But this is Chico, too

When is an eyesore not an eyesore?

When you say it isn’t. It helps if you can be persuasive about it. Chances are you’ll be facing a skeptical audience. In the end, though, it’s a purely subjective matter. Ugliness is in the eye of the beholder.

Take huge, bright signs that light up the night. They’re part of what Las Vegas is all about. And we know that’s not good. Las Vegas is as crass and charmless a place as you can imagine.

I once considered moving to Las Vegas, but instead I ended up coming to Chico. It’s as unlike Las Vegas as you can get and still be on the same side of the Continental Divide.

But I’m charmed by the Thunderbird Lodge and Senator Theatre signs. I’d be fine if there were a half dozen similar signs lining the part of Main Street just south of the downtown core. Why not put one in front of Jack’s? How about Vagabond Inn? Or Chico Natural Foods?

I don’t go downtown much at night, but when I do, I like to look down Main and see the two signs. They always remind me of the song “Downtown,” by Petula Clark — the part where she sings “Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city, linger on the sidewalks where the neon signs are pretty, how can you lose? The lights are much brighter there, you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares ...”

I don’t know if the two lights are neon. I think nowadays “neon” can be used as synonym for any sign that is bright and brassy. I’ve seen small and restrained versions of them. They’re usually placed in bistro and coffeehouse windows to attract customers. But I must confess it’s the gargantuan signs I associate with an uplifting nighttime urban experience. They exude a distinctly American blend of straightforwardness, exuberance, vulgarity and superficiality. There are times when it’s the right remedy for the blues.

Chicoans may object to my suggestion for more signs along Main Street — Too close to downtown, they may say. If that’s a problem, why not put a bunch of them along Mangrove Avenue? Since we’ve already decided to make Mangrove Chico’s garish, gaudy and glitzy thoroughfare why not go hog wild with it? Let’s create a design overlay district to allow huge up signs that blink, pulsate and shimmer.