Vintage Marquee Number 9 / 6 Antique Theater Metal Sign

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

Vintage Marquee Number "9" or "6" From the 1926 Hiland Theater in Fort Thomas, Kentucky RARE! Great for decorating! RETRO! Collectible. One-of-a-kind! Quick Overview: ****** VINTAGE CHIC LOOK! RARE! COLLECTIBLE! ****** Own a piece of History! You are bidding on one letter or number from the late Hiland Theater marquee. The Hiland Theater motion picture house opened in 1926 and was located in historic Fort Thomas, Kentucky. It closed sometime in the 1970s. This is the number "9" (or "6") and it stands approximately 8 inches tall and 6 inches wide. It is made of cast aluminum metal, with distressed shabby chippy paint ... a great antique look! The numbers are a great way to commemorate a special day or year, or a house number, or a jersey number, or whatever is special to you! Front and back views: You can paint this, or leave it as is. Nice antique piece that will add character to any room in your house! Looks great on a shelf, mantel, side table, or hung on a wall. What a great find! (See below for more details on the history of these letters.) Check out my other auctions: I have other numbers! Buy as many numbers as you need. *** Going fast! ... The only numbers I have left are 2, 4, 6, 8, 9. All of the letters I had are gone!*** Get yours while you still can!! More Information: HISTORY : What a great find! My late uncle was hired to convert the old Hiland Theater to an office building in the 1970s. He held on to the letters from the marquee and they have been stored in his house ever since. My aunt knew that I sold items on eBay and she decided to let me sell these antiques for her. My research of the Hiland Theater shows that it opened in 1926 in historic Ft. Thomas, Kentucky. I read that the Hiland had a beautiful marquee of neon and S14 bulbs that magically lit the business block at night. The May 1950 issue of BoxOffice magazine reported that the Hiland Theater, the only local motion picture house, was to close its doors April 30, 1950 (Manager Ray Piccola said "patronage at the theater had declined 65 percent in the last four months. He believes the chief factor is the increasing number of television sets in homes".) However, the June 3, 1950, issue of BoxOffice said that instead of being closed, the Hiland would operate on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday schedule. Later the Hiland became a full-time theater again for awhile, as the November 17, 1951, issue of Boxoffice names the Hiland as one of two Cincinnati area theaters that had reverted to weekends-only programming after having recently been reopened for full-time operation. I could not find an exact date of when the theater actually closed, but there is no more mention of it in BoxOffice magazine after 1972. DESCRIPTION : These letters and numbers are made of cast aluminum; they are nice and solid, with shabby, chippy paint. The casting on the underside of each piece reads that it was produced by, "Wagner Sign Service Inc." It looks like the letters have a Patent number of 2048040, a patent granted July 31, 1936. These are flanged letters with its flanges slotted (this is how the letters stayed up on the marquee) . Most of the letters are black or dark brown, but some of them may have spray paint on them and may be silver, blue, green (my late uncle used to use some of them as stencils to make Happy Birthday signs!) If you have a preference, just ask when ordering. The back of each letter is red in color. Most of the letters are approximately 8 inches tall and 5 inches wide (except the the letter "i" and the number "1" of course). Each letter weighs about 9 to 12 ounces, except for the "i" and "1", which weigh about 5 ounces. Some of the letters do have chips of metal missing on the backside (usually around where the flange is slotted). Letters are great to spell out a word for decorating... Spell out F-U-N f... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.