BowMac Sign

Infobox Historic building
name=The BowMac Sign


caption=Before and after the Toy's "R" Us addition.
map_type=
latitude=49.263334|N
longitude=-123.130839|E
location_town=1154-1176 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC
location_country=Canada
architect=
client=Bowell Maclean
engineer=
construction_start_date=1958
date_demolished=
cost=
structural_system=
style=Neon
size=29m

The BowMac sign, known affectionately as "Toys "R" BowMac" and "Toymac", is a historic neon sign in Vancouver, BC with a metal screen depicting the Toys "R" Us logo covering a significant portion of the original sign. It stands at 1154-1176 West Broadway, the current location of a Toys "R" Us store. It was officially been designated by the City of Vancouver as a landmark worthy of heritage preservation and revitalization in 1997. The sign is well known as a unique heritage landmark of Vancouver, but it is also known as a topic of contention, as manywho? see it as an unsightly sign in its current form, as well as an exceptionally large advertisement for Toys "R" Us, among other issues.

Early History

The Bowell Maclean (BowMac) car dealership on West Broadway in Vancouver erected the sign above their business in 1958. The orange sign was originally covered with hundreds of colourful bulbs and neon lights. It was the largest structure in Vancouver other than the BC Electric Building downtown at the time, and was also recognized as North America's largest freestanding sign. The billboard was visible from 18 miles away due to its luminosity. [Fujita, Mari & Neumman, Oliver regarding the BowMac sign's history. http://www.arcadejournal.com/Public/IssueArticle.aspx?Volume=23&Issue=4&Article=122]

However, as the neon craze of 1950's Vancouver began to disappear in the 1960's, many of the neon signs around the city were gradually taken down and outlawed due to stricter bylaws. The BowMac sign stood into the 1990's, when desires to demolish the sign began to surface. The city's planning and heritage departments opposed the idea, and eventually passed legislation in order to preserve the sign in 1997.

Heritage Designation

In the 1950's, Vancouver was known as the North American neon light capital for its large numbers of signs, the artisanship involved, and the (then) cutting-edge technology on display all over the city. It is said that Vancouver was easily recognized by pilots from the air due to the glow emitted from all of the neon signs. The BowMac Sign therefore serves as a proud reminder of this fact; it was deemed the largest, most recognizable, and most centrally located of the famed signs. It also has a font, design, and shape distinct to the era. It is recognized world-wide for its unique look and its size. These considerations led to its designation as a landmark worthy of heritage conservation in May 1997 after an extensive decision and general opinion gathering period.

Controversy

There are many contentious issues surrounding this sign. Firstly, it is considered by manywho? to be exceptionally ugly because the retro classic BowMac sign clashes with the multicoloured, often consideredwho? childish logo of Toys "R" Us. Somewho? claim it to simply look ridiculous. It is also arguedwho? that the lofty sign stands out far too much against the otherwise conservative landscape of West Broadway.

Another issue that many peoplewho? have with the sign is that the superimposed Toys "R" Us sign is exempt from but also way beyond the current bylaws of the city. The BowMac sign itself is 215% too tall and 1823% larger than the allowed sign area; the Toys "R" Us billboard covers roughly three quarters of this space. The effect of this is that Toys "R" Us gets what is arguably the largest billboard in Vancouver, giving it an enormous marketing advantage. Manywho? wonder why Toys "R" Us doesn't have to conform to the laws everybody else does in Vancouver.

A third critique is that the addition of the Toys "R" Us sign to the BowMac sign compromises its heritage value. The whole point of the sign is to honour heritage, but covering three quarters of it up, some arguewho?, is defeating that purpose. Otherswho? argue that the original sign has no heritage value at all in the first place.

Other critiques at the time of the legislation being written included the fact that the sign was an earthquake hazard and that it was going to make too much noise and light pollution at night. These issues were addressed; the site was deemed to be earthquake-proof, and the power was restricted between 10 PM and 4 AM. [Administrative report published May 21, 1997 regarding the sign's heritage designation. http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/970529/pe4.htm]

References