Buster Brown Shoes neon sign re-lit in Historic Downtown

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Pocatello's Relight the Night committee have added another neon sign in their efforts to help restore Historic Downtown.

Buster Brown, a comic book character created in 1902 and later used as the mascot for Buster Brown Shoes in 1904, was the inspiration for the neon sign. The sign made its public debut during Historic Downtown Pocatello’s Christmas Night Lights Drive-Thru celebration on Friday.

Relight the Night chairman Randy Dixon said that the Brown Shoe Company have used the Buster Brown sign to advertise their products for decades.

"Basically, he became the marketing tool that the Brown Shoe Company used through the 80s," Dixon said. "These Buster Brown signs were found throughout the United States in shoe stores all over."

The Buster Brown sign is mounted onto a pole near the Center Street underpass across from First National Bar. Dixon said this sign is just one of many his committee has helped restore in Historic Downtown.

'There are 27 neon signs in Pocatello, 17 of which have come back to life since 2013," Dixon said. "That's a great accomplishment for our community, and it has a lot to do with the community, the City of Pocatello, and a Relight the Night coordinated effort. We're very proud of what we've accomplished." 

The sign was originally located at the Hudson’s Shoe Store in 1958 on the 100 block of North Main Street. The sign was later removed and held in storage until 2017, where the owner of the Pioneer Block Building found the sign in the basement of the building and donated it to the Relight the Night committee.

"In the last two months, we've gone ahead and installed the post, and wired it," Dixon said. "The sign and neon were restored, and it's come back to life. This is going to be a great addition to downtown Pocatello."

Dixon says the committee has plans for future restoration projects in 2021 and beyond.