Boot and Saddle sign taken down for restoration
What is essentially the final step in the reboot of the Boot and Saddle on Broad Street is finally coming to pass.
The iconic boot sign has been taken down, to be restored by one of the luminaries in the industry (OK, no more puns).
A man named Len Davidson is handling the restoration, according to Petter Zutter of the South Broad Street Neighbors Association.
Davidson has completed thousands of custom neon projects and is the collector behind the nascent Philadelphia Neon Museum, some of which is on display at the American Institute of Architects’ Philadelphia headquarters at 1218 Arch St.
He’s also the guy who restored Reading Terminal Market’s sign at 12th and Arch.
Restoring the sign had been one of the SBSNA’s stipulations for going along with reopening the bar as a music venue nearly two years ago, so it’s good to see the work finally being done. Other conditions governed noise, crowd control and amplification.
So, how neighborly has the Boot and Saddle been?
I don’t live on the block, but I LOVE this place! The music selection, beers, vibe, etc. is tremendous. Very happy to have it.
It’s about time. Now if they could upgrade the lackadaisical staff they would really be making progress.
Ugh! It’s back but they moved the wording – the saddle now has “boot” neon and the boot reads “saddle.” That’s not what I would call a proper restoration.
Ignore my previous post. It turns out that it *IS* true to the original. Someone else pointed out that the placement of the words always differed on the north side versus the south-facing side of the sign. 🙂 My bad.