When all the signs came down

RWF

5 years ago

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.

Kemp’s Hamburgers, corner of Cambridge Street and Forbes Ave.

Murray’s Real Estate, corner of Cambridge Street and Skilton Lane.

A&P supermarket, now the Used Book Superstore on Cambridge Street.

128 Drive-In, now the Burlington Crossroads plaza (anchored by Target). Looks like some motorists helped disassemble the sign by bashing it.

Jack Kilmartin’s Esso Station on the left, and Dom’s Atlantic gas station on the right. Now a Convenient MD and a Shell station, respectively.

Local auto body shops probably loved this sign and the oopsies it must have caused. Too bad it had to go.

Here’s a pic from Burlington’s annual “cleanup day.” See the sign for Burlington Professional Center in the background? Well, the foundation and post are still there.

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:

And now, a word from our sponsors:

There’s Finland on the right. The Rentool building burned down and the rest of this complex (formerly Reed Ham Works) was razed a couple years ago.