The once homeless Museum of Neon Art (MONA)––now be located on Fourth Street, between Spring and Main––will house the sign that was once hung over Craby Joe’s. According to the keeper of the sign, it will be up and lit by the next Downtown Art Walk, February 14.
The neon sign was at 7th and Main in Downtown Los Angeles since 1933, a corner where secrets are forgotten. It’s speculated that a plaque marking the beginning of the film industry is somewhere here, says Larry Harnisch of the LAT Blog, The Daily Mirror.
The lost angel hidden in the darker side of solitude was Charles “The Poet Laureate of Skid Row” Bukowski, who has influenced a generation of authors writing in angst. That includes musicians–from blues to punk who still have Bukowski do the heavy lifting.
Bukowski struggled through personal hardship found a voice that allowed him to write his way off of Skid Row, and stills
speaks for others who look for the promise of growth after re-invention. This powerful display of
self-empowerment has Harnisch refer to 7th and Main as
Charles Bukowski Square with affection. The idea that a Downtown intersection in transition can mark the previous life of a street––and a man––that voiced the secret demons in others has urban spiritual depth.
Naming 7th and Main Charles Bukowski Square is a valid way to note those who followed the neon into skid row–– and left in a ray of daylight.
Craby Joe's photo courtesy of you-are-here.
What interesting news, a Bukowski Squaare is a very strong idea Ed.
Posted by: Ben | February 08, 2008 at 10:46 PM