Beacon Regains Its Flash

[Erik Sine]

Beacon regains its flash

Derek Pivnick

@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

Scott Navarro, left, and Rob Dean of Plastic Arts Signs position the middle portion of the Pensacola Beach sign as the last part of the sign is put into place. The middleportion of the sign houses 800 to 900 feet of neon tubing.

Gary McCracken

The multicolored flashing sign, which stands just off U.S. 98 near the Bob Sikes Bridge overpass in Gulf Breeze, has for 45 years pointed the way to Pensacola Beach for tens of thousands of visitors.

Over the past 18 months, different portions of the sign have been repaired or replaced because of the toll taken by years of hurricanes and tropical storms.

"People look for it," said Gulf Breeze resident Ron Thomas, 71. "They're glad to see it back up."

The reinstallation of the central portion of the sign is the final stage of repairs.

"Everything in it is back to original," said Thomas, who handles sales and marketing for Plastic Arts Signs of Pensacola, the company that in April won the $135,000 contract to revamp the center of the sign. "It's going to be spectacular."

Crews were adding miles of wiring and 800 to 900 feet of neon tubing that will give the sign a star-like quality once the power is switched on in a few days, Thomas said. All the switches and lights have been replaced, he said.

"Every piece of neon on there is handmade," Thomas said.

The sign has taken on a life of its own, finding its way onto postcards and into the work of local artists.

"I think it's become an icon," said Pensacola resident Harriet Krippes. "It's part of the psyche, really."

The sign was designed in 1960 by Patricia Thornton Born, who helped establish the Dodson, Craddock and Born advertising agency in Pensacola, Krippes said. The firm since has merged with another agency.

"She's quite a talented, well-known artist," said Krippes, 75, who once worked at the agency.