Two weeks after crews tried and failed to remove the Guarantee Savings sign from its perch atop the State Center Community College District offices in downtown Fresno, they were at it again.
Fresno Street was closed at Fulton on Saturday morning and a viewing section was set up for those wanting to watch as a large crane brought down the 11,000-plus-pound sign, which will now be relocated to the Fresno Fairgrounds.
A replica sign is being fabricated and should be installed by the summer 2025.
The State Center Community College District had been weighing what to do with the sign since moving into the 12-story Guarantee Savings Building in 2018.
The sign was originally installed in 1965 as a 15-foot rotating weather beacon. The G would change colors (from green to white to red), depending on the forecast. At one point, the building also had a 6-foot-tall time and temperature sign.
The G sign went dark in the 1990s and fell into disrepair. By the time community college district moved in, the electrical system for the rotation and lighting had stopped working and the whole thing was being held in place by thick wires, according to SCCCD Vice Chancellor of Operations Christine D. Miktarian.