A former Jim Stafford Theatre intern and Mayor Branson’s official "Live Music Ambassador" joined forces to help fans save one of the most iconic features of Highway 76: the Jim Stafford Theatre Guitar neck neon sign.

Starting at 7:30 on Tuesday morning, the sign will be removed from the theater in the 3400 block of Highway 76 Avenue, where the sign has been placed for decades.

Matt Bailey is a radio producer and an intern for the famous singer-songwriter and comedian Jim Stafford. When Branson first became a nationally renowned tourist center in the early 1990s, Stafford was one of the first high-powered celebrities to open a store in Branson.

Bailey likes to call Jim Stafford's marquee "the jewel in Branson's crown."

"This is the big tent," Bailey told news leaders on Monday. "For many people, this is a symbol of Branson. It is certainly a symbol of the Gaza Strip."

According to the News-Leader archives, the sign was built around 1991, when Stafford purchased his first Branson Theater. He wanted the front of the building to look like a cinema in the 1950s. 

Around 1992, when Stafford’s Branson’s career was on the rise, the big tent had already moved once and moved to a larger theatre next door to the original Stafford theatre. "So we know it can move as a whole," Bailey said. "Tomorrow's goal is to put the whole thing as a whole." Bailey said that it may take about three hours to do so.

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Bailey said that with the help of Marshall Howden, the official ambassador of Branson Mayor Larry Milton, they were able to work with a crane company and a company with experience in moving neon signs cooperate.

Bailey said Howden has also obtained a barn that can temporarily store the Stafford’s marquee. They hope to sign a contract with a third company in the Branson area, which will be able to display the big tent in a new location in the Gaza Strip. tent. He declined to be more specific about the plan or cost of buying and moving the tent. He said: "I am grateful that it is within our budget." (As Branson Three Lakes News reported earlier, the theater building and other The pre-demolition auction of two nearby buildings was held on October 25.)

"The iconic tent will not go anywhere," Bailey said.

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Contact news leader reporter Gregory Holman via email gholman@gannett.com. Please consider subscribing to support important local news.