30.09.2026
by Syun Agency
WHY WE LAUNCHED "THE SMALL ARTIFACTS OF ARMENIA" INITIATIVE
Quite recently, we launched a project to restore the neon sign of “Melodiya” in Vanadzor — a Soviet music store that has long since disappeared. The municipality and residents supported the idea; we talked about it on the radio and online, receiving many likes and reposts, but fundraising is moving very slowly. At the same time, we sometimes hear direct questions: is it really justified to spend time and money on a Soviet sign when the country has other, more important problems? Here is why we still believe this project matters.
What Are Small Artifacts
The concept of cultural heritage is broader than outstanding monuments and masterpieces of art. It also includes intangible heritage — rituals, recipes, and songs — as well as ordinary buildings and other elements of the historic environment.
State institutions mainly focus on already recognized monumental heritage — monuments of global significance. There are plenty of problems even at that level: lack of resources, insufficient research, and unprofessional restoration by low-cost contractors. Monuments from the second half of the 20th century are not protected at all and risk disappearing — this is how Yerevan’s Youth Palace, “Kukuruznik,” was lost. Architectural details rank even lower on the list.
We propose adding elements of the urban environment to the agenda. Signs, shop windows, road signs, and small architectural forms are utilitarian by nature and therefore disappear first when a new shift arrives — historical, or more often technological. Yet they have their own value. They directly capture the everyday life of an era — the things a person encounters every day while interacting with the city. People form emotional attachments to them, and when an object survives, it becomes a landmark and begins to define the identity of a place.
We look at two examples of how such environmental monuments live on in Armenia.
How Do We Know What Is Valuable
We came up with a simple formula: what matters is what shapes the identity of a place. And we identified two situations in which an artifact is especially critical — as a memory or as an asset.
Neon sign "Melodiya", Vanadzor. Photo: Syun Agency personal archive
The legendary vinyl record store “Melodiya” opened in 1975 in Kirovakan, now Vanadzor. For the city, it was a true music hub: people came to listen to records through headphones while sitting in futuristic red chairs — a rare opportunity in Soviet reality to access Western and jazz music.
The store has long disappeared; the building is occupied by another business, and only the sign remains. “Melodiya” on the facade is a witness: it remains the only point connected to the memories of the city and of generations who arranged dates beneath it over the years — and still do.
Barbershop No. 1, Gyumri. Photo: Yandex Maps
Barbershop No. 1 in Gyumri opened in 1941. It is a living place that residents visit every day for haircuts, while tourists come simply to see it as a living museum. Everything here is still as it was originally intended: the salon retains 120-year-old mirrors, antique chandeliers, straight razors, and German equipment that is almost half a century old. The staff includes several multigenerational working dynasties.
The sign of this barbershop is a real asset: the environment and the business have been preserved, and the establishment has operated on the same site for 85 years. Its value is not only historical but also commercial. People are endlessly interested in coming here as if to an immersive museum, telling others about it, and posting it on social media.
How It Works Around the World
First, it is worth noting that these small objects are rarely regulated separately. Their restoration and preservation are often driven by grassroots initiatives, although there are examples of government programs as well.
The "Blue Swallow Motel", Tucumcari. Photo by Sylvain L. / CC BY
Meadow Gold Ice Cream Neon Sign on Route 66, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Photo by NevinThompson / CC BY-SA
In New Mexico, federal grants from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program helped restore around a dozen old neon signs along the legendary highway. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist routes in the United States: people deliberately turn off the highway to stop and take pictures.
Neon lights, Nathan Road, Hong Kong. Photo by Daniel Case / CC BY-SA
Koon Nam Wah Bridal neon sign, Nathan Road, Hong Kong. Photo by Daniel Case / CC BY-SA
When preserving a sign in place is not possible, it can be given the status of an exhibit. The M+ museum in Hong Kong deliberately acquires signs that the city removes for safety reasons, while The Neon Museum in Las Vegas has maintained an entire “neon graveyard” since 1996 and restores some of the signs as outdoor objects.
Illuminated "Gvozdiki" sign. Photo: Misha Mityukov / "Nado Sokhranit" project
Pre-revolutionary insurance plaque of the "Yakor" (Anchor) company. Photo: Petya Yakubson / "Nado Sokhranit" project
Pre-revolutionary "Obuv" (Shoes) sign. Photo: Misha Mityukov / "Nado Sokhranit" project
In Russian cities, the tradition of preserving small objects is very much alive. In Samara, the “Nado sokhranit” (“Must Be Saved”) project uses volunteers to restore Soviet neon, pre-revolutionary wall advertisements, and old streetlamps. There is no permanent team—only people ready to help here and now. In St. Petersburg, the Vnimanie Foundation works to have Leningrad signs recognized as cultural assets.
