“The most significant sign in Seattle” – City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board
The Sign Factory announced today that Seattle Theatre Group (STG), the non-profit organization that owns and operates Seattle’s Paramount Theatre, has hired them to replicate their historic vertical sign. The project is an exact replication, keeping the authentic look and feel of the iconic sign while updating it with modern energy saving materials and electronic technology.
Built in 1928, The Paramount Theatre’s architectural majesty and Beaux-Arts design was created specifically to house film and vaudeville. Surviving everything from the Great Depression to earthquakes, The Paramount Theatre has endured to become one of Seattle’s most beloved landmark venues. The iconic vertical sign is original to the building and in March of 1930 was re-lettered from “Seattle” to “Paramount”.
To restore the vertical sign, The Sign Factory of Kirkland, WA collected measurements, rubbings, and detailed information regarding every piece of steel, nut, bolt, screw, sheet metal, and paint samples from all surfaces. All of the information was brought back to their shop to be processed by their special project team and computer files were generated from the data compiled from the site. 
“We paid meticulous attention to every detail in order to maintain the authentic look and feel of the original historic sign while updating it with modern energy saving materials and electronic technology,” said Jim Risher, President of The Sign Factory.
The Sign Factory will remove the existing sign in 3 sections exposing the steel i-beams that are structurally attached to the original brick building. The i-beams will be sanded, primed and painted with an industrial coating on site. The letters and lighting fixtures will be replaced with aluminum components that are protected by Matthews Acrylic Polyurethane. The new Paramount vertical sign created with aluminum will consist of 17% postconsumer and 27% post-industrial materials; exceeding the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) requirements of 30% for building restoration projects.
“The historic sign consumes a ton of energy, from the historic power transformers and mechanical chasers to the incandescent light bulbs”, said Jim Risher, President of The Sign Factory. “It was very important to all of us that the new sign be as green as possible using advanced technology, while keeping the esthetic look of the current sign.” The replicated sign will be approximately 90% more energy efficient. Currently the vertical sign has 1,932 incandescent bulbs using 11 watts per bulb and are powered by several large mechanical chasers. The new sign will used LED bulbs that use .75 watts per bulb and powered by electronic chasers. In addition, replacing the magnetic transformers with Ventex High Power Factor (HPF) power supplies will save more than 66% of energy consumption when lighting the neon portions of the sign.
About The Sign Factory: The Sign Factory, Inc. is an electrical sign manufacturing, installation and service corporation. With our in house design department we have the ability to design and manufacture signs from start to finish. We specialize in branding multiple locations for corporations, large and small. The company has the capability to provide sign products throughout the US and Canada from our Kirkland, Washington facility. We offer wholesale production and project management on a regional and national basis. Major customers include; national retailers: Macy’s, Albertson’s, Safeway, US Bank, Bank of America, ING Direct, Supercuts, HairMasters, Starbucks, Wells Fargo, local architects, property managers, commercial developers and local retailers.
About STG: Seattle Theatre Group is the 501 (c) (3) non-prof i t ar ts organization that operates the historic Paramount and Moore Theatres in Seattle, Washington. Our mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of our region’s cultural identity while keeping these two landmark venues alive and vibrant. STG presents a variety of shows from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and Jazz to comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows – at both historic theatres in Seattle and at venues throughout Puget Sound and Portland, Oregon.
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