Scale Drawing of 1960's Detroit Yellow Pages Time/Temp Display
A scale rendition of the time and temperature display (not counting the outer frame) that was part of the Yellow Pages sign atop the Michigan Bell building in Detroit (address: 882 Oakman Boulevard, a.k.a. 14300 Woodrow Wilson Street, near the border of Highland Park). This clock, first installed in 1961, was part of the famed sign 'Find it Fast - YELLOW PAGES' (debuted two years before) which phone served as a weather beacon (red for warm weather, blue for cooler weather and yellow for no change; would blink for rain or snow) for those passing by this sign as they were travelling along the Lodge Freeway, but would be turned off in the 1980's and remain unused until it was finally dismantled in 2011.
An article on this sign in the June 1962 issue of Signs of the Times indicated that when originally put in, the clock had a total of 185 bulbs, suggesting: a) it initially only told the time, and b) did not have curvature for a '7' on the second lamp bank. That, plus bulbs on each end of the '1' at left to indicate if the temperature dipped below zero, appeared to have been later add-ons - and upped the bulb count for this clock to 192. Notice how the curvature differs on the second lamp bank (by a full quarter of an inch) from that on the first and third banks.
Based on pictures, it appears the light bulb columns and rows were spaced approx. 7" apart, with amber yellow PAR38 bulbs used (after all, it was the Yellow Pages being promoted on that sign). Here is a simulation of how the time would be flashed. No word on whether the temperature was accompanied by a degree sign on the third lamp bank or not.
Scale Drawing of 1960's Detroit Yellow Pages Time/Temp Display
A scale rendition of the time and temperature display (not counting the outer frame) that was part of the Yellow Pages sign atop the Michigan Bell building in Detroit (address: 882 Oakman Boulevard, a.k.a. 14300 Woodrow Wilson Street, near the border of Highland Park). This clock, first installed in 1961, was part of the famed sign 'Find it Fast - YELLOW PAGES' (debuted two years before) which phone served as a weather beacon (red for warm weather, blue for cooler weather and yellow for no change; would blink for rain or snow) for those passing by this sign as they were travelling along the Lodge Freeway, but would be turned off in the 1980's and remain unused until it was finally dismantled in 2011.
An article on this sign in the June 1962 issue of Signs of the Times indicated that when originally put in, the clock had a total of 185 bulbs, suggesting: a) it initially only told the time, and b) did not have curvature for a '7' on the second lamp bank. That, plus bulbs on each end of the '1' at left to indicate if the temperature dipped below zero, appeared to have been later add-ons - and upped the bulb count for this clock to 192. Notice how the curvature differs on the second lamp bank (by a full quarter of an inch) from that on the first and third banks.
Based on pictures, it appears the light bulb columns and rows were spaced approx. 7" apart, with amber yellow PAR38 bulbs used (after all, it was the Yellow Pages being promoted on that sign). Here is a simulation of how the time would be flashed. No word on whether the temperature was accompanied by a degree sign on the third lamp bank or not.