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Iconic Bayer Sign On Mt. Washington To Go Dark

PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio1020 KDKA) - Pittsburgh residents are familiar with the iconic Bayer sign that lights up the night from atop its Mt. Washington location.

The condition of the sign has been deteriorating over the years and recently became the center of controversy.

Bayer Corporation announced that it has decided not to renew its lease agreement with Lamar Advertising.

Bill Rehkopf reached out to Lamar Advertising for a comment, while they would not go on air, they told him there currently is a plan before zoning that they believed met all the concerns of the parties from Mt. Washington.

Mayor Peduto reacted to Lamar saying the only plans he remembers were ones under the previous administration and were not acceptable. They wanted to create the largest LED sign in an urban area in the United States. As for Bayer taking their name off the sign, Mayor Peduto does not blame them.

"For 20 years they (Lamar Advertising) have put no money into this sign and the reason Bayer is moving out isn't because of red tape of city government, it's because they don't want to be associated with something that's become an eyesore," Mayor Peduto told the KDKA Afternoon News.

Peduto also released the following statement on the issue, "I can see why Bayer doesn't want to be identified with the Mount Washington sign. Lamar has a responsibility to maintain the sign and it hasn't done anything to it in 20 years. It's an eyesore for the Mount Washington neighborhood and the whole city. The city will work with Lamar to restore the sign, but needed upgrades to the appearance of the structure and its landscaping need to happen as well."

Some people only can remember Mt. Washington with the Bayer sign and have started a petition to save it. Will Koz, started a petition on Change.org to fix the Bayer sign. He was on the KDKA Afternoon News yesterday with Rehkopf talking about his petition and 24 hours later joined him again only this time things have evolved and progressed so much that not even Koz believes it.

"I'm really happy to see that the Mayor got involved as quickly as he did. However the last thing I want to see is the sign go away. I'm hoping they can resolve the issue to like I said, either renovate it or get a new one up there because as I said yesterday it's kind of like our Hollywood sign here in Pittsburgh," said Koz.

You can hear the whole conversation with Mayor Peduto here now!

Bayer Sign Reaction

And you can listen to the interview with Will Koz here.

Bayer Sign Reaction

Tune into the KDKA Afternoon News weekdays 3-7pm with Bill Rehkopf.

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