Neon Loses Out To Rust, Dooming Landmark Sign

Boston Globe:

There were no birthday cakes or special crullers when the oversized neon Dunkin’ Donuts sign in Brighton turned 50 in 2007. Indeed, the rusted landmark and last original Dunkin’ Donuts sign standing anywhere appears on the verge of passing quietly into oblivion sometime soon.

‘The sign is coming down,’ says Andrew Mastrangelo, communications manager for Canton-based Dunkin’ Brands Inc.

Believed to have been erected in 1957, the rusting and unlighted sign next to a 24-hour Dunkin’ Donuts towers over the intersection of Market and North Beacon streets. Mastrangelo said a new sign will replace the old one, which has ‘deteriorated to an unacceptable condition.’

The impending demise of the old sign troubles some preservationists and admirers of mid-20th century roadside architecture. Read more.