Mauretania Neon Sign
Installed in 1938, the first moving neon sign in Bristol continues to illuminate the street at night.
The neon sign spelling out “Mauretania” with a steamship below is a familiar sight to Bristollians, but its history is not as well-known.
Installed in 1938, this was the first moving neon sign in Bristol and advertised the public house of the same name, which was founded in 1870 and had a major makeover that year; it was extravagantly decorated with furnishings from the RMS Mauretania, a famous ocean liner that sailed across the Atlantic from 1904 to 1935.
Unfortunately, the pub no longer exists, replaced by another restaurant called Java. The latter was closed for years, reopened during the COVID-19 pandemic and closed by the lockdown, then reopened and closed again. The building is now home to a nightclub, but the neon sign has remained, illuminating the city and remembering the legendary Mauretania.
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