Robert Randazzo, a neon artist in Albuquerque, is restoring vintage signs along Route 66, using decades of expertise to bring iconic landmarks back to life.
Robert Randazzo, a neon artist in Albuquerque, is using his decades of experience to restore vintage signs along Route 66, giving them a new glow and preserving their history.
“Now I’m working on renovating and rejuvenating signs that are about 70 years old,” Randazzo said.
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Randazzo began his career building neon signs on Broadway.
“I had a nice job on Broadway building all the big neon signs out there,” he said.
His journey eventually led him to Albuquerque, where he took over a struggling neon shop.
“They were failing because they really didn’t know anything about neon. So I wound up with the shop. And that’s why I’m here right now after 35 years,” Randazzo said.
Over the years, his work has become a recognizable part of Albuquerque’s landscape.
“I did the bridges here in Nob Hill that go over Central Avenue here, and the bridge out at Coors and Central,” he said.
Randazzo’s current project involves restoring a 20- to 30-foot-high arrow that once stood at the Aztec Auto Court Motel. The process begins with cutting glass using full-scale drawings as a guide, followed by heating and shaping the glass, inserting electronics, and sealing the pieces together.
“The electrode is how you get the electricity to touch the gas inside the tube,” Randazzo said. “That will make the gas glow.”
He explained the delicate process of sealing the glass.
“You just got to get the very ends of the glass molten soft,” he said. “You have to be a little patient and then you put them together, see like that.”
Once cooled, the tube is cleaned and filled with gas, bringing the neon sign back to life.
“There’s something about the light. And when people say that neon is magical, that’s what they’re talking about, is the light,” Randazzo said.
For Randazzo, the satisfaction of restoring these signs goes beyond their visual appeal.
“You get a great deal of satisfaction of knowing that you did something good. When you build something, always build it for the good of people,” he said.
Randazzo hopes more people will learn the craft and help keep neon glowing for generations to come, ensuring the memories of the Mother Road continue to shine brightly.
