‘I took it as a sign’: Artist Chris Bovey opens larger Vintage Print store at iconic corner Boulevard Building, with room for neon museum

Inside an iconic 1910 building, Spokane neon history now shines among layers of memorabilia and vintage prints of regional landmarks.

It’s a dream of artist Chris Bovey, who moved from a Garland District store to the larger Boulevard Building space, 1905 N. Monroe St. Vintage Print + Neon and the new Spokane Neon Museum plan a grand opening Saturday.

A longtime collector of bygone neon signs, Bovey loves their artistry and history. The Boulevard, a landmark itself, holds enough room with tall ceilings to share some of those past glows, along with his nostalgic art of regional landmarks placed on apparel, posters and other products.

“I had always dreamed of including my neon collection with my store,” Bovey said. “Most of these neon signs have always been up high and meant to catch your eye from afar, but everything in here I’ve brought down to eye-level.”

Bovey’s favorite is the Italian Kitchen’s neon chef who flips a pan with a light sequence, a feature missing for years until he restored it. There’s the glow of a huge pizza slice from a Boston’s eatery.

Spread around the store, other lighted letters show the Blackbird, Rocky Rococo, Dempsey’s Brass Rail and Dan’s Barber Shop.

“Once you walk in, you hear the buzz – you hear the chef flipping his pan – and it’s a feast for all the senses, with sights and sounds,” he said.

There isn’t a fee for the neon museum – just a visit to the store. Bovey created plaques telling the history of pieces. He and his wife, Liz, placed the neon around the shop, along with antiques, to showcase various retail displays.

Above a window, a simple neon “Spokane” lights up in white from Spokane Floral, and an old Blockbuster’s sign is displayed across the store.

One corner holds a giant bowling pin with a lighted B, from Spokane’s North Bowl. It was one of 10 pins for a sign that once topped the alley’s building to spell out the business name, while one pin in the middle had an X for a strike.

Bovey said he recently talked with Rob Wolfe from “American Pickers,” because he is seeking a similar bowling pin. Wolfe was at a car show here and told Bovey he plans to visit Vintage Print’s store with a return trip.

Meanwhile, Dan’s Barber Shop sign with its giant scissor is the newest addition, after Spokane Preservation Advocates helped Bovey save the relic.

“The cool thing is Dan’s was just down the road on Monroe, so it stays on Monroe,” he said. “I’m also working with Spokane Preservation Advocates to get the Boyd-Walker Sewing Machines sign that was on Sprague.”

That Boyd-Walker icon likely will go to his “Bovey Boneyard,” an outside display of neon that lights up at dusk near his family’s home in the West Plains. “I think we’re out of room here.”

Bovey’s vintage images cover a range of the region’s icons and historic places, such as Dick’s Hamburgers, Garbage Goat, White Elephant, the Clocktower, Mount Spokane, Lake Roosevelt and Manito Park.

There’s also more space now to stock his products that include T-shirts, socks, blankets, pillows, cups and other trinkets.

For a wall backdrop, the Boveys used weathered wood once part of a 100-year-old St. Maries, Idaho, barn. They found old metal pieces for another section.

The couple used an old White Elephant store billboard as a backdrop for a large T-shirt display rising up the wall.

A more central display has the front of an old Dodge truck, formerly in Bovey’s yard, but now used to hold up canvas art. Old newspaper vending boxes hold folded T-shirts.

Other antiques as decor include a Garland Theater popcorn dispenser and a jukebox.

Bovey’s former Garland store was opened three years ago, after he hoped to be near the Garland Theater, where he worked as a teen.

That Garland lease recently was about to end, and he had dreamed of a larger space for part of the neon collection. He and Liz then saw that the Boulevard site was available.

“We drove down the street after work one day and stopped in here,” he said. “The Realtor just happened to be here showing someone else the space, so the door was wide open. We came in, looked around, and said, ‘Yeah, we think this is a perfect fit.’ ”

As a nod to the Boulevard’s history, Bovey hung up a large, non-neon green sign originally for Stewart’s Home Hardware, the earliest and longest occupant of the triangular building at Northwest Boulevard and Monroe Street. Stewart’s closed in 2012.

He saw the Stewart’s sign on Facebook Marketplace about the time they considered the move. “I took it as a sign, no pun intended.”

Most recently, the Boulevard’s main floor was occupied by Atomic Threads, which closed last year. Its upper floors hold apartments.

While the Bovey’s neon collection items are display-only, he sells smaller neon pieces in the shop.

The store opens Thursday, but the big push is Saturday for Bloomsday weekend.

Several activities are lined up for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, including a band and coupons for nearby Baskin Robbins ice cream, while supplies last. Early visitors can get a handmade Zip’s bag filled with a hamburger and fries from that eatery, also next door.

While a number of historic neon signs remain in his Bovey Boneyard, he’s always on the hunt for more from Spokane-area history.

Working with a grant writer, Bovey said a roughly 10-year plan is to move his overall neon collection into one larger location to combine with items from the Jedi Alliance, a Spokane Valley site with vintage arcade and pinball machine. Jedi Alliance is owned by Tyler Arnold, who with Bovey are partners in the Garland Theater.

For this neon museum start, Bovey said he will accept donations for the signs’ upkeep and power costs. Mostly, he just wants people to enjoy them, and perhaps, revisit memories.

“We hosted Spokane Pride about a month ago when they dedicated the Dempsy’s sign,” added Bovey, who wrote on its plaque about how the inclusive downtown nightclub became a cornerstone of Spokane’s LGBTQ+ community.

“A lot of folks expressed memories. They were in tears being able to see the sign, and see it restored.

“The younger family members of Italian Kitchen (owners) have never seen the chef working, so they are really excited to come to the grand opening to see it. I’m really hoping people can appreciate the artistry, and the craftsmanship, behind the neon.”