Hacienda Motel sign rides again at Fresno fairgrounds

A restored iconic neon sign from Fresno’s past, a vaquero atop a rearing horse that once stood watch over the old Hacienda Motel at Clinton Avenue and Highway 99 from the 1950s until the early 1970s, has a new home at the Fresno fairgrounds.

The sign was installed Monday, just in time for The Big Fresno Fair’s 12-day run, which will kick off Wednesday, Oct. 5.

In recent decades, the sign had been on a pole in front of the Mendes General Store on West Olive Avenue about a mile south from its original home.

The sign was purchased by Friends of the Fair board members Mike and Debbie Kludjian and donated to the fair for its growing collection of historic local neon signs.

A-Plus Signs worked several weeks on its restoration, including about 80 hours on the neon and another 80 hours on the paint, which was brought back to its original state.

The sign is believed to be one of two remaining Hacienda signs, with the other in Las Vegas.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Hacienda Motel sign rides again at Fresno fairgrounds."