Historic
Michigan Avenue Sign to Light Up Again at the Illinois Railway Museum
in McHenry County
Union,
IL - A giant piece of
Chicago history is coming back to life at the Illinois Railway Museum
in Union, McHenry County. On October 29, 2016 at 5:00pm the 70-foot
long illuminated SANTA FE sign which for decades sat atop the Railway
Exchange Building at 224 South Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago
will be re-lit following an extensive restoration effort. The sign
was acquired by the museum in 2012, when it was removed from the
building and donated by the building's owners, Hamilton Partners.
Restoration of the sign, which was constructed in 1982 to replace an
earlier 1962 version, took place in 2016 courtesy of a grant from the
BNSF Foundation.
Restoration
of the enormous sign was conducted by MK Signs Chicago. "Over
260 man-hours went into this project," said Dave Diamond, head
of the museum's Buildings & Grounds Department. "The work
included cleaning and repairing polycarbonate surfaces, wiring
replacement, and installation of over 1400 energy-efficient LED
modules to illuminate the letters." Steel supports were
installed near the museum entrance, where the SANTA FE letters will
be easily visible from passing cars. The sign joins other restored
railroad signs at the museum including examples from the North Shore
Line, South Shore Line, Illinois Central Railroad, and Chicago
Transit Authority.
The
Santa Fe Railroad was founded in 1854 and began construction of a
railroad west from Atchison, Kansas in 1859. It became the nation's
second transcontinental railroad in 1881 and built an extension to
Chicago in 1888. This installation complements other artifacts of the
Santa Fe preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum including
locomotive 2903, which was moved from the Museum of Science &
Industry in 1995 using temporary tracks set up alongside Lake Shore
Drive, and FP45 "Warbonnet" diesel locomotive 92.
The
Illinois Railway Museum was founded in 1953 and is located 65 miles
northwest of Chicago in Union. The nation's largest railway
preservation museum, it encompasses all aspects of railway history
including steam and diesel locomotives, electric streetcars and
elevated cars, and historic passenger and freight cars which are
operated on the museum's 150-acre site and 4.5-mile long railroad.
The museum will be open in November and December for its Happy
Holiday Railway event, during which the SANTA FE sign will be on
public display.
1 comment:
Does anyone know the hight and length of this new sign as it is right now at the museum?
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