An eagle will soon light up Burnaby’s Hastings Street once more.
Burnaby staff are recommending council grant a heritage designation to the Eagle Ford neon sign which once proudly glowed above a car dealership at 4191 Hastings St.
The designation would protect the sign as a heritage landmark and allow it to be installed on a city-owned sidewalk, according to a staff report.
The location selected for the sign is its former home at 4160 Albert St. (previously 4191 Hastings St.), where Eagle Ford Motors used to stand. It’s now Carleton Square, a commercial plaza with a residential strata building at the back.
The double-faced sign would be mounted on a post five metres (16.4 feet) above the HOV lane on Hastings so the two faces of the sign are visible to those travelling east-west.
The city says the height of the mount will allow vehicles of all sizes to pass safely below as it is the same height required for traffic lights or other types of signs and infrastructure that project into a travel lane.
The project is on budget at $110,000, according to the report.
The city will be responsible for maintaining the sign and has awarded a maintenance contract at a fixed rate, five-year term to Galaxie Signs at a cost of $3,000 per year.
The Heights Merchants Association will pay for the costs of electricity to operate the sign, in a similar arrangement to the maintenance and operation of the Swinging Girl sign.
Council will discuss the report and heritage designation at its meeting Feb. 26.
Light concerns?
Staff gave some assurances that the light from the neon sign won’t be a nuisance to neighbours.
The report states neon doesn’t generally shine much light on surrounding objects and offered the nearby Swinging Girl neon sign as a reference for the anticipated brightness of the Eagle Ford neon sign.
But there was a caveat.
“It is not possible to calculate the anticipated luminous discharge from neon tubes due to the nature of the technology,” said the report.
“The brightness of neon varies with the specific mix of gases and the length and shape of the tubes. Brightness can also fluctuate depending on temperature and humidity.”
Staff will consider installing a dimmer on the sign to ensure it doesn’t bother neighbouring residents.
“A timer could also be added to the sign after it is installed, should further measures be required to ensure the comfort of nearby residents,” said the report.
The original neon tubes will be replaced with new neon, in colours that match the original as closely as possible, according to the report.
The city will hold a public hearing for the heritage designation bylaw and provide information to the owners and occupants of 4160 Albert St.
Eagle through the ages
The “historic” neon sign was bought by the city in 2012 to be restored as a heritage landmark, according to the report.
For decades, the sign had been mounted in the 4100 block of Hastings, installed at Walsh Motors in the 1940s or 50s.
Walsh Motors eventually became Eagle Ford, the largest Ford car and truck retailer in the province from 1948 to 1985.
Eagle Motors used the silhouette of the eagle in its advertising and on its chrome car badge.
