In this age of vinyl banners and computer-cut lettering, classic hand-painted metal signs are rusting away and their neon tubes are shattering. Endangered Architecture uses technology to re-create yesterday's signs.

Signs joined the Endangered Architecture repertoire quite unexpectedly. In the summer of 2002, I took several photos of the Tucson Warehouse and Transfer Company building as a reference for the first Endangered Architecture model facade. Atop the building is a prime example of the sort of neon sign they just don't make any more... except maybe in Vegas. Its size, neon, chaser lights, and a well-rendered Mayflower moving truck make this sign a Tucson landmark.

Several days later, in a windy monsoon, the top half of the truck vanished. I suppose it's on the roof now. Looking back at my photos, you can clearly see the rusty seam that failed.

My resolve to capture the building and its sign in model form was cemented that day, and I got to thinking about other classic signs of Tucson, such as the one for Vince's Italian Restaurant. One day several years ago it was felled like a tree. Someone rescued it, and Vince stood for a while in a lot on North Main Avenue, serving up pizza on one side, and spaghetti on the other.