Community Corner
Boston's Citgo Sign To Stay In Kenmore Square
Walsh announced a plan to preserve the Citgo sign and allow it to stay in Kenmore Square, but without landmark status.
KENMORE — Mayor Marty Walsh has announced that the city has long-term plan to preserve the famous Citgo sign and allow it to remain in Kenmore Square, but he said he will veto its recent designation as a landmark.
"We are pleased to share that we have reached a long-term resolution that will preserve the Citgo sign and allow for it to remain in place in Kenmore Square for years to come, recognizing the significance that this sign has on our landscape in Boston, while balancing the opportunity for our horizons to continue evolving in future years," said the mayor in a statement.
"We don't have to landmark it," said Walsh on Boston Public Radio show.
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In November, the city Landmark Commission approved landmark status for the sign, which has come to symbolize Boston and Kenmore Square. The designation would give the sign some protection should a developer want to change its configuration. Preservationists have worked for two years to keep the sign in Kenmore Square while the property is being redeveloped.
For years the question of whether the sign should recieve landmark status has been batted about. The most recent vote in favor simply had to be approved by the city council and the mayor.
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The mayor said the resolution would be "decades."
Citgo wanted to make adjustments to the structure of the sign. The sign will likely be moved to a higher portion of the building.
If Walsh had signed the landmark commission proposal, any adjustment to the sign would have to go through a long process, he said.
"I am happy, people who love Boston and the Citgo sign should be happy," he said on the radio show.
We've been following this for a while:
- Fenway's Citgo Sign Scores Landmark Status (November 2018)
- Kenmore Square's Citgo Sign: Should It Be A Landmark (October 2018)
- Kenmore Square, Citgo Sign, Proposed Makeover (May 2018)
- Citgo Sign Staying in Boston (March 2017)
- The Citgo Sign's Future is Uncertain, But You Can Help Save It (March 2017)
- Citgo Sign Takes Step Toward Landmark Status (July 2016)
- Over 1000 Petition to Make Citgo Sign Boston Landmark (June 2016)
Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff
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