April 2024 Update- Lounge Cafe Lights Up!
The sign gets primer and paint
After removing rust and grit blasting the metal on the Lounge Cafe portion of the sign (see the photos below from earlier) this portion of the sign was primed with an etching primer and precisely painted. Thanks to John Huff for his tireless work restoring the sign.
The neon glass tubes are installed into the sign
The neon glass tubes were repaired and put into place by Connie Morgan of Glow Neon. New high voltage neon transformers were installed into the Lounge Cafe portion of the sign
Power was put to the sign.
The neon on the Lounge Cafe portion of the sign lights up after many decades of darkness.
Restoration Steps - Aug. through October 2023
When we finally started to disassemble the sign and look inside we realized we had a big cleanup ahead.
After cleaning out all the stuff in the sign, a light washing and more photographs, we created patterns in order to recreate the sign lettering.
The sign is now in five pieces, the hat, the cowboy, the Sizzlin Steaks base, the Lounge Cafe letters and the arrow. We have decided to concentrate first on the restoration of the Lounge Cafe portion of the sign. Here it is pictured after a light washing.
Using tracing paper, we have precisely captured the lettering on the Lounge Cafe portion of the sign.
The sign sign was lightly sanded and given a spot treatment with a chemical rust remover.
More cleaning and rust removal
The Lounge Cafe portion of the sign pictured here is almost ready for a coat of primer. An etching primer will be used followed by the first coat of base blue paint.
Ready for Primer
The inside is also all cleaned up. Next step, prime and paint. More pictures to follow.
History of the Tumble Inn
Tumble Inn circa 1938
The Tumble Inn Steakhouse and Bar had its original roots in Tensleep Wyoming. In 1938 the Bird family moved the business to Powder River, Wyoming and built the log constructed bar and restaurant along State Highway 20. In 1941 the Birds sold the busness to the Burgess family.
Circa early 1950
By the late 1940's American families were traveling a lot more by car and Highway 20 to Yellowstone was getting busier. At times, the Tumble Inn bustled with activity. However, as tourist traffic was seasonal, business fluctuated. The Tumble Inn had a number of owners throughout the 40's and 50's.
The Sign!
Around 1959, a gentleman named Bill Grey bought the Tumble Inn. Bill was a successful oilman and had the dream of running the best steakhouse in Wyoming. He procured the finest grass-fed beef in the west to serve at his place.
Bill also had business ties to Las Vegas and traveled there in search of a neon sign to beckon patrons into his establishment. He found a cowboy neon sign that a gentleman had custom built for his restaurant. But upon receiving the sign the man thought it was just too big. Bill thought it was just the thing for his place and purchased the sign from the man.
Bill's Modification of the Sign
Bill wanted the sign modified and sent it back to the company that had built the sign, located somewhere in southern California. The animated upper arm of the cowboy was added and we suspect that at that time he also had the base made for the sign. Sizzlin Steaks is the Tumble Inn Cowboy's promise.
Bill then transported the sign from California to Powder River and installed it in front of his establishment. The sign stands 21 feet tall and has animated neon lighting on the cowboy's hand. This sign quickly became a welcome landmark to many. One old-timer told us that when the sign was first lit up it was the biggest, brightest thing in all of Wyoming.
1960's to 1990's
The Business seemed to flourish throughout the 60's, 70's and 80's, although ownership changed a number of times. But as cars were developed with greater range, cruise control, comfortable suspension and A/C, people seemed to stop less and less in small towns like Powder River. The Tumble Inn and surrounding businesses like the Romeo and Juliet Cafe and Hell's Half Acre started to wither. Towns like Powder River, Highland and Natrona continued to see their population move elsewhere. The neon tubes on the cowboy sign broke and were not replaced. Corrosion took hold. The sign went dark
1995 and Beyond
1995 and beyond was not kind to the Tumble Inn. The business opened and closed and was bought and sold a number of times. Through foreclosure or other circumstances, banks were left holding the property. Sometime around 2005, most likely in a last ditch effort, the establishment was leased to a party that turned it from a steakhouse into a party bar and strip club. This evolution of the establishment was short lived and the proprietors, it is said, left town with the sheriff on their heels. The Tumble Inn was then sold in 2007 to a wishful couple that hoped to reopen the steakhouse. But this never came to pass. The cowboy sign remained dark and continued to corrode away.
Restoration of the Sign
In 2018 a group of people that love the sign started talking about maybe saving this piece of iconic Wyoming imagery. The sign had been dark now for three decades., Much of its protective paint gone, rust taking hold, the sign was degrading fast. The effort to purchase the sign and plan of restoration took a few years to materialize, but in 2023 the property was purchased, sign included. The sign has been moved to a restoration facility in Casper, is being disassembled and restored. The corrosion and rust must be removed or inhibited, repairs made and restored neon and electrical installed. Once restored, the sign probably will not return to the lonely stretch of Highway 20 where it could again be vandalized, But it will stay in Natrona County where it can be seen by all. This is where we are now. If you would like to get involved in this restoration and effort to re-light this Wyoming piece of history, read on.
Ways to Help
Purchase a T-Shirt
Donate to Relight the Sign
Purchase a T-Shirt
Purchase a t-shirt and all proceeds in excess of the cost of the shirt will go to restoration of the sign. T-shirts are coming soon. Thank you for your patience as they are being designed.
Get Involved
Donate to Relight the Sign
Purchase a T-Shirt
Are you handy and mechanical, know how to use a paint gun, want to catalog parts, or have other applicable skills? Let us know. If you would like to volunteer we would like to talk. Please be willing to volunteer at least 40 hours of your time and contact us at info@tumbleinncowboy.org. Include a brief description of skills you have that you think may be useful as well as a phone number.
Donate to Relight the Sign
Donate to Relight the Sign
Donate to Relight the Sign
To make a donation on Go Fund Me, click on the box below. To become a benefactor or for larger gifts contact us at: info@tumbleinncowboy.org
Do you have pictures?
Help us "Relight the Sign" as it was. Much of the neon tubing is broken. We have not been able to find any pictures of the lighted sign. If you happen to have any pictures of the sign lighted up, please, please send them to us at info@tumbleinncowboy.org Also if you have any good stories about the Tumble Inn restaurant or sign, we'd love to hear them.