When all the signs came down
Honky-tonk Burlington? Yes, by the mid-1960s, Burlington apparently had too many big, colorful signs. So in September of 1966, Town Meeting ordered all free-standing signs to come down — but allowed a five-year grace period to comply, making September 1971 the deadline to remove the signs or else. Or else what? A fee of $100 per day for any business that failed to comply. And so down they came, 50 years ago this month.







In other news from exactly 50 years ago:
- Value House was about to open in the former IGA building on Cambridge Street
- Francis Wyman Junior High had split sessions, with the first shift starting at 7:30 and the last dismissal at 5 p.m.
- People were murmuring about assassinating President Nixon:
- The new Town Meeting section of the Burlington Mall (a side corridor) held a grand opening.
- Burlington’s “skyscraper” was underway.
Here’s a picture taken from that bank building, looking out at the new Burlington Mall and unfinished New England Executive Park, now District Ave.
- And Sal Todaro was elected to the School Committee. The Burlington News sent a photographer to his house to get his wild reaction when the town called to say he’d won the election. And here’s that wild reaction:
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The signs came down next do something with the power lines?
I can remember most of them. The Murray sign was a surprise.
Thanks for keeping this living history.
Thanks so much for the great memories
great article, i thought the Kemp’s sign was so cool. all that great bright colored neon.
What amazing memories! For me, BHS grad of 1962, supervisor of summer recreation programs 1964 – 1975. Youth Center Director 1967 – 1975. Thank you Burlington for being such an amazing part of my world from 1955 – 1976.
The signs made Burlington what it was……A Town… Great Memories!!!