Encouraged by the headlines ‘neon lights in Łódź‘ in local newspapers and on various pages about neon signs in Lodz on Facebook, I decided to dig into this. Unfortunately, the Internet is one thing, and reality another. Neon lights, like murals (or even more!), have an expiration date. Besides this, the current neon signs don’t compare to those from the past. But don’t worry – in the following post, I won’t only complain. Check what I found out about neon signs in Lodz and use this information in your future exploring.

Table of Contents

• Long time ago
• Nowadays
  • The Neon Sign with the Quote from Dorota Maslowska’s Drama (📌crossroads of 6 Sierpnia Street and Gdańska Street) [working!]
  • Stara Drukarnia (📌 Gdańska Street 130) [working!]
  • Twórczość Czasu (📌 Żwirki 8) [unlikely working]
  • The Cooperative Department Store ‘Central’ (📌 Piotrkowska 165/169) [working]
  • Seagull (📌 Tuwima 10) [working]
  • Łódź Fabryczna station [working]
  • Wdech/Wydech, (📌 Narutowicza 21) [changing location now]
  • Miłość! Wolność! Pamięć! Życie! (📌 crossing of Jaracza and Kilińskiego streets) [not working]
  • Przystanek Architektura (📌 Północna street) [not working]
  • „Beauty Baluty” Gouda Works (📌 Wojska Polskiego 40) [working!]
  • A cat (📌 Legionów 48) [working!]

Long time ago

During my preparation for the exam to become a guide in Łódź, I looked through dozens (or was it hundreds?) of photos of Piotrkowska Street. And let me tell you one thing – Piotrkowska of the 1960s was ‘neoness’! Every self-respecting store or service point had its neon sign. And from what I managed to read, there was even an official plan for the “neonization” of Piotrkowska Street for the years 1964-1965.

Unfortunately, as time passed, the neon signs had more and more technical problems – the service, defects, or even a change of ownership of the wall on which the neon sign was located. On top of all this, the economic situation in Lodz didn’t encourage investing in light inscriptions. So, over time, neon signs at Piotrkowska disappeared.

Nowadays

Sightseeing neon signs in Lodz, in my opinion, is difficult. You have to walk a lot or take a tram, and from time to time get disappointed. The worst thing is that the neon lights work at dusk, so you won’t even get a good look at any murals along the way. That’s why I recommend taking a good companion along to talk on this walk. 😉

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The Neon Sign with the Quote from Dorota Maslowska’s Drama (📌crossroads of 6 Sierpnia Street and Gdańska Street) [working!]

We start at the largest neon sign on our route. Created as part of the Łódzkie Centrum Wydarzeń’s project “Streets of Words” (check the mural and the installation from this series on my Instagram). The curator of the entire project is a Polish journalist and writer Mariusz Szczygieł. He chose the quote featured on the wall. It is in Polish and means that everyone wants to live somehow. The neon sign is so cleverly designed. You can visit it even during the day when it pretends to be a mural. I also recommend looking at the length of the words. The executors of the project – Katarzyna Furgalinska and Lukasz Smolarczyk – took advantage of this calligram situation and built an hourglass out of the words.

Stara Drukarnia (📌 Gdańska Street 130) [working!]

When I was preparing this tour for you, this is where I was disappointment for the first time. Although I found plenty of photos of the beautiful red neon light on the Internet, unfortunately, I couldn’t find it in flash. However, I learned about the extremely interesting history of this place! Before the war, various businesses were conducted here, including the production of stockings. During the Second World War, a printing house was here. After the war, the Military Printing House was located here. What’s more, in the courtyard there is a mural by Russian artist Andrey Berger, which was created in cooperation with the Urban Forms Foundation. Unfortunately, you can try to view it during the office building’s working hours. I, unfortunately, pass by there in the afternoon, so I have not yet managed to see it.

Twórczość Czasu (📌 Żwirki 8) [unlikely working]

Here the disappointment was unexpected because this neon sign is relatively new. I am not sure if it is a permanent failure, so I encourage you to check if it works on your own. The neon sign features the text of Jan Sztaudynger’s epigram. The design, created by Bartosz Bojarczuk, is complicated, so it will be difficult to read the inscription in daylight, as opposed to the above neon sign.

To wipe tears away, I can recommend another location, where you will find an excerpt from another Jan Sztaudynger’s phrase. Look for the playground in Moniuszki Park close to Lodz Fabryczna.

Both works with Sztaudynger poems were created thanks to the Łódzkie Centrum Wydarzeń.

