The sign was built in 1936 and restored in 1993. Discussions to classify it have been going on for 20 years.
A huge illuminated Pepsi-Cola sign installed on the banks of the East River in New York, has just been classified as a historical monument, after more than 25 years of discussions. The 37-meter-long and 18-meter-high red sign, very visible from east Manhattan and from the tourist boats that circumnavigate the island, was originally installed in the 1940s to decorate the atop a Pepsi bottling plant, in an industrial area bordering the East River in Long Island City.
Built in 1936, it represented the brand’s logo at the time, with neon lights embedded in the steel and porcelain letters, and a huge bottle of Pepsi. It was restored in 1993, after suffering from a severe winter storm.
Filmed by Steven Spielberg and Sidney Pollack
Discussions for it to be classified as a historic monument, had started in 1988. They finally ended on Tuesday, with a unanimous vote of all the members of the municipal commission for historic monuments.
“His prominent location and frequent pop culture appearances have made him one of the most endearing icons on the (East River) edge of Queens,” said commission chair Meenakshi Srinivasan.
In 1999, the bottling plant had closed, was sold and demolished in 2001. But the sign had been protected and was reinstalled a few meters away, in a park opened in 1998, the Gantry Plaza State Park.
The brand has appeared in several films, including Steven Spielberg’s “Munich” (2005) with Daniel Craig and Mathieu Kassovitz, and Sydney Pollack’s “The Interpreter” (2005) with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn.
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