The David Whitney Building’s 1959 sign lights up the skyline again

By Robin Runyan Jan 20, 2017, 10:31am EST

Another piece of the Detroit skyline is back.

On Thursday night, Whitney Partners, LLC along with the Detroit Historic Society relit the 1959 sign. In an effort approved by the Detroit Historic District Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, and the National Park Service, the bright red neon sign now stands out to the rest of downtown.

The light went up in 1959 and stayed there for decades. When the David Whitney Building was renovated a few years ago, restoring the sign was always part of the plan. You can see when they took the sign down during the renovation here and when they restored the original cornice (which faces Grand Circus Park) here.

The Detroit Historical Society spearheaded the restoration with Detroit-based Spectrum Neon Co., to refurbish the 5-foot-tall stainless steel letters and modernize them with LED bulbs.

Now we can enjoy neon red lettering against the purple haze of Ford Field.