Since 1965, the iconic “G” sign perched atop the downtown Fresno skyline has stood for Guarantee Savings.
Today, and for a little while longer at least, the “G” stands for something else.
Gravity.
In what surely qualifies as the most uplifting local story of 2024 so far, the “G” sign refused to be hoisted Saturday. Eleven-thousand pounds of metal opted to remain right where it is, rather than succumb to anyone else’s best-laid plans.
Hooray for inertia!
When the State Center Community College District purchased the 12-story Guarantee Savings building in 2018 for its new headquarters, the impetus was to create room on the Fresno City College campus for a new math and science building.
Now Isaac Newton is getting the last laugh. As anyone who paid attention in physics class knows, a body at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.
In this particular case, the outside force (aka a crane installed on the flatbed of a semi truck) wasn’t up to the task. Turns out engineers severely underestimated the sign’s weight. Besides that, according to SCCCD public information officer Jill Wagner, an unforeseen problem with the sign’s support post prevented it from being lifted safely during repeated attempts.