Signs of the Times - June 2014 - (Page 24)

St r ictly E le c t r i c Andre Lucero is president of Western Neon (Seattle). By Andre Lucero Celebrating the 18th Letter The Rainier Brewery building regains its iconic "R" sign T he Rainier Brewery's famous "R" sign wasn't always stationary. Old photos, of where the brewery stood proudly on Seattle's South Side and bottled beer from 1884 to 1999, show that it originally featured a rotating sign when first installed in the 1950s. Craig Coombs, the son of Edwin S. Coombs Jr., a former Rainier president, said the R's motion ceased due to a Seattle sign-code change in the late '60s or early '70s. Coombs said, "My recollection is that my father came home from work one day and was a little upset. There was a new change in the Seattle sign code, and the 'R' could no longer rotate 360º or be of the size that was then on the brewery. The solution was to make the sign stationary and re-design the proportions of the 'R'." With slight adjustments, the subsequent Rainier "R" continued to welcome visitors into downtown Seattle until 2000. The year before, Rainier had been sold to Pabst Brewing Co., which shuttered the In the 1950s, the illuminated "R" that stood high atop Seattle's Rainier Brewery loomed as a city icon. The sign rotated until approximately 1970, when Seattle sign codes changed and forbade its spinning. The sign came down when the brewery was shut down in 2000. The original sign was restored and now resides in Seattle's Museum of History and Innovation. brewery (Rainier is now brewed in California through a contract arrangement with Pabst). At that point, the sign was taken down, and Pabst, which now owns the Rainier brand, hired Seattle's Western Neon to recreate the iconic "R" for the brewery's former home, which is now occupied by artists' lofts, a microbrewery and other small businesses. 24 SIGNS OF THE TIMES June 2014 the brewery transitioned into a roasting facility for Tully's Coffee. Making room for Tully's "T" In 2000, Western Neon was contacted by Tully's Coffee to design its new "T" logo that would sit atop the former brewery. The once-iconic Rainier "R" was dethroned and sent to its new home at the Museum of History and Innovation (MOHAI), located in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood. However, dismantling the old sign crushed its legs. They weren't designed to hold the full weight on their own. Western Neon needed to refurbish the sign before it went on display. Once the sign arrived at the shop, we noticed it didn't just have a crushed leg; it also featured several bullet holes. Briefly in the '80s, many Seattleites shot at the sign as a favorite pastime. During the refurbishment, the

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - June 2014

Signs of the Times - June 2014
Columns & Departments
Features
ST Update
Technology Update
What Shops Need to Know about Windows XP
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Electric
LED Update
Software Update
Technology Review: X-Rite’s ColorTRUE app
Technology Review: Color-Logic’s process metallic color system
New Products
Advertising index
Editorially speaking

Signs of the Times - June 2014

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