New Yorkers tend to think our town has the finest of examples of everything, including the world’s best signs! Architect Kirsten Hively is helping us prove it, by photographing and documenting the very best of the city’s neon signage. Hively is meticulously documenting her finds at Project Neon:

“I have been told that New York’s neon is unexceptional in comparison to Chicago’s or Portland’s. I wanted to prove otherwise,” Hively writes on UrbanOmnibus. “I also wanted to demonstrate (mostly to myself) that the quirky, independent New York is still here — it’s not all chain stores, standard-issue vinyl awnings and luxury condos. I too often hear about all the great things that are gone, going or about to go. I needed, in the dark depths of winter, to find good stuff that’s still here.”

Holla! Check out her great stories of tracking the signs down on the Project Neon blog, see the hundreds of wonderful examples collected on Flickr, and pinpoint their locations on Google Maps!

We’ve collected a few of our absolute favorites here, from Pac-Man pizza to disabled bagels … click the images for more info!