The golden age of neon in New England lasted more than 30 years, from the dark days of the Great Depression through the go-go years of the 1960s, but its spectacular legacy remains—if you know where to look. With dozens of original color photographs and informative text, New England Neon takes armchair travelers—and nostalgia lovers—up and down the main streets and back roads of the region, from the shores of Lake Champlain to the tip of Cape Cod. Photographed and written by Susan Mara Bregman, the volume celebrates the style and exuberance of these one-of-a-kind creations in Boston and Brattleboro, Kittery and Cranston, New Haven and Weirs Beach. Evoking an era when New England glowed at night, the book might make you want to go candlepin bowling or grab a hot wiener and a coffee milk.
Susan Mara Bregman has an eye for the beauty in everyday objects. She began photographing old neon signs in the Boston metropolitan area in 2012 and quickly fell in love with these landmarks of light. Now she finds herself on a mission to document New England’s neon landscape before it completely disappears.