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Grain Belt Beer Sign

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(Redirected from Grain Belt Beer sign) Historic sign in Minneapolis

Grain Belt Beer Sign
Grain Belt Beer Sign with DeLaSalle High School in the background
General information
TypeSign
LocationNicollet Island
Address4 Island Avenue W., Minneapolis
CountryUnited States
Coordinates44°59′10″N 93°15′48″W / 44.9861°N 93.2634°W / 44.9861; -93.2634
Completed1941; 84 years ago (1941)
Relocated1950
Renovated2017
Cost$5,000 ($103,575 in 2023)
Renovation cost$500,000
OwnerAugust Schell Brewing Company
Technical details
Size
  • 51 ft (15.5 m) tall
  • 63 ft (19.2 m) wide
Design and construction
Architect(s)General Outdoor Advertising Company
Grain Belt Beer Sign
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NRHP reference No.16000511
Added to NRHPAugust 4, 2016

The Grain Belt Beer Sign is a neon sign on Nicollet Island in Minneapolis. Displaying a bottlecap of Grain Belt beer, the sign was remodeled and relit in 2017 after a period of disuse and disrepair beginning in the mid 1970s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

History

Seeking to put itself in a strong position following the Prohibition, the Minneapolis Brewing Company had by 1938 erected several Grain Belt beer signs around Minneapolis; one at the Marigold Ballroom, and one at 101 East Hennepin Avenue. The current sign with the bottlecap design was built in 1941 by the General Outdoor Advertising Company for $5,000 ($103,575 in 2023). It replaced the old sign on the Marigold Ballroom, and was erected in April 1941. The 100-foot-tall structure features a 52-foot-tall by 63-foot-wide bottlecap with the diamond-shaped Grain Belt Beer logo inside. The top of the sign has a letter "M" in a circle for the Minneapolis Brewing Company. At the time of its construction, it was one of the largest neon signs in the United States. The sign removed in March 1950 and was moved to its current location on Nicollet Island in June of the same year. There, next to the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, the sign commanded a strong presence and was unmissable by those leaving downtown towards the east.

The neon sign would light sequentially light each letter of "Grain Belt Beer". After 1975, the sign was only lit occasionally. The sign received a $125,000 renovation in 1989 and was ceremonially relit, but was darkened again in 1991 after the cost of lighting it became prohibitive. It was relit by a spotlight to promote Grain Belt Nordeast beer on April 14, 2010. Winthrop Eastman, owner of the sign, said he longed for it to be permanently relit. Practicalities of refurbishing thousands of feet of neon tubes and more than 1,000 incandescent bulbs created roadblocks. Political obstacles involving people in condos in the area also complicated the issue.

The sign illuminated at night next to the Hennepin Avenue Bridge

New life for the sign began in 2014, when August Schell Brewing Company entered talks to purchase the sign. The company had purchased the Grain Belt brand in 2002, but the sign had not been included. Schells' purchased the sign in 2016, with hopes to have the sign re-lit by 2017. There was need for work to clean the sign's porcelain facade, as well as clear graffiti from the sign's reverse. The signs neon tubes and incandescent bulbs were replaced with LEDs. While the sign used to cost $4,000 a month to illuminate, with the new lighting only $7,500 per year was projected. On December 30, 2017, the sign was relit in time for Super Bowl LII. The cost to purchase and renovate the sign was about $500,000.

The sign was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 4, 2016. It is one of the few remaining outdoor signs from the twentieth century along the Minneapolis riverfront.

See also

Notes

  1. Lit since 2017 with LEDs

References

  1. ^ Gales, Elizabeth. "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form". National Park Service. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  2. Press, Deanna Weniger (December 31, 2017). "Grain Belt sign lights up Minneapolis skyline again after 21 years". Pioneer Press. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  3. ^ Iverson-Sechi, Kari (December 31, 2017). "Grain Belt Beer sign shines bright, first time since the 90s". FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  4. ^ Hage, Christopher (2010). Nicollet Island. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub. ISBN 978-0-7385-7791-3.
  5. "Grain belt neon glows anew in Minneapolis". Star Tribune. February 19, 1992. p. 19.
  6. Walsh, Jim (November 14, 2007). "Grain Belt beer sign: Let it glow again". MinnPost.
  7. ^ Woltman, Nick (November 13, 2014). "Minneapolis' Grain Belt beer to get new light". The Pioneer. Pioneer Press. p. 3.
  8. ^ Nelson, Tim (February 1, 2016). "Mpls. Grain Belt sign to be re-lit in 2017". MPR News. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  9. "Iconic Grain Belt Beer sign ready for rehab". KARE11. May 31, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  10. Krohn, Tim (December 12, 2017). "Schell's relighting iconic Grain Belt sign". Mankato Free Press. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
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