The Boston Landmarks Commission met with the city’s Environment Department on Wednesday to discuss a petition submitted by the Boston Preservation Alliance that would preserve the Citgo sign in Kenmore Square, according to a notice from the Environment Department.
The Landmarks Commission met to discuss what character-defining aspects of the sign it would protect, including the logo, lighting, size and shape of the sign, according to Greg Galer, the executive director of the Boston Preservation Alliance and the author of the petition.
As of now, Boston University plans to sell several of its Kenmore properties, including the building under the Citgo sign, without requiring the buyer to preserve the sign in any way, according to the alliance’s petition, which was posted on Change.org.
“We had tried to reach out to BU and had some discussions with Citgo when there started to be word of potential changes and lack of clarity,” Galer said. “For us, the goal is to try to get ahead of the discussion and talk about what’s important and try to protect it, and try to be more proactive than reactive.”
Galer said if the sign achieves landmark status, future owners of the building would have to go through the Landmarks Commission for any changes that might affect aspects of the sign.
“They’re trying to protect the sign and not the building below it, [and] it gets a little tricky how you try to slice that,” he said.
Even though the sign is not a formal landmark, Galer said, it is a colloquial landmark, and it’s one of the most popular symbols of Boston.
“If you look at popular media and culture, including the recent Simpsons episode, the Citgo sign is there, among some of our more long standing, and one could argue more historical, elements,” Galer said.
The alliance has received an outpouring of support from the public, including members of the Boston Planning and Development Agency, to preserve the sign, according to Galer.
“We’re optimistic that it will get support,” Galer said. “I certainly wouldn’t want to be a politician who’s holding office and would allow the sign to go away.”
Rosanne Foley, the executive director of the Landmarks Commission, wrote in an email that the Landmarks Commission preserves Boston’s historic sites through protective designation and design review. After that they determine what qualifications make a particular landmark worthy of preservation, and then they protect the landmarks from changes that would affect their integrity.
“[A landmark is] a resource representative of elements of architectural or landscape design or craftsmanship with embody distinctive characteristics of a type inherently valuable for study of a period, style or method of construction or development, or a notable work of an influential architect, landscape architect, designer or builder,” Foley said.
The Landmarks Commission is still in the process of discussing whether or not the sign should be preserved, Foley said.
“Once the study report process is complete, the public will be able to weigh in on it and the Commission will then vote on whether to Landmark the resource,” Foley said.
Several Boston residents had mixed opinions about the importance of the Citgo sign.
Olivia Billbrough, 24, of South Boston said big changes to the city’s landmarks might make people upset.
“I feel like taking it down will probably make people feel like they’re losing a piece of historic Boston,” she said.
Fred Maloney, 72, of Brighton, said he doesn’t place much value on the history of the Citgo sign because he remembers when it used to be the Cities Service sign.
“This sign isn’t really the historic sign. The historic sign was the City Service sign… and when City Service became Citgo, they redeveloped the sign,” he said. “It’s really not that historic, if you look at old pictures of Boston.”
Eduardo Miranda, 27, of Brighton, thought it should be a historical landmark.
“That’s the Red Sox, that’s Fenway Park, that’s Kenmore,” he said. “Even if you don’t need it, people look at that as a symbol.”
Editor’s note: The Daily Free Press is one of the tenants in 648 Beacon St., one of the properties being sold.
