The Neon Museum in the Praga district collects and restores the neon signs that lit up Poland during the communist period. Between the 1950s and 1980s, neon was considered modern and progressive — cities across the country installed elaborate neon displays on shops, cinemas, and hotels. As the signs aged after 1989, most were torn down and scrapped. The museum's founders rescued dozens of them, restored them to working condition, and installed them in a former tram depot.
The effect at night is genuinely beautiful — signs for a Warsaw milk bar, a Gdańsk hotel, a department store in Wrocław all glowing in their original colours. The museum runs evening events and guided tours. Praga, the neighbourhood it occupies, has become Warsaw's most interesting district for art and culture.