For the past 63 years the sign on the West end of Burnside Bridge has been seen, and is known by almost everyone in Portland. When first built by Ramsay Signs, the sign read “White Satin”, then later changed to “White Stag”, and then again to “Made in Oregon”. In 1977 the sign became a historic landmark in Portland, especially during Christmas when the nose of the deer shines red. White Stag completely moved out of Portland, and was bought by a company who had trouble keeping it lit. The owner then died and the sign was in trouble of either being moved or permanently shut-off.
In 2008 the University of Oregon moved in and started to pay part of the bill to keep the sign lit. Since they were part of the pay, the Ducks were possibly going to be incorporated into the sign. It had a chance of reading “University of Oregon”, or display a huge “O”. People were mad with these ideas, since the University wasn’t even in Portland. Therefore the University stopped paying for part of the sign.
The sign was acquired by the City of Portland in 2010 and the Portland City Council agreed to give ownership to the City of Portland and have the sign read “Portland Oregon”. An agreement was made where the sign would be donated to Portland. In return the City of Portland would pay $2,000 a month for electricity costs and maintenance. Art DeMuro, who is the building owner on which the sign is attached to, donated $200,000 to the city to have the lettering changed to “Portland Oregon”. The sign was rebuilt and ready to go by November 26th, 2010 lighting the temporarily dark corner.
-Connor Buckley
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