Mesa, AZ - Here's the marquee next to the motel office for the Starlite Motel in Mesa, Arizona. At this property right off the roadside, there are not just one but two fancy marquees. The animated diving woman sign always struck of irony since the motel swimming pool has been gone for several years.

Starlite Motel
Mesa, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s the smaller roadside marquee next to the office of the Starlite Motel in Mesa. It would be a pretty nice vintage motel sign all by itself, but the Starlite happens to have another sign waiting farther out by Main Street. And that second one is rather hard to overlook.

A view looking down Main St. for travelers entering Mesa from the east end of town.

Standing about 77 feet tall, the motel’s famous Diving Lady has been greeting motorists along the eastern approach to Mesa for decades. She does not simply glow in one position. Her neon figure moves through a four-step sequence, bending forward, leaving the diving board, sailing through the air, and finally plunging toward a neon splash below.

Starlite Motel
Mesa, AZ
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

The Starlite Motel opened in 1948 along what was then one of the busiest highway corridors entering the Phoenix area. Main Street carried US 60, US 70, US 80, and US 89 at different points in its history, bringing a steady parade of vacationing families, salesmen, truckers, and winter visitors through Mesa.

The Starlite Motel sign was designed in 1960 by late artist Stanley Russon and built by noted sign maker Paul Millet. According to azcentral.com, the 78 tall sign was commissioned to promote the motel's pool and has been featured in the sign industry's national trade publication Sign of the Times.

Starlite Motel animated sequence
Mesa, AZ
Photo courtesy Nick Florio

The swimmers even still light up at night as the animated neon gives the impression of the swimmer diving off the top of the sign. There are four stages to the animated sign. The first three stages light up the three neon divers in sequence, with the fourth lighting up a blue neon splash.

Motels stretched for miles along this highway during the postwar travel boom. Each one needed something special to catch the attention of motorists before they reached the next vacancy sign. Some offered swimming pools, televisions, kitchenettes, or air conditioning. Others relied on towering neon displays that could be seen from several blocks away. The Starlite eventually had both a swimming pool and one of the biggest signs on the strip.

The neon view traveling along Main St.
Mesa, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Diving Lady was added in 1960 and manufactured by the Paulson Neon Sign Company. Her animated sequence turned an ordinary motel amenity into a small roadside show. Travelers approaching from the east could watch the lady take her endless dive while deciding whether the Starlite would be their stop for the night.

There is one amusing problem with the performance these days. The motel’s actual swimming pool was filled in years ago, yet the Diving Lady keeps right on diving. She launches from her neon board every night toward a pool that no longer exists. Now that is dedication.

The animated neon divers
Mesa, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

UPDATE: The Starlite Motel lost its animated neon diver sign in a thunderstorm on October 5. According to the Arizona Republic, the 50 year old sign was destroyed when a powerful wind gust sheared off a metal pole support. The motel owner states the sign most likely will not be replaced due to funds required and Mesa's sign ordinance. Another roadside treasure has become just a memory. Many thanks to Sarah Moore for news alert. 10-10

Day view of main sign
Mesa, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Diving Lady nearly made her final plunge on October 5, 2010. A powerful microburst struck Mesa with winds reportedly reaching about 75 miles per hour. The storm snapped the sign’s steel supports and sent the enormous structure crashing face-first onto the pavement. Much of the hand-bent neon shattered, and photographs of the fallen lady made it look as though one of Mesa’s best roadside landmarks had been lost for good.

View of fallen sign and motel office
Mesa, AZ
Photo courtesy Nick Florio

Fortunately, the story did not end in the parking lot. The Mesa Preservation Foundation joined local businesses, preservationists, and Route 66 supporters in a campaign to rebuild the sign. More than $110,000 was raised for the project. The damaged pieces were studied, replacement neon was bent by hand, and the structure was rebuilt with stronger supports to better handle future desert storms.

Fallen diver
Mesa, AZ
Photo courtesy Nick Florio

On February 22, 2013, a crowd gathered along Main Street to watch the Diving Lady return. After spending more than two years on the ground, she was switched on and once again made her glowing descent over the Starlite Motel. The rebuilt sign preserved the look and animated movement of the 1960 original while giving the towering structure a much sturdier backbone.

The sheared post
Mesa, AZ
Photo courtesy Nick Florio

The rescue was especially important because so much of Mesa’s old motel row had already disappeared. Many neighboring motor courts were demolished, converted into apartments, or stripped of the signs that once made Main Street such a colorful nighttime drive. A few rescued signs have found new homes in public displays, but the Diving Lady remains where she belongs, standing beside the motel she was built to advertise.

Another view of the sign and post
Mesa, AZ
Photo courtesy Nick Florio

And don’t overlook that second marquee beside the office. The smaller sign may live in the shadow of its 77-foot neighbor, but its script lettering and classic motel styling add another good piece of neon to the property. One surviving vintage sign is always worth a stop. Two at the same motel almost seems like showing off.

Shattered neon letters
Mesa, AZ
Photo courtesy Nick Florio

UPDATE: The Starlite Motel sign was restored and reestablished back to its familiar location in the parking lot. Photos to be added soon. The restoration and replication of the sign cost $100,000. It was good news to hear that that sign is now back. 11-13

The fallen sign
Mesa, AZ
Photo courtesy Nick Florio

UPDATE: The Starlite Motel remains open at 2710 E. Main Street in Mesa. Both vintage signs survive on the property, and the restored Diving Lady continues performing her four-step neon plunge after dark. The swimming pool may be gone, but nobody seems to have told her. 08-26

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