The Neon Lights Were Bright

There is a facebook page called Save the Signs which posts old photos of neon signs in the United States.  Since it started out as Save The Signs On Colfax, a great number of the photos are about Denver.  The above photo was taken in 1974 and shows the signage for Hertz Rent A Car, the YMCA, and the old Centre Theater in downtown Denver.  The Hertz and the Centre Theater are now gone but the YMCA is still there.  When I first saw this photo it took my breath away because I found I wasn't just looking at the photo, I was in it.  I had walked down that street (East 16th Avenue.) in the winter of 1974 and could feel the freezing cold air on my face, hear the sound of snow and ice crunching under my feet, and smell of snow and automobile exhaust in my nose.  A flash to the past.