I loved this part: " ... behind one wall they found a neon light -- it was on, and had been quietly glowing behind the wall for about 70 years. He's dubbed it the "Eternal Neon," adding that the light has no switch and must be hard-wired into a panel deep in the brick."
Designed when electricity was so cheap nobody thought about preventing waste. And the panel is deep in brick? So if you want access to that panel, you have to get out the sled hammer. Clever.