The Dreamland fin letters and surrounding signage have been removed for a clean up, repair and reinstatement.
The neon lit lettering and signage has not been working since filming of Empire of Light between the end of February and May 2022.
It was removed, with the cinema being ‘renamed’ Empire during filming of the Sam Mendes movie, and then reinstated in June that year.
However, the letters have not been lit since then.
They have now been taken down for cleaning and maintenance work and it is hoped this will include restoring the neon lighting.
As part of Thanet District Council’s restoration work, an historical lighting technique was used in 2017 to accurately replicate the colours of the original Dreamland neon sign ready for the park’s second reopening.
To recreate the shade and warmth of the lights from the sign, specialist analysis was carried out using black and white photos and written accounts to determine their original 1935 colour scheme.
The vertical “Dreamland” lettering is mounted on the 80-foot brick fin of the Dreamland Cinema and was first installed in 1935. It is believed that the ‘DANCING’ signage first appeared in 1949 and the original arrangement on that part of the fin was solely one of uplighters.
The signage is a hybrid. The letters DANCING and DREAMLAND are glass neon tubes, as are the strips along the bricks on front of the fin. The strips on the fascia are LED as they are vulnerable to vandalism.
The strips down the fin and along the tops of the walls are also LED to match the fascia. This approach had agreement from Historic England.
Margate councillor Rob Yates has raised the issue of the lights being off several times
At a council meeting in February he said Thanet council had paid some £2m for the neon lights to be repaired but they had not been turned back on since the filming of Empire of Light.
He said: “After raising the issue of Dreamland turning off the neon lights at several council meetings, I am glad they are finally putting their hands in their pockets and fixing them.”
Dreamland says more details will be released “in the next few weeks.”
