city\u2019s taking a special look at this sign, because it is a historical sign to the city, which gives it maybe a little bit more of… a different pathway for approval to make sure it\u2019s actually kept around and not just recycled or done away with,\u201d Drury said.<\/p>\n What happens now<\/p>\n Joan Borucki, who is executive director of the Tower District, which is a property business improvement district, said she had not gotten word yet of the city approving the installation of the replica sign of the \u201cDancing Kids.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe replica is all done,\u201d Borucki said. \u201cIt\u2019s just been sitting out there at Alpha Architectural for a year now, waiting to get the approval from the city.\u201d<\/p>\n The replica Tower sign hews close to the original, though the two are clearly distinguishable from one another. This contrasts with the Joe Marty\u2019s replica sign, which so closely resembles the original that passers-by might not know a replacement had been installed.<\/p>\n Borucki didn\u2019t know when the replica Tower sign would be posted though she said that \u201cas soon as they get that okay from the city, I imagine they\u2019ll arrange it as fast as possible to get it out there.\u201d<\/p>\n She said that already, the presence of the historic sign inside Tower District had been generating a positive community response. \u201cI sit in that office during the day and there are so many people that come in, want to take their picture in front of it and are all excited about being able to see it,\u201d Borucki said. \u201cIt\u2019s turned out to be a really nice thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Tower Cafe owner Jim Seyman welcomed news that the replica sign would be installed and that the historic sign could remain in Tower District offices. \u201cThat one\u2019s protected and the new one should hold up a lot better over time and that\u2019s a good thing,\u201d Seyman said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to it. Everybody will be so glad to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n Two Tower Cafe patrons, Margie Hahn and Mike Durant walked by Tower District offices on June 1 following a French toast breakfast. The offices were less than 30 minutes from opening, so they stood outside. Durant didn\u2019t immediately see \u201cthe dancing kids sign,\u201d which is visible from the street but can be obscured during daytime by the reflection of glass.<\/p>\n \u201cUntil you pointed it out, I didn\u2019t see it,\u201d Durant said.<\/p>\n Hahn said that she noticed both the sign and a placard on the door advertising an upcoming classic car event on June 20. \u201cI would say both caught my eye,\u201d Hahn said.<\/p>\n Gretchen Steinberg wasn\u2019t thrilled by what had transpired with the sign and wrote in an email to The Bee on Thursday that she was planning to work with the city to try to ensure something similar doesn\u2019t happen in the future with other signs.<\/p>\n \u201cA much-clearer City ordinance is needed in order to ensure Sacramento\u2019s legacy signs can be protected in their original locations,\u201d she wrote. \u201cWe look forward to working with the City\u2019s Preservation Office and local sign companies to proactively address this issue before all of the signs (especially the protected ones\u2014as was the case in this instance) become a distant memory.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 12:11 PM.<\/p>\n Follow More of Our Reporting on Reality Check<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n A group from the city of Sacramento visited Alpha Architectural Signs where they viewed the original and the replica Tower Records signs in July 2024. The people in the photo are, left to right: Jason Lane, general manager for Alpha; Bruce Monighan, the city\u2019s urban design manager; Marcia Eymann, who was city historian at the time and has since retired; and Henry Feuss, who works in preservation for the city. Gretchen Steinberg <\/p>\n
Margie Hahn and Mike Durant of Carmichael pause outside of offices for The Tower District at 1508 Broadway in Sacramento on June 1. A neon sign associated with Tower Records has been inside the offices since late 2025. GRAHAM WOMACK <\/p>\n
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