We can’t thank our friend, Wally Koval of the wildly popular AWA Instagram account Accidentally Wes Anderson, enough for including our Kickstarter campaign about our efforts to save the historic neon sign at Palomba Academy of Music in NYC , which was forced to close after 64 years in business due to the Coronavirus lockdown, in their latest AWA newsletter.
We really appreciate the love and support! To find out more about our Kickstarter which ends in less than 31 hours and to see the rewards you can get for supporting our documentary: http://kck.st/33J4CRY
From AWA: "Founded by the Palomba family in the 1950s, the Palomba Academy of Music has been serving and enriching the Williamsbridge community in the Bronx borough of New York City for more than 64 years. In addition to being an instrumental influence in their community, the Academy is also known for their historic 25 foot two-color neon signage designed in 1956 by Milton Grauer of the famous Grauer Sign Co. Unfortunately, like many other small businesses, this family run beacon of musical creativity was forced to shut their doors this year.
But as a small glimmer of a silver lining, the ever amazing New York photographers & budding preservationists, James & Karla Murray have taken it upon themselves to save a piece of this historic neon symbol. A Bronx Native herself, Karla had many fond memories of Palomba Academy of Music - even getting her first keyboard from the neighborhood institution.
In 2010, she and James interviewed the second-generation owner, Michael Palomba and photographed the music school & store for their book "Store Front II - A History Preserved" (Disclaimer: We bought their book...and it's super good) Michael let them in on how he inherited the store from his father when he was only 19 years old. He enjoyed being able to teach students not just about music, but about how important the art was to his life. Throughout his time at the shop, Michael truly embedded himself and the shop into the community by providing free lessons to neighborhood kids who were not able to afford them, and holding regular free concerts & recitals.
Karla & James, in tandem with the iconic NYC neon shop 'Let There Be Neon', are planning to gently remove the porcelain enameled panels from the facade of the building and carefully transport the sign to its new home at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio - the largest public museum dedicated to signs in the United States. As they move through the process and the 675 mile journey from the Bronx to Cincinnati they will be filming & compiling what is sure to be a compelling documentary. To make this all a reality, they started a Kickstarter campaign which they have already exceeded their goal. If you would like to be a part of neon history, you can take a peek here! And either way, make sure to take a peek at the other amazing places that they document on their IG every day!"
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