Boston Citgo sign facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Boston Citgo sign |
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(2017)
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| General information | |
| Location | 660 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 42°20′55″N 71°05′44″W / 42.348712°N 71.095619°W |
| Completed | 1940 |
The Boston Citgo sign is a huge, well-known sign in Boston. It shows the logo of the oil company Citgo. You can see it high above Kenmore Square. The sign was first put up in 1940. It got its current look in 1965. This sign is a famous landmark in Boston. Many people know it from seeing it behind Boston Red Sox games at Fenway Park.
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What is the Citgo Sign?
The Citgo sign is a large, square sign. It has two sides. Each side is about 60-foot (18 m) tall. The sign is white and shows the Citgo logo. This logo is called the "trimark." It also has the word "CITGO" written on it. The sign advertises the oil company Citgo.
How the Sign Lights Up
The sign uses thousands of tiny lights. These are called light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The lights turn off every night at midnight. The sign you see today was finished in March 2005. This was after a big six-month repair project. LEDs were chosen because they last a long time. They also save energy and are very bright. Plus, they are easy to take care of.
Before 2005, the sign used neon lighting. The old sign had almost 6,000 glass tubes. These tubes were more than 5 miles (8.0 km) long in total! In 2010, the sign was shut down again for a few months. This was to put in newer LEDs. These new lights were better at handling Boston's strong winds and changing temperatures.
The Sign and Baseball
The Citgo sign is famous across the country. This is because it appears above the Green Monster. The Green Monster is a tall wall in Fenway Park. You can often see the sign during televised games of the Boston Red Sox. Some people even call the sign "See It Go." This nickname is used especially when a home run is hit during a game. Because it's so visible, other places have made copies of the sign.
History of the Citgo Sign
The first sign was built in 1940. It showed the old Cities Service logo. This logo was a green-and-white design. In 1965, that sign was replaced with the current Citgo logo. There used to be a Cities Service gas station below the sign. But now, there is no Citgo gas station there. So, the sign is now a historical landmark.
Saving the Sign
In 1979, the governor of Massachusetts, Edward J. King, ordered the sign to be turned off. This was to show that people should save energy. Four years later, Citgo wanted to take down the old sign. It was getting worn out from the weather. But people in Boston really loved the sign! They protested against it being removed.
The Boston Landmarks Commission stepped in. They told Citgo to wait. They wanted to discuss what to do. In 1983, Citgo fixed up the sign and turned it back on. About 1,000 people came to cheer when it was relit! The sign has been on ever since.
Recent Events
In 2016, the Boston Landmarks Commission voted. They decided to give the sign "preliminary landmark status." This meant the sign could not be removed. The commission then studied the sign for three months. In October 2016, they voted to make it a permanent landmark.
Later in 2016, a company bought the building where the sign sits. Citgo used to pay a lower rent for the sign. But on March 15, 2017, the new owner agreed to keep the sign for "decades to come." On November 13, 2018, the Boston Landmarks Commission officially named the sign a Boston Landmark. However, the mayor, Marty Walsh, disagreed. He stopped this decision. This happened around the same time Citgo and the building owner agreed on a new lease. This lease will let the sign stay for another 30 years.
In August 2020, a group called Extinction Rebellion put a large banner over the sign. The banner said "CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW." They wanted to bring attention to environmental issues. Ten people from the group were arrested.
Copies of the Citgo Sign
Because the sign is so famous, especially with baseball fans, many copies have been made.
Baseball Park Replicas
- Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, has a copy of the sign. This is where the Houston Astros play.
- Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine, has a copy. This park is home to the Portland Sea Dogs. Their sign is above their own "Maine Monster" wall.
- Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, Texas, has a 50-foot (15 m) square copy. This is another park for an Astros team.
Even some local Little League fields have copies of the Citgo sign. This shows how strong its connection is to Fenway Park and the Red Sox.
In Movies and Books
The sign has also appeared in popular culture:
- It was shown in a short film from 1968 called Go, Go Citgo.
- It was featured in a photograph in Life Magazine in 1983.
- It appeared in the 1989 movie Field of Dreams.
- In Neal Stephenson's 1984 book The Big U, the sign is made fun of. It's called "the Big Wheel sign" and is worshipped by a fictional college group.
