Boston Citgo sign

{{Short description|Large sign in Boston, Massachusetts}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}} {{Infobox building | name = Boston Citgo sign | image = 2017 Citgo sign Kenmore Square Boston.jpg | caption = The sign in 2017 | size = {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=mid|-square}} | address = 660 [[Beacon Street]] | location_town = [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] | location_country = United States | coordinates = {{coord|42.348712|-71.095619|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=title,inline}} | completion_date = 1940 (as Cities Service)<br>1965 (as Citgo trimark) | website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20170425232659/http://bostoncitgosign.com/ bostoncitgosign.com] (archived) }}

The '''Boston Citgo sign''' is a large, double-faced sign featuring the logo of the oil company [[Citgo]] that overlooks [[Kenmore Square]] in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. The sign was installed in 1940 and updated with Citgo's present logo in 1965. The sign has become a landmark of Boston through its appearance in the background of [[Boston Red Sox]] games at [[Fenway Park]]. It can also be viewed across the Charles River in Cambridge.

==Description== The Citgo sign is a two-sided, {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=mid|-square}}, white sign with the Citgo logo, called the trimark, and the word mark CITGO. The sign advertises the oil company Citgo, which is a subsidiary of [[PDVSA|Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.]] The sign features thousands of [[light-emitting diodes]] (LEDs) that turn off every night at midnight. The current sign was unveiled in March 2005 after a six-month restoration project.<ref>{{Cite news |title = Kenmore Sq. sign gets high-tech makeover |newspaper = The Boston Globe |url = http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/03/16/kenmore_sq_sign_gets_high_tech_makeover/ |date = March 16, 2005 |access-date = September 24, 2006 |first = Megan |last = Tench }}</ref> LEDs were selected for their durability, [[Energy efficiency (physics)|energy efficiency]], intensity, and ease of maintenance. On October 15, 2008, a small electrical fire inside the sign caused approximately $5,000 worth of damage, partially melting the plastic and leaving visible smoke damage.<ref>{{Cite news |title = Omen? Citgo sign burns in small fire |newspaper = The Boston Globe |url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/10/omen_citgo_sign.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081018041242/http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/10/omen_citgo_sign.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = October 18, 2008 |date = October 15, 2008 |access-date = October 15, 2008 }}</ref> The Citgo sign was shut down for several months beginning in July 2010 to replace the LEDs with a newer version hopefully more capable of withstanding the [[Boston#Climate|winds and temperature extremes]] that affect the sign. Earlier versions featured [[neon lighting]]; the pre-2005 sign contained 5,878 glass tubes with a total length of more than {{convert|5|mi|km}}.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.citgo.com/AboutCITGO/SignFacts.jsp |title = CITGO.com, Company History, Sign Facts |publisher = Citgo |access-date = October 12, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170116185724/http://www.citgo.com/AboutCITGO/SignFacts.jsp |archive-date = January 16, 2017 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

The Citgo sign is known nationally for appearing above the [[Green Monster]] during televised games of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The sign has been nicknamed "See It Go," especially when a home run is hit during a game.<ref>{{cite web |title = The Citgo Sign in Boston |work = Boston's Pastime |url = http://www.bostonspastime.com/citgo.html |access-date = March 17, 2015 }}</ref> This visibility has led to the installation of replica signs.

The first sign, featuring the Cities Service green-and-white [[trefoil]] logo, was built in 1940. That sign was replaced with the trimark in 1965.<ref name="atlantic-2016jul">{{cite magazine |last = LaFrance |first = Adrienne |title = The Blinking Jewel in Boston's Skyline |magazine = [[The Atlantic]] |date = July 14, 2016 |url = https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/07/the-blinking-jewel-in-bostons-skyline/491333/ |access-date = February 13, 2017 }}</ref> Although there was, originally, a Cities Service station on the ground floor of the building, there is no associated Citgo gas station, so the sign is now a historical landmark. In 1979, Governor [[Edward J. King]] ordered the sign turned off as a symbol of [[energy conservation]].

