Just like everyone else the first thing that drew us to the Northwood Cabins was the sign. With its two distinctive evergreen tress and bright neon lettering it is hard not to notice the sign as you drive past. It has served to either greet or bid farewell to travelers to Tupper Lake depending on the direction they are headed for over 70 years.  Just a mention of the sign usually pinpoints our location to most who ask where we are located. From what we have been told the sign first appeared in the 1940s designed by Arthur LaPorte.  Over time the paint scheme  changed  slightly, but other then that the sign  remained pretty much the same for all those years. We knew to lose the sign would be to lose a piece of Adirondack history, so one of the first priorities once we opened was to get the sign re-lit.  This was not an easy or  inexpensive task , but we felt  it was necessary. Unfortunately,  with the passing of time and the effects of the  North Country winters our sign  was starting to show it’s age, and our attempts at repair it were at best applying  band aids to a much bigger wound. We were able to have the sign lit for most of this past season, but over the course of the summer the problems re-emerged. First we noticed that when it rained the west side of the sign went out.  Given time it would dry out,  but with each passing rain storm it would be a little dimmer when it came back on. So much so that  by the end of August it was out for good.  In examining the sign it also became apparent that the skin itself was failing and would not last much longer. So the decision was made to remove the sign, assess  it’s condition and move forward from there.

The good news was that the base, the pole the sign hangs from as well as the power out to the sign were all serviceable.  The skin not so much, the east side separated as we took it down resulting in three pieces, much of the bottom  one rusted.  The west side was in better shape and came off intact.  So the decision  was made to take this side back to the shop and use it as a pattern so that the sign would not change in appearance. We have committed to also use all neon,  original pieces where we can and replacements when necessary so that this spring when the sign is rehung it will be as if it never left.