The Cooperative Department Store ‘Central’ (📌 Piotrkowska 165/169) [working]

One of the newest neon signs. It is working, although (ironically) when I was preparing this tour, the owner of the building had covered it with some kind of advertising banner. However, I believe you will have more luck than I had at that time. The neon sign was created to celebrate 50 years of Central – a popular department store in bygone Lodz. This neon sign is an exact copy of the one that hung on Central in the 70s. The original can be seen at the Central Textile Museum in the amazing exhibition City-Fashion-Machine.

Seagull (📌 Tuwima 10) [working]

It’s time for my favorite neon sign – our Lodz’s seagull! First, there was an idea, and then searching for the right place. Fortunately, the perfect place was found. The seagull can be admired on the top of the chimney of the former Henryk Wagner Weaving Accessories and Machinery Factory. The authors of the work are Marcelo Zammenhoff and Jessica Rossolini, and the neon sign was created thanks to the Łódzkie Centrum Wydarzeń.

Łódź Fabryczna station [working]

You may be surprised that the next stop is the train station. However, there is a story to be told, but this isn’t a story about the neon sign which is today on the station’s roof. Before the renovation, the old train station also had a neon sign. It was so characteristic that today it is referred to as iconic. Unfortunately, it was damaged and didn’t return to the station. What happen to it? From what I had read there were several scenarios, among them placing the neon sign on one of Lodz’s streets or transporting it to a museum in Warsaw. I didn’t find the information.

Wdech/Wydech, (📌 Narutowicza 21) [changing location now]

The neon sign that lights up to the rhythm of human breathing and tells us how to breathe (inhale/exhale) calmly. It was the first such large-scale neon installation in Lodz. The authors Katarzyna Furgalińska and Lukasz Smolarczyk emphasized how important the location of the neon light is. Even though it is located at a large and well-lit intersection, it is in the shade. The interesting thing is that there are remnants of an old mural on the wall where the neon light is located. These are fragments of an advertisement encouraging people to relax in one of Lodz’s parks.

Miłość! Wolność! Pamięć! Życie! (📌 crossing of Jaracza and Kilińskiego streets) [not working]

In front of us is another neon light, which is made of Polish words which mean: “Love! Freedom! Remembrance! Life!”. This time words don’t belong to a poet, but to a cardiologist and one of the leaders of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Marek Edelman. The neon sign was intended to commemorate Edelman’s words: “The most important thing is life, and when there is life, the most important thing is freedom. But then you give your life for freedom, and then you don’t know what is most important.” The implementer of the project is the Center for Dialogue in Lodz.

Next to the neon sign is Alina Margolis-Edelman squere, who was a doctor, social activist and Marek Edelman’s wife.

Przystanek Architektura (📌 Północna street) [not working]

This neon was temporary, but it’s a good excuse to mention a certain Lodz event where neon signs, video mapping, and other lights abound. We are talking about the Light Move Festival. This is an autumn festival that turns Lodz for one weekend into one big park of lights. There are plenty of attractions and even more people, but it’s worth going.

What should we say about the Przystanek Architektura itself? The best thing about it is its location! The neon sign was placed on the roof of a historic tramway loop. Currently, this place is being restored, so there’s not much to say now. However, from what I’ve managed to read, there are rumors that there is a chance for the neon sign to return.

„Beauty Baluty” Gouda Works (📌 Wojska Polskiego 40) [working!]

Finally, it is time to admire the work of Gouda, a Lodz-based artist. The design is simple and eloquent, as indeed are all the works of this artist. Neon ‘Beauty Bałuty’ is meant to greet people who enter Bałuty (one of the districts in Lodz) from the city center. The project was curated by Michał Bieżyński on behalf of the Łódzkie Centrum Wydarzeń.

Gouda winks at us in this work. Baluty is a neighborhood with a difficult history. This part of Lodz developed completely without a plan, so the buildings here are in quite a mess. Here the ghetto was placed during the war, where living conditions were difficult. After the war it wasn’t easy either – Baluty was never particularly invested in, which has consequences to this day. Baluty is characterful and really interesting people live here (nice ones, sometimes not so nice). Therefore, Baluty is worth discovering, but with caution.

A cat (📌 Legionów 48) [working!]

Once, there used to be a haberdashery at Legionów 48, with a cat-shaped neon keeping it company. The shop is long gone, but the cat is still here, warming up the place.

Here we finish our tour.

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Below I’ve added a few more neon signs from the past few years, which unfortunately don’t work today, but the installations still hang on the walls (or disappeared lately). So, there is hope that someone will still fight for them.

PS In the neon light world I do not feel as confident as in the painted one. So if you have any information about the installations described here (for example, why something does not work) it will be great if you share it in comment or private message. 🙂

Greetings!

Karolajn