Other petroleum companies raised similar high-visibility signs outside Fenway in the 1940s, including [[Mobil|Socony Mobil]] and [[Gulf Oil|Gulf]], but only the Cities Service sign proved to be long-lasting.

Four years later, Citgo attempted to disassemble the weather-beaten sign and was surprised to be met with widespread public affection for the sign and protest at its threatened removal. The [[Boston Landmarks Commission]] ordered its disassembly postponed while the issue was debated. Following a campaign that ''[[The New York Times]]'' said was "spearheaded" by Boston area preservationist [[Arthur J. Krim]], the sign was refurbished and relit by Citgo in 1983, an event that drew a cheering crowd of 1,000 fans of the sign,<ref name="atlantic-2016jul" /><ref name="NYT-1988nov">{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Patricia Leigh |title=In Praise of the Icons Of the Open Road |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/10/garden/in-praise-of-the-icons-of-the-open-road.html |access-date=2026-04-05 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 10, 1988 |page=C1}}</ref> and has remained in operation ever since.

In September 2006, Jerry McDermott, a Boston [[city councillor]], proposed that the sign be removed in response to [[List of Presidents of Venezuela|Venezuelan President]] [[Hugo Chávez]]'s insults toward [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]]. McDermott also suggested draping an [[American flag]] or Boston Red Sox banner over the sign until Chávez was out of office.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 22, 2006 |title=Boston Official Wants Citgo Sign Removed |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=2599253 |access-date=2025-03-10 |work=ESPN.com |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

In July 2016, the Boston Landmarks Commission voted to grant preliminary landmark status to the sign. The preliminary status prevented the sign from being removed from the building until the commission conducted a three-month study, to be followed by a vote on permanent landmark status in October 2016.<ref>{{cite news |last = Handy |first = Delores |url = http://www.wbur.org/news/2016/07/13/citgo-sign-preliminary-landmark-status |title = Citgo Sign Is Granted Preliminary 'Landmark' Status |publisher = [[WBUR-FM]] |date = July 13, 2016 |access-date = July 14, 2016 }}</ref>

In October 2016, ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' reported that local developer Related Beal purchased the building on which the sign sits as part of a $140 million, nine-building deal.<ref>{{cite news |last = Logan |first = Tim |url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/10/21/sale-finalized-buildings-hosting-citgo-sign/izcW9wRArM3Ymd5jozMj0K/story.html |title = Sale finalized for Kenmore buildings, including Citgo sign location |work = [[The Boston Globe]] |date = October 21, 2016 |access-date = October 24, 2016 }}</ref> Under former owner Boston University, Citgo paid a below market rate of $250,000 a year for the sign.<ref name=curbed>{{cite news |last= Acitelli|first= Tom |date=28 February 2017 |title=Citgo sign's fate hinges on outcome of rent dispute |url=https://boston.curbed.com/2017/2/28/14760654/citgo-sign-kenmore-square-boston-related-beal/comment/417569261 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710193207/https://boston.curbed.com/2017/2/28/14760654/citgo-sign-kenmore-square-boston-related-beal/comment/417569261 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 10, 2019 |work=Curbed |access-date= 28 February 2019}}</ref> Beal agreed on March 15, 2017, to retain the sign for "decades to come."<ref>{{cite news |first1 = Adam |last1 = Vaccaro |first2 = Tim |last2 = Logan |url = http://www.wcvb.com/article/citgo-sign-will-stay-in-kenmore-square-city-announces-a-deal/9137304 |title = CITGO sign will stay in Kenmore Square: City announces a deal |publisher = [[WCVB-TV]] |date = March 15, 2017 |access-date = March 16, 2017 }}</ref> On November 13, 2018, the Boston Landmarks Commission voted unanimously to designate the sign as an official [[Boston Landmark]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url = https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2018/11/14/citgo-sign-will-probably-become-landmark/ |title = The Citgo Sign Will (Probably) Finally Become a Landmark |last = Buell |first = Spencer |date = November 14, 2018 |work = [[Boston Magazine]] |access-date = November 16, 2018 |language = en-US }}</ref> That action was subsequently vetoed in late November by [[Mayor of Boston]] [[Marty Walsh]].<ref name=veto>{{cite news |url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/11/29/tentative-deal-reached-citgo-sign/QwIW2Ll3aErdA5rFOYZm7L/story.html |title = Citgo sign will stay, but not as a landmark |first = Tim |last = Logan |newspaper = [[The Boston Globe]] |date = November 29, 2018 |access-date = November 29, 2018 |url-access = limited }}</ref> Walsh's veto was coincident with an agreement between Citgo and Beal on a lease that will allow the sign to remain in place for another 30 years.<ref name=veto/>

