Everyone in Boston knows the Citgo sign. It’s loomed over Fenway Park for more than 50 years, its red glow illuminating the city’s skyline.
But thanks to a forthcoming real-estate transaction, its future now is in jeopardy.
The sign, perhaps Fenway’s second-most iconic feature behind the Green Monster, actually is positioned close to 1000 feet outside the ballpark’s confines, atop a building owned by Boston University. BU recently announced it is selling that particular property, along with eight others, and that it will be up to its new owners to decide whether to keep or remove the iconic Boston landmark.
“We’re going to leave it up to whatever the buyers feel they should do, but one of the things that’s unique about this location is that sign, and we think it has real value,” Gary Nicksa, the university’s senior vice president for operations, told the Boston Herald on Friday.
The 60-foot, LED-lit sign was installed in 1965, meaning it’s provided a backdrop for six World Series and three Boston Red Sox championships. Don’t expect Bostonians to give it up without a fight.
“When it went dark during the energy crisis back in the ’70s, it caused an uproar,” local neon sign collector Dave Waller told the Herald. “When the neon was stripped out and replaced with LEDs, it caused an uproar. When Citgo considered removing it during the height of Hugo Chavez’s power, it caused an uproar, which proves the sign resonates with Bostonians.”
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@BostonDotCom
