The negotiations over who will own and renovate Portland’s beloved “Made in Oregon” sign may have finally come to an end.
Ramsay Signs, the company selling the iconic landmark, gifted the sign to the City of Portland last Tuesday, March 23, ending speculation over which would become the next party to advertise itself over the Burnside Bridge in Old Town Portland. The sign’s new language: Portland Oregon.
Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard was the first to announce last week on his blog that the sign would be given to the city.
Leonard became a major actor in the Made in Oregon melodrama when he publicly opposed the University of Oregon’s plans to purchase and renovate the sign with its own namesake.
“I believe the University of Oregon is making a mistake,” Leonard said in March 2009. “They have done some wonderful things in Old Town by restoring the buildings they are using for their satellite campus. I appreciate and applaud that effort. However, that good civic work is threatened by the decision to proceed with their planned sign change.”
As tenants of the White Stag building in the historic district of Old Town, the University had first dibs on the sign. But after controversy ensued, sparked by proposed changes to the electric billboard — including Leonard’s filing of an ordinance that authorized the city to exercise eminent domain to condemn the sign and bring it under city ownership — hopes for a University sign illuminating Old Town Portland were shelved.
“There were hurdles regarding the changes to the wording on the sign that could not be overcome,” University spokesperson Julie Brown said. “In the end, the University decided it was not in the best interest of the institution to purchase the sign.”
Brown also said the sign’s prominence was a primary reason the University was interested in the Old Town location.
Leonard and others who attempted to block the University’s renovations consider the City’s acquisition an accomplishment.
“This is a historic and very visible landmark that makes up a large part of the downtown skyline,” said Ty Kovatch, Leonard’s chief of staff. “The suggestion to change it to read ‘University of Oregon’ hasn’t been terribly popular around here.”
Kovatch said the city’s changes to the sign would better preserve its emblematic quality.
“Portland is actually somewhat renowned across the country for its preservation of its historic structures and historic feel, and this situation is no different,” he said. “We’re very satisfied with this deal.”
The city will now pay for the electrical bills and maintenance of the sign using revenue from a parking lot underneath the Burnside Bridge.
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