On August 10, 2020, members of the global environmental movement [[Extinction Rebellion]] hoisted a {{convert|42|ft|m|adj=mid|-square}} banner over the front of the sign that read "CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW" to help draw attention to environmental issues as a result of the fossil fuel industry.<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Fox |first1 = Jeremy |last2 = Purifoy |first2 = Stephanie |url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/10/metro/environmentalists-hoist-banner-over-iconic-citgo-sign/ |title = Environmental group hoists banner over iconic Citgo sign |work = [[The Boston Globe]] |date = August 10, 2020 |access-date = August 19, 2020 }}</ref> A total of 10 participants from Boston, New York, and Vermont chapters of the group were arrested on charges of trespassing and disturbing the peace after the banner was brought down.

On October 15, 2025, the city of Boston approved a plan to move the Citgo sign 30 feet higher and 130 feet eastwards, to ensure future visibility amongst [[Kenmore Square]] high-rise development.<ref>{{Citation |title=Plans to relocate Boston's landmark CITGO sign get final approval |last=Haynes |first=Veronica |date=2025-10-15 |url=https://www.wcvb.com/article/citgo-sign-boston-landmark-moving-approval/69044917 |publisher=WCVB5}}</ref>

==Replicas== [[Daikin Park]], home of the [[Houston Astros]], had a replica of the sign behind left field. Replicas of the sign appear in two [[minor league baseball]] ballparks. [[Hadlock Field]], home of the [[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] [[Portland Sea Dogs]] in [[Portland, Maine]], has a replica of the Citgo sign above its replica of the Green Monster, the [[Maine Monster]]. The Double-A Astros affiliate [[Corpus Christi Hooks]] have a {{convert|50|ft|m|adj=mid|-square}} replica of the sign at their ballpark, [[Whataburger Field]].<ref>{{Cite news |last = White |first = Heather Ann |title = Hooks team gets its own landmark Citgo sign |newspaper = [[Corpus Christi Caller-Times]] |access-date = April 11, 2011 |date = April 29, 2007 |url = http://www.caller.com/news/2007/apr/29/hooks-team-gets-its-own-landmark-citgo-sign/ }}</ref> The association with Fenway Park and the Red Sox is so strong that some local [[Little League Baseball|Little League]] fields often are decorated with replicas of the Citgo sign.

The sign was highlighted in the 1968 [[short subject|short film]] ''Go, Go Citgo'', a 1983 ''[[Life Magazine]]'' [[photograph]] feature, and the 1989 [[feature film]] ''[[Field of Dreams]]''. The sign is caricatured in [[Neal Stephenson]]'s 1984 novel ''[[The Big U]]'' as "the Big Wheel sign," which is worshipped by members of a fictional American Megaversity fraternity.

In baseball video games like those in the ''[[MLB: The Show]]'' series, a lookalike version of the sign appears with a Red Sox logo inside the trimark, and no lettering is used; however, more recent games feature full corporate licenses allowing the sign to appear accurately.

==See also== *[[Shell Oil Company "Spectacular" Sign]]

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Boston Citgo sign}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100328030337/http://www.bu.edu/today/node/9372 Icons Among Us: The CITGO Sign] Article with slideshow

[[Category:Individual signs in the United States]] [[Category:Landmarks in Fenway–Kenmore]] [[Category:Boston Red Sox]] [[Category:1940 establishments in Massachusetts]] [[Category:Citgo]]