Iconic Baton Rouge Coca-Cola Sign To Be Restored

Throughout the early 20th Century, Coca-Cola®-branded signage that identified grocery stores, delis, drug stores and other stores was nearly as ubiquitous as loaves of white bread or aspirin. Rarer, yet more majestic, neon-lit billboards were installed on rooftops in high-traffic areas throughout the U.S. during the ‘40s and ‘50s.

However, as these signs fell into disrepair as decades passed, they were dismantled. Thankfully, efforts were made to save a handful of them; one such preservation occurred in Baton Rouge, LA. Initially installed in 1946, the sign had gradually deteriorated. However, instead of allowing it to crumble, the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, the Downtown Business Assn., utilities provider Entergy, and the Baton Rouge Coca-Cola bottler joined forces in 2002 to relight the sign.

Now, in the decade-plus hence, thanks to the effects of Hurricane Katrina and other storms, plus the Bayou’s near-tropical climate, the sign requires yet another facelift. According to a March 12 Baton Rouge Advocate article, the local Coca-Cola bottler will subsidize the approximately $20,000 required to replace or repair the neon tubing and electronic sequencers. In the article, Davis Rhorer, the executive director of the Downtown Development District, said it’s one of three such remaining in the U.S.

The project is expected to be completed by late May.