Western Neon had the pleasure of being working with Paul Murakami to refurbish the Higo Variety Store signage in the International District. It is over 35 feet long and is internally illuminated with over 141 feet of neon.
The Higo 10 Cent Store (later Higo Variety Store, located in Seattle at 602-608 S Jackson Street) represents one of the few threads linking the bustle of Seattle's Japantown of the 1930s to recent efforts to revitalize, economically and aesthetically, the International District.
The Higo Variety Store was started by Sanzo Murakami (d. 1945) and his wife Matsuyo Murakami in 1909, and moved by them to the S Jackson Street location in 1932. For 75 years, the overflowing store of imported household goods and foodstuffs continuously provided a sense of home for the residents of Japantown.
A fixture in the history of the International District, the storefront now houses Kobo at Higo, an art gallery, and represents a renewed enthusiasm for the memories and the heritage of Seattle's Japanese Americans.
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