Feliks Banel: Icon extinguished as big blue flame neon sign leaves Seattle
Jul 17, 2024, 11:06 AM | Updated: 1:22 pm
The big blue flame first graced the Washington Natural Gas building in Seattle in 1964; it was taken down and put into storage in 2002. (1964 image of building courtesy Puget Sound Energy; 2002 removal photo by Phil Webber courtesy of Feliks Banel)
(1964 image of building courtesy Puget Sound Energy; 2002 removal photo by Phil Webber courtesy of Feliks Banel)
A neon sign that was an iconic landmark burning high above Mercer Street in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood for nearly 40 years – but which was hasn’t been seen in public for more than two decades – has just found a new home at a museum in Oregon.
The distinctive big blue flame mimicked burning natural gas and stood atop the Washington Natural Gas building at Mercer Street between 8th and 9th Avenue. It was a familiar landmark for decades; the building had opened in March 1964, and the famous flame dates to that time as well – meaning it’s now more than 60 years old.
Many locals still remember that it was blue, white and really huge. The statistics prove those memories are correct: 4,000 pounds; 26 feet tall; 180 neon tubes; and 660 twinkling light bulbs. The neon plus incandescent light gave the giant blue inferno a shimmering effect and made it visible at night from Queen Anne, from Wallingford, from Eastlake, from the freeway – and even from the air high above Lake Union, according to at least a few veteran floatplane pilots.
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Puget Sound Energy (which some old-timers still call “Puget Power”) merged with Washington Natural Gas in 1997 and sold the building to Vulcan in 2001. That was the beginning of the end for the big blue flame as far as remaining in its native habitat. It was when the building was sold that the giant neon artifact was pledged to the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI).
In 2002, the sign was taken down and put into storage by Puget Sound Energy. A few years passed, and MOHAI officials told Puget Sound Energy that they didn’t want the big blue flame anymore.
According to a story in the Seattle P-I, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) in 2010 toyed with the idea of mounting the sign on a 65-foot pole down at what they call their Georgetown Operations Base. For unknown reasons, that idea never caught fire, and the flame remained in storage in Georgetown
Fast-forward to last month, and after a year of conversations, the big blue flame literally blew out – blew out of town, that is.
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According to a PSE spokesperson, on June 26, the big blue flame was loaded onto a truck and driven about 300 miles to The Dalles, Oregon where it has now officially become part of the collection of the National Neon Sign Museum. Museum officials could not be reached for comment on Tuesday, and it’s unclear what their plans are for displaying the sign.
The big takeaway from all of this is that neon signs present challenges to museums who aren’t equipped to properly restore and display them. Along with success stories – such as Amazon’s preservation of the “baby elephant” sign now displayed at 7th and Blanchard in downtown Seattle – are situations like the P-I globe, which is slowly decaying on the waterfront and waiting for some kind of catalyst (that is, cash) to help MOHAI lead a restoration and preservation effort. MOHAI also has the “grown-up elephant” in its collection, with no apparent plans to display it anytime soon.
As those big signs await saviors or get carted away out of state, it seems more important than ever to appreciate the smaller-scale signs that are still on display outside the businesses they promote, and be grateful those business owners recognize the value of investing in maintenance and preservation.
So while the big blue flame has found a new home in a gallery in the Beaver State, I’m still glad I can enjoy signs like Tai Tung in Seattle; Frisko Freeze in Tacoma; Harvey’s Lounge in Edmonds; Roberts Oldsmobile in Auburn; Kent Bowl in Kent; and Shanghai Café in Centralia. Many these more manageable signs are just too small to fail.
Do you have a favorite Northwest neon sign that’s still on display, still doing the job of promoting a business and not likely to be moved out of state? Email and tell me about, and send a photo if you can, using my contact information below.
You can hear Feliks Banel every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien. Read more from Feliks here and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast here. If you have a story idea or a question about Northwest history, please email Feliks. You can also follow Feliks on X.
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