A few years ago the original sign in this location caught fire. Whether it was from lightning(as claimed) or just an internal electrical malfunction which is my bet as sign wiring had been most molested over the years. Most of the top half of the "bowling ball" and the letters was nothing but the hardened remnants of melted fiberglass and sheet metal! This sign was originally built and installed by Federal Sign in 1961 or 1962. I was lucky enough to be contracted to build the replica you see here. The only difference between this and the original is letters were built from aluminum as opposed to sheet metal and illumination is provided by LEDs as opposed to the original neon. Neat project for a guy that appreciates the old stuff and it turns out there is a neighborhood revitalization project starting to happen in this area called "Retrofitting the Retro". I think it fits in with that theme!