The iconic G sign that sits on top of the State Center Community College District office in downtown Fresno was scheduled to be removed last Saturday to eventually be replaced.
But the sign proved too difficult to take down since it weighed much more than expected, leading the SCCCD to postpone its removal to a future date.
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The backstory: The G sign was installed in 1965 on top of the Guarantee Savings & Loan Association building. It rotated and changed colors according to the weather for 30 years before it stopped working.
- When SCCCD purchased the building in 2018 it inspected the sign and found that it was not feasible to repair.
- The sign was supposed to come down on Saturday and be moved to the Fresno County Fairgrounds. SCCCD plans to install a new G sign by the summer of 2025.
The big picture: Contractors arrived in downtown on Saturday morning and worked for several hours to try to remove the sign.
- But initial estimates that the sign weighed between 4,500 to 6,500 pounds were far off, with the actual weight discovered at over 11,000 pounds.
- SCCCD also told McClatchy that the sign was getting stuck in the post’s infrastructure, preventing it from being lifted.
- SCCCD plans to set another date to try to remove the sign.
