Making a Clean Getaway

Vanishing Austin / Mr. Clean Gene, soon vanishing from a car wash near you
(c) 2009 Jann Alexander, VanishingAustin.com

Get a wink of the Genies at one of Genie Car Wash's three Austin locations before they wink no more. The local Austin chain has been purchased and the neon Genies will (perhaps appropriately) vanish. (Above, the Genie looks down from the William Cannon Dr. location)

There's no shortage of neon in Austin, and while a lot of it is vanishing right before our very eyes, the talented sign designers at Ion Art keep lighting up our skies by creating new (but like old) icons for our beloved places. I met owners Greg and Sharon Keshishion recently when I exhibited at Art City Austin, where we shared our passion for neon art. Some of the neon they've created, though now gone--like the surfer girls from Lucy's Boatyard--is commemorated in my Vanishing Austin photography series.