Historic sign stolen from Ballard's Olympic Athletic Club

Erik Sine · March 6, 2008

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY

P-I REPORTER

An arrow, once lit by light bulbs, graced this sign on a former bowling alley on Ballard Avenue Northwest.

The lighted arrow that hung next to the Olympic Athletic Club on Ballard Avenue Northwest hadn't worked for years and, with rust and missing bulbs, was easily overlooked.

But the club's general manager knew the arrow's historical value and had about $10,000 set aside to restore it and the attached sign.

Instead, he was planning to post reward posters Wednesday, three days after the arrow was reported stolen.

"It was 50 years old, and that's what really irks me," Mark Durall said. "Whoever did this had to have a ladder and several tools."

According to a police report, filed Sunday, the arrow hung about 15 feet off the ground in the 5200 block of Ballard Avenue Northwest, and was stolen Feb. 23 or 24. The report listed no suspects.

Durall has offered a $500 reward, "no questions asked."

The arrow, which was once lit with incandescent bulbs, was installed when the now-one-story garage was a bowling alley where staff members would set pins by hand, Durall said. The building was erected in 1921, according to King County property records, and was scheduled to be demolished later this year for a four-story hotel.

"But I wanted to keep the sign as a colorful part of the historic district," Durall said, adding that the club owners' $14 million project is scheduled to be completed in 2009.

He said City Lights Sign Co. gave him a $9,750 estimate in January to restore the arrow with bulbs and the sign with black, red and gold neon. Company owner Martha Davis said signs similar to the arrow were popular in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, and she estimated that only one or two such signs are now made in Seattle annually.

Durall said that about two weeks ago, two men approached him about buying the sign. He said it wasn't for sale and didn't discuss a price.

"I guess that wasn't the answer they wanted to hear."

Heather McAuliffe, coordinator for the Ballard Avenue Landmarks Review Board, was not familiar with the club's plans, but said exterior changes to buildings along Ballard Avenue Northwest require approval from the board -- including sign restorations.

"It's a shame someone took something they planned to incorporate into the new design," said Beth Miller, executive director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce. "The fact that it didn't work, it makes you wonder why someone wanted it."

P-I reporter Casey McNerthney can be reached at 206-448-8220 or caseymcnerthney@seattlepi.com.