Photo © Neil Johnson | Used with permission
Shreveport/Bossier's Texas Street bridge glows from the neon
lights that were installed in 1994.
Neil Johnson: The Neon Bridge revisited
The Shreveport Times, Apr. 16, 2014
In 1993, Mayor Hazel Beard flipped a switch and the Texas Street
Bridge — officially, the Long-Allen Bridge, built in 1934 — soon became known as The Neon Bridge.
Even though many people questioned its cost and scratched their
heads over all the hoop-la, the goal of Shreveport officials (City Hall,
Downtown Development Authority, and Shreveport Regional Arts Council) was to create a signature piece of public art that would not only help define Shreveport in a creative, strikingly visual, and very public way, but connect Shreveport with its sister city on the other side of the river.
 Photo © Neil Johnson | Used with permission. Krebs on The Neon Bridge. | Rockne Krebs (1938-2011), an artist from Washington D.C., |
Despite an engineering struggle, the laser facet of the project
failed in the offset. Years later, the spotlights would be turned off and finally removed. The neon remained on, but, sadly, it was discovered that constant vibration and road dust and grime were the enemies of neon fixtures and tubes. The tubes began to fail and be replaced, but eventually the speed at which the neon failed outstripped the maintenance money to replace them. Repairing the neon was both very difficult and very inconvenient.
After the bridge succeeded in becoming an artistic icon, today, there is much grumbling about the “non-neon bridge.” Only a small percentage of it remains lit.
But fans of the art should take heart!
Pam Atchison, SRAC executive director, assured me that, first, everyone is quite aware of the condition of the neon artwork, and secondly, there is ongoing activity below radar to find the money to, not only replace the lights, but replace the neon with a type of LED light that strongly resembles neon and is much more stable. Though not exactly the same product, check out the “neon” on the Tourist Bureau mural some evening.
Atchison said they had been shooting for the end of 2014 for the
neon rehab, but it will probably be in 2015. With an extremely tight city budget, it’s mostly about finding just the right grant to apply for — and win.
When the next switch is thrown, I will be standing on the riverbank, excited to see the lit bridge again reflected gloriously in the river below. To the Neon Bridge doubters, I will once again state, “It is a work of art, created by a sculptor using light to transform the bridge. It is not decoration.”
I might also add: Patience.
Neil Johnson is the owner of Neil Johnson Photography and is
based in Shreveport-Bossier City.
The Red River Bridge proposal, Rockne Krebs, 1991. Krebs’ first study and original submission drawing for "The Neon Bridge." © Estate of Rockne Krebs/Licensed by VAGA, NY, NY.
On the back of the drawing: “Red River Dave strumming to sundown on the Red River and contemplating the reflection of the Texas Street Bridge. Red River Dave was a Texas cowboy singer from the 33 rpm record era.” Rockne Krebs, 9/1991.
Krebs titled his light sculpture on the Texas Street Bridge, The Red River Bridge, it soon became known as The Neon Bridge.
The Red River Bridge, 1993 © Estate of Rockne Krebs/Licensed by VAGA, NY, NY.
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