By Kathy Feist
The neon Bob Smith Motor Co. sign has beckoned customers into its Waldo car lot for decades. But on a chilly November 14th, the worn iconic sign off Wornall Road and Gregory Boulevard was removed and gingerly placed upon an open trailer. When Kansas Citians see it next, it will be restored and lit up at Neon Alley, an outdoor display at the Lumi Neon Museum planned for Pennway Point Entertainment District near Union Station.
“That sign is as old as I am,” mused David Smith, 61-year-old son of the late Bob Smith. He and others associated with the museum stood in the shadows watching its slow removal by an experienced crew with Premiere Signs.
The Bob Smith Motor Co. sign has been an iconic part of south Kansas City since the mid-60s.Bob Smith Motors Co. was a used car dealership that started in 1958 at 69th and Paseo. Over time, the dealership relocated to 65th and Prospect, 65th and Troost, 76th and Troost and finally Wornall and Gregory. The sign, as recollected by Lumi Neon Museum researcher Steve Hartwich, first appeared in the early 60s. He remembers seeing it at the 65th and Troost location in 1966.
“Dating the sign is guesswork at this point,” he says. “We may know when we look at the plate on the transformer inside but I don’t know when that will be.”
Bob Smith Motor Co. closed soon after its owner, Bob Smith, passed at the age of 85 in 2019. The location is now owned by Hawk Automotive whose owners were happy to retain the iconic sign for the past few years.
It may have remained there had Nick Vedros not been informed of its existence.
Vedros is the brain behind the Lumi Neon Museum. The professional photographer had no interest in collecting neon signs until Crick Camera at 77th and State Line Road closed shop in 2017. He asked the owners for the 1946 turquoise sign as a keepsake. It found a home at his River Market residence. Before long, so did numerous other neon signs. He was on a quest to save Kansas City neon.
“Primarily, they have to be historically relevant to people in Kansas City,” Vedros says.
As visions of a vintage neon museum danced in his head, the world-renowned photographer started a non-profit 501(c)(3) and assembled a team of Kansas City business people who shared his dream. The nonprofit’s goal is to rescue, restore, preserve and display iconic neon signs primarily from Kansas City area businesses.
One of those board members is Nick Yoss was busy overseeing a crew connect a cable from an outdoor sign truck’s tall crane to rescue the delicate sign. As it lifted from its post and dipped sideways, rust began to pour onto the street. Peeling paint seemed to get larger as it launched onto the truck.
“It was always in good shape,” Smith said apologetically. “It seems like the paint came off as soon as Dad died.”
Vedros, Smith, Hartwich and board member Mike Bruhn steadied the sign as the cable was loosened. The neon had been taken off the night before.
After it arrives at the shop, the sign will be completely dismantled and fully restored much like the 86 other signs in Vedros’ possession. That includes the Explorer’s Percussion neon sign on 81st and Wornall Road which Vedros collected the following day. The store, which has a customer list of well known drummers from famous bands, closed recently.
Many will have the opportunity to relive past memories when the collection of neon signs illuminates the Pennway Point Entertainment District sometime in the spring. From atop the Ferris wheel, that should be a sight to see.
“I used to be embarrassed by that sign. Now it’s way cool again,” says Smith.
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