The New NBC Spectacular

NBC commissioned the Van Wagner outdoor company (headquartered in NYC) for a new, multi-faceted sign on the side of 5 Times Square (the Ernst & Young Building). Irwin Sheftel, VP of creative development, said the 38-story office tower now hosts a 42 x 75-ft. (10-story) spectacular, a fanciful flourish of stainless steel, vinyl and LEDs. Spectrum Signs assisted with the design and fabricated the sign.

The elaborate display was divided into five major components: the crown, the base sign structure, the upper sign cabinet, an LED Panasonic videoscreen (with surround) and the lower sign cabinet.

Shaaban Engineering provided structural analysis. Dr. Shaaban, the company’s principal, described the NBC sign project as an “atypical” structural-steel-tube truss that supports a large, 90,000-lb., radial sign with a 10-ft. overhang. Van Wagner Sign Erectors fabricated and installed all supporting structural steel.

Spectrum’s big challenge, said its president, Harvey Brooks, was rounding Ernst & Young’s 10-story corner. To do this, Spectrum created a cantilevered, rounded curve and clamped the structural steel onto the building corner. This extended the NBC sign sightline to increase its pedestrian visibility from Times Square’s bowtie (where 7th Ave. crosses over Broadway) and the 42nd St. areas. (The NBC sign package replaces the Jack and the Beanstalk spectacular (see ST, January 2004, page 66), and its installation process mimics the steps described in that article.)

The NBC sign package integrates several, different sign formats into a singular display. A steel background structure mounted on the building anchors the sign elements.

Dave O’Connell, Spectrum’s project manager, described the sign package. At the top, LED-illuminated, reverse channel letters spell out NBC Universal. Directly below is a 17 x 37-ft. sign cabinet, backlit with 38, 400W, France HID fixtures. Below that, a full-color, LED Panasonic videoscreen appears as an upcoming Sharp Aquus television product. Underneath the videoscreen, another, identical sign cabinet promotes upcoming, NBC television shows.

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