The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art (Website) will host a one-night-only experience on Friday, April 12, featuring the Orange Court Motor Lodge neon sign from its private collection.
The Orange Court Hotel was built in the 1920s in downtown Orlando and had 275 rooms and the area’s first indoor swimming pool. It was designed by G. Lloyd Preacher from Atlanta, who actually designed Atlanta City Hall. The hotel ran off and on until the 80s and was demolished in 1990.
The museum has been saving and preserving neon signs from across Central Florida for over 20 years, restoring them and then storing them away from the public eye, but for the first time ever, the museum will be showcasing a sign from its collection for a one-night experience they’re calling “Neon Night.”
The free event will kick off at 6 p.m. with a “Color and Light” tour of the Morse galleries, on a first-come, first-served basis. At 7 p.m., the sign will be lit for the first time in over 30 years, and stay lit until 9 p.m., just outside of the museum.
Check out some of the other signs they’ve restored through the years from a previous story we did in May 2016.
