Three months after a fire blazed through the Ignite Sign Art Museum, owner Jude Cook is still in the restoration process.
The fire destroyed hundreds of items in the museum in October. Cook tries to celebrate small victories like the restoration of a Tucson pinball machine, but he still has a long way to go.
“1500 square feet of the roof has to be ripped out, then we are going to tear out the room where the fire started,” said Cook. “Then we have plumbing to do, cleaning, and the biggest hoop is getting a new certificate of occupancy from the City.”
He emphasized the community’s role in the restoration. People have donated both money and signs.
“We've had people donate through GoFundMe, we've had some stuff show up that we didn't even know was out there, things hidden away in people's backyard storage and things like that,” he said. “It reinforces our belief that what we're doing is important, because people care enough to show support for where we're at.”
His team decided to redesign the museum.
“We're going to redesign quite a bit of it, change things around, we have a different point of view, and less of the stuff,” he said. “We still have all of the big Tucson restaurant and hotel signs that didn’t get burned in the fire, that helps out a lot. We are trying to focus on what we got.”
Until the museum reopens, Cook and his team will keep its gift shop open during business hours, while visits on Fridays and Saturdays are free of charge.
Cook hopes to reopen the Ignite Sign Art Museum by the end of the year.
