TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A month after a fire ripped through portions of the Ignite Sign Art Museum, the beloved midtown institution dedicated to preserving Tucson’s business and cultural history is asking the public for help to rebuild.
The October 19th fire began in the museum’s workshop area, destroying tools, equipment, and countless small, one-of-a-kind pieces collected over the past five decades by co-founder and longtime sign artist Jude Cook. While most of the museum’s large neon signs survived, the “little stuff,” Cook says, includes items so rare he’s only come across them once in his lifetime.
Cleanup has been underway for weeks, with workers recently patching a leak in the roof caused by rain, yet the scope of the damage remains overwhelming.
“It gets in everything,” Cook said as crews continued cleanup. “We had soot inside the vending machines. The entire building has to be completely cleaned, repainted. We’re gonna have to rebuild the whole front office area. It feels a little bit like you’re up against a wall. There’s so much to do.”
Cook estimates the museum suffered around a quarter of a million dollars in losses, including significant lost income from being closed.
“I think we have adequate insurance to rebuild the museum itself, the physical building,” Cook said. “We’re not even gonna be close on contents because we lost the little stuff that I collected over the past 50 years.”
Despite the difficult road ahead, Cook says the community response has been remarkable.
“I’ve had people just donating to us, I’ve had people bringing us signs, stuff like that,” he said. “The city has been great, the whole community has been great. It’s nice to have that kind of support because this is a daunting task.”
To harness that support, the museum has launched a GoFundMe and is now inviting the public to a special on-site fundraiser designed to help jump-start restoration.
The main attraction will be the long-awaited relighting of the restored neon sign from Club Esquire, a former downtown nightspot featured in the film A Kiss Before Dying. The museum had planned the sign’s debut earlier this month, but the fire forced the ceremony to be postponed.
The Fire Sale Fundraiser will take place Saturday, November 22nd, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the museum’s midtown location, 331 South Olsen Avenue. The Esquire Club relighting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Cook says the event will offer items salvaged from the fire that remain in good shape, along with other materials and memorabilia that can help generate funds.
“We’re trying to recoup at least some of the money we had tied up in stuff,” he said. “We’re basically going to be selling things that we have pulled out that are still legitimately in good shape.”
Before the fire, the Ignite Sign Art Museum stood as one of Southern Arizona’s most unique cultural spaces—part museum, part workshop, part glowing tribute to the signs that shaped Tucson’s identity. From classic motel marquees to hand-painted storefront signs, the collection preserves the color, craftsmanship, and history of the region.
Now, the team behind the museum hopes the community will help bring that glow back.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
