The Museum Restores Union 76 Free Aspirin & Tender Sympathy Sign

The Neon Museum has announced that it will loan the Union 76 Free Aspirin & Tender Sympathy sign to the City of Las Vegas, which will be placed within the Las Vegas Medical District on W. Charleston. As part of the evolution of the Medical District and The Neon Museum’s preservation efforts throughout the city, the sign will be relit after a multiple month-long restoration process by YESCO.

“The Neon Museum is once again thrilled to partner with the City of Las Vegas, particularly Councilman Knudsen, to bring history and historic preservation to Ward 1,” said The Neon Museum’s executive director Aaron Berger. “The Museum envisions a Las Vegas of historic appreciation, and this collaboration allows this fantastic piece to be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike while underlining the Museum’s efforts to get history out of the proverbial attic and into public view.”

Dating back to the late 1950s, the Union 76 Free Aspirin & Tender Sympathy sign was located on what is now Las Vegas Boulevard, and what was originally 5^th Street – a part of Highway 91 that linked Las Vegas to Los Angeles. The sign was then placed on what opened as Allen’s Post Union 76 gas station. Located at 3758 S. Las Vegas Blvd. near the Desert Rose Motel, where Park MGM stands today, and Lone Palm Motel, the current location of New York-New York Hotel & Casino, the property changed owners multiple times until Kenneth Lehman purchased the property in the mid-1970s and remained the owner until the closing in 2001.

Lehman continued the legacy of the “Free Aspirin & Tender Sympathy” and the “Ask Us Anything” slogan and was quoted saying “you can’t put it on a sign and not do it.” In 2001, upon closing of the station, the sign was donated to The Neon Museum. The installation and relighting of the sign dates will be announced later.

Mayor Pro Tem and Councilman Brian Knudsen said, “As the elected representative of Ward 1, I have focused my time on the development of the Las Vegas Medical District.  The integration of public art has been a critical component to creating an environment that supports our growing medical community.  When the opportunity to partner with The Neon Museum came about, without hesitation, we jumped at the chance to showcase Las Vegas history and highlight the connection between science and art.”

The sign has multiple layers of designs spanning over five decades of operation. The original sign from the 1950s-1960s contained hand-painted lettering of the sayings “Free Aspirin & Tender Sympathy” and “Ask Us Anything” outlined in white skeletal neon. S&H Green Stamps is on the header of the sign, which was a reward system by Sperry & Hutchinson company in 1896 that allowed customers to save up stamps rewarded from purchases to get merchandise from their catalog and redemption centers.

The late 1960s-early 1970s owner Jay Manning also is featured on the header of the sign. Vinyl lettering was added in the 1990s and by the 2000s, the sign began to advertise “Mechanic on Duty” and “Snacks, Cold Drinks, and Film,” along with the original slogan of “Free Aspirin & Tender Sympathy.”

The Neon Museum is open daily and includes an outdoor exhibition space known as the Neon Boneyard that is filled with some of Las Vegas’ most iconic neon signs; the North Gallery, home to the immersive audiovisual experience “Brilliant! Jackpot” which uses technology to re-illuminate more than 40 non- operational signs; the Boulevard Gallery outdoor exhibit and event space; and its visitors’ center inside the former La Concha Motel lobby.