The Bakersfield Sign (also known as the Bakersfield Neon Arch) is one of the most recognizable

landmarks A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is located over Sillect Avenue, where the street intersects with Buck Owens Boulevard, to the northwest of

Downtown Bakersfield Downtown is the central business district for Bakersfield, California. It contains several of the cities major theaters, sporting complexes, museums, and historical landmarks. What is considered to be “downtown” Bakersfield varies. In order ...

. The sign can be seen from State Route 99 (Golden State Freeway) and is just past the freeway off-ramp. It is also next to the

Buck Owens Crystal Palace Buck Owens Crystal Palace (also known as the Crystal Palace and The Palace) is a music hall located in Bakersfield, California. It was constructed by Buck Owens, and was opened in 1996. Primarily it is a performance venue for country western musi ...

. This sign is a yellow arch in which blue letters spell out the name of the city. It is supported by two towers, which were inspired by the

Beale Memorial Clock Tower Beale Memorial Clock Tower is a clock tower located in Bakersfield, California. It was a gift to the city; built by Truxtun Beale in memory of his mother, Mary Edwards Beale. It was dedicated on April 4, 1904, and was built in the middle of the in ...

design. The sign is illuminated by indirect lighting. Typically, the letters are transparent and the lights, which are underneath the letters, shine through them. With indirect lighting, the letters are solid and the light, which is still underneath the letters, shines down onto the arch. The result is the letters appear black on top of a lighted backdrop. The light used is green. Built by California Neon Sign Company.

History

The sign was originally constructed in 1949 and was over Union Avenue, just south of California Avenue. That road was a part of the Golden State Highway (

US 99 U.S. Route 99 (US 99) was a main north–south United States Numbered Highway on the West Coast of the United States until 1964, running from Calexico, California, on the US–Mexico border to Blaine, Washington, on the U.S.-Canada borde ...

), which was the main connector between Northern and Southern California by the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

. The Bakersfield Inn wanted to expand across the street. The sign was constructed as a

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

to connect the two halves of the hotel.Home Page
That Bakersfield Sound. Accessed: 05-09-2010. The construction of the sign also served another purpose. Most of the Central Valley communities along US 99 had an arched sign spanning the highway to welcome drivers to the towns and cities that they were entering. The Bakersfield sign became the arched sign for the city. By the late 1990s, the sign had fallen into a state of disrepair. The Bakersfield Inn had closed down and no one was maintaining the sign. The

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...

(Caltrans), fearing the sign could collapse onto the road, wanted to remove it.Neon Sinage:Central California
Roadside Peak. Accessed: 05-09-2010. The original sign was demolished, and a new sign and towers were built by Sampson Steel (Duncan Sampson) in their steelyard, just north of the sign's new location; Rob Mann was Sampson Steel's project manager. Once the towers were built, the arched steel sign truss was carried down the street by crane in the early morning hours and stored on country singer

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

' property to allow other trades access to perform their work. The renovation took place in 1999 on the 50th anniversary of the sign's original construction. On the

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

, the arched sign was erected next to the Buck Owens Crystal Palace in front of a large crowd. The project cost Owens more than $175,000, but most of the cost was donated by the various subcontractors and the general contractor. The old sign had fallen into such a state of disrepair that the only components that could be saved were the blue porcelain letters. By rebuilding the sign and using what original components could be salvaged, it was again visible to the important Golden State Highway route.

In popular culture

The Bakersfield Sign has become a popular icon. It has been used in local TV and newspaper ads, company and government websites, and some book covers. Local artists also depict it in paintings and other art mediums. Here are some of the most notable depictions: *As part of a mural in the lobby of Reading Cinema, at

Valley Plaza Mall Valley Plaza Mall is a shopping mall in Bakersfield, California. It is the largest mall in the San Joaquin Valley. The mall is situated near California State Route 99, the city's main north/south freeway. Anchor stores are Forever 21, JCPenney, M ...

. *In the 2015 video game, ''

American Truck Simulator ''American Truck Simulator'' is a Vehicle simulation game#Trucking simulator, truck simulator game developed and published by SCS Software. It was announced as being in development in September 2013 and unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Exp ...

''. *As part of the 2011

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

All-Star Game logo, which Bakersfield hosted. The design features a condor (which represents the

Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home g ...

) grasping the Bakersfield Sign. *On the 125th episode of

The Fairly OddParents ''The Fairly OddParents'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of Timmy Turner, a 10-year-old boy with two fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda who grant him w ...

, some characters are taken to a cartoon recreation of the Bakersfield Sign through a

black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...

.Nickelodeon Bakersfield reference on The Fairly Oddparents
YouTube. June 13, 2013. Accessed: 05-22-2014.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Bakersfield, California Landmarks in Bakersfield, California Buildings and structures completed in 1949 Tourist attractions in Bakersfield, California Articles containing video clips Individual signs in the United States 1949 establishments in California