What's up with that?

Q When neon signs on tall downtown buildings burn out, how do they get repaired?

A After nasty weather, it’s common for sections of the Drake Hotel’s (140 E Walton Pl, 312-787-2200) iconic pink sign to go dark, says operations director Hank Hawerbier. After June’s gales, the 12.5-foot-tall T went on the fritz. “Any time a letter is out, we get calls from our neighbors and drivers on Lake Shore Drive,” Hawerbier says. The hotel has a maintenance contract with Mount Prospect–based White Way Sign, which keeps neon templates for every letter on the Drake’s sign. White Way blows and bends replacement tubes using the patterns, and workers install the new tubes via a built-in ladder on the frame of the hotel’s sign. It’s because of neon’s fragility that the Allerton Hotel (701 N Michigan Ave, 866-553-5040) is looking to change the scarlet sign for its long-defunct Tip Top Tap from neon to LED lighting next year. “LEDs are more reliable, and I don’t think anyone will notice the difference,” says manager Clay Spencer. “The sign is kind of what we’re famous for, so it’s a big deal when it goes out.”

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