Pepsi-Cola sign, Gantry Plaza State Park, Long Island City. Photo by Solowomanwalks / CC BY-SA
The Pepsi-Cola sign in New York was granted landmark status in 2016 following public hearings where residents strongly advocated for its preservation despite the building owner's opposition. The factory underneath was demolished long ago and replaced with modern residential housing, but the sign was preserved in a waterfront park as a standalone monument—even making an appearance in Marvel’s "Madame Web."
Ghost sign, India Buildings, Edinburgh. Photo by Chime Hours / CC BY-SA
In the United Kingdom, a building’s listed status automatically extends to everything attached to it—even a door handle or a sign.
Au Petit Versailles du Marais, Paris. Photo by Tangopaso
In Paris in 1984, the authorities designated five historic shopfronts as protected landmarks for the first time: while the business inside can change, the facade and decorative features must remain intact. One of them is the "Au Petit Versailles du Marais" bakery in the Le Marais district, which opened around 1860 and has remained virtually unchanged since: complete with painted ceilings by Charles Anselme and original facade moldings.
Specialty shop, kanban-kenchiku facade. Photo by Yoshimitsu Kurooka / CC BY-SA
Tokizou Takahashi Kimono Store, kanban-kenchiku facade. Photo by Asturio Cantabrio / CC BY-SA
In Japan, a separate, less restrictive register for cultural heritage was introduced in 1996—the strict status simply did not suit ordinary shops and hotels. By 2008, it included around 6,800 buildings. Tokyo’s 1920s–30s sign-covered facades, known as kanban kenchiku, are not included in this register either—the only way to preserve them is to move them to a museum.
Café Tortoni, Avenida de Mayo, Buenos Aires. Photo by Roberto Fiadone / CC BY-SA
In Buenos Aires, a city law protects not architecture as such, but active cafés and bars—their atmosphere and way of operating. More than 75 establishments participate in the “Bares Notables” program: the city provides restoration advice and includes them in tourist routes.
Small Artifacts of Armenia
We launched the “Small Artifacts of Armenia” initiative to find, document, and preserve precisely these kinds of details in the urban environment.
From the artifact collection. Photo: Syun Agency personal archive
Our collection currently contains more than 50 documented artifacts, and it continues to grow: wooden doors in Gyumri, modernist signs, concrete “umbrellas” along the roads, and much more.
The pilot project of the initiative is “Melodiya.” The restoration involves repairing the metal structure and the paint layer, as well as restoring the original neon—the traditional gas-discharge tubes. We preserve only what can be verified and do not reconstruct anything that no longer exists. The sign will be complemented by a small website featuring photographs, recordings of the music of that era, and residents’ memories. The municipality of Vanadzor has already supported the initiative.
Restoration project of the "Melodiya" sign. Syun Agency, 2025
Our task now is to raise money for the restoration. The campaign is already underway on reArmenia, and we will be grateful for any contribution. If you would like to join the project as a partner—with a contribution of AMD 400,000 or more—we will place your logo on a plaque by the facade and tell people about you whenever we have the opportunity.
We also encourage you to send us your hidden artifacts—signs, doors, streetlamps, pieces of mosaic—to hello@syun.agency, and we will add them to the shared database.
Sources
History of the "Melodiya" store — Vanadzor InfoTour
Barbershop No. 1 in Gyumri — lenta.ru
Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program in the US — rt66nm.org
M+ Museum in Hong Kong — mplus.org.hk
The Neon Museum in Las Vegas — neonmuseum.org
"Nado Sokhranit" (Need to Preserve) volunteer project, Samara — «Надо сохранить»
Pepsi-Cola sign in New York — cbsnews.com
Listed building heritage status in the UK — historicengland.org.uk
Historic shopfronts of Paris — paris.fr
Register of Cultural Properties in Japan — bunka.go.jp
Kanban kenchiku in Japan — voyapon.com
Bares Notables program in Buenos Aires — buenosaires.gob.ar
Fundraising campaign for the restoration of the "Melodiya" sign — rearmenia.com