How long has that sign been there? I recall using it as a landmark to orient myself when visiting Kenmore sq back in '68 or so. Anyone know?
BTW, Those sure were the days
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The Citgo sign
Citgo refers to its logo as the "trimark." A large, double-faced sign featuring this logo overlooks Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts and has become a landmark, partly because of its appearance in the background in televised baseball games. The current 60 foot by 60 foot incarnation, unveiled in March 2005 after a six-month restoration project, features thousands of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs were selected for their durability, energy efficiency, intensity, and ease of maintenance. Earlier versions featured neon lighting; the previous sign contained some 5,878 glass tubes with a total length of over five miles.
The Citgo sign viewed from the end of Yawkey way by Fenway Park.
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The Citgo sign viewed from the end of Yawkey way by Fenway Park.
The first sign, featuring the Cities Service logo, was built in 1940, and replaced with the trimark in 1965. In 1979 Governor Edward J. King ordered it turned off as a symbol of energy conservation. Four years later, Citgo attempted to disassemble the weatherbeaten sign, and was surprised to be met with widespread public affection for the sign and protest at its threatened removal. The Boston Landmarks Commission ordered its disassembly postponed while the issue was debated. While never formally declared a landmark, it was refurbished and relit by Citgo in 1983 and has remained in operation ever since. In 2005, during a major renovation, the neon lights of the Citgo sign were removed and replaced with a light-emitting diode display.
There is no associated Citgo gas station -- the sign is now a historical landmark, visible over the left field wall of Fenway Park during most televised Boston Red Sox games. It was highlighted in the 1968 short film Go, Go Citgo and a 1983 Life Magazine photograph feature. The association with Fenway and the Red Sox is so strong that local little league fields often are decorated with replicas of the Citgo sign, as is Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenmore_Square