Retail Watchers

The classic is no more. Replica to be built.

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/ ... 228f9abc1d

Too bad. I guess rehabbing the vintage sign would have been too expensive.

That vintage Fred Meyer sign reminds me of the old high level Giant-MD neon road signs. The only one left is in Laurel, MD.

That sign hasn't worked right for many years. Parts were always burned out, I think the inside was rusted. The new one will look like the one one but with LED. I don't know why the media is making such a big deal out of it. This is an improvement and respects history.

babs wrote: ↑January 31st, 2024, 8:00 pm That sign hasn't worked right for many years. Parts were always burned out, I think the inside was rusted. The new one will look like the one one but with LED. I don't know why the media is making such a big deal out of it. This is an improvement and respects history.

LED doesn't look anything like neon.

I'll refrain from comment until I see the replacement sign.

Since this is Fred Meyer, I have high hopes it will look just as distinctive as the original.

The B of Burlingame looks just like the B used by Bettendorf in St. Louis



Must have been the 1950s style.

ClownLoach wrote: ↑January 31st, 2024, 8:25 pm

babs wrote: ↑January 31st, 2024, 8:00 pm That sign hasn't worked right for many years. Parts were always burned out, I think the inside was rusted. The new one will look like the one one but with LED. I don't know why the media is making such a big deal out of it. This is an improvement and respects history.

LED doesn't look anything like neon.

LEDs have advanced considerably in the last few years.

The Oak Tree Restaurant in Woodland, WA reopened in the past year after a stint as a casino and being closed for a period of time. They updated the existing sign and replaced the neon letters with LED, and it still retains the neon look.

Many stores, Fred Meyer included, are upgrading the inner workings of signs to LED versions.

Apparently the new sign is already in place, and if one was not trained to dig deep, probably indistinguishable from the last version. "Kroger Family of Stores" did something right.
OregonLive.com - Meet the New Burlingame Fred Meyer Sign

Fantastic. Looks better than the original. I figured they'd get this one right. There are still some people who care and value history at Kroger. It may not feel like it at divisions like Ralphs. But not all divisions have the broken attitude as severely.

SamSpade wrote: ↑February 21st, 2024, 6:51 pm Apparently the new sign is already in place, and if one was not trained to dig deep, probably indistinguishable from the last version. "Kroger Family of Stores" did something right.
OregonLive.com - Meet the New Burlingame Fred Meyer Sign

I have some pictures of took of it at night (not sure how to post images here) and the LED looks better than the neon. The white of the Burlingame is much whiter and brighter. The red is a slightly different color and not as bright but it still looks good. Pretty good example of LED replacing neon and how it can be better.