In the city of Millbrae (just South of San Francisco in San Mateo County, California) stands an office building which formerly housed the Millbrae Theater. California has the distinction of preserving artifacts of its past, unlike many other portions of the US, and the perpendicular “Millbrae” sign with its neon tubes and Art Deco lettering is still attached to the renovated structure.

Gene Gable (a friend of type designer Jeff Levine) took a photo of the sign and sent it along as simply an image of great lettering of the past to enjoy, but it triggered the inspiration to create the namesake font Millbrae JNL.