Batavia Downs sign comes down
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A big piece of local history came down in Batavia on Monday.
Batavia Downs Casino and Racetrack removed its iconic steel sign after nearly 60 years of service.
The massive neon sign was first installed on the grandstand back in 1954. Since then, it has become a burden to maintain, with regular outages and peeling paint.
Local historian Larry Barnes was on-hand to watch the old sign come down Monday morning.
"Well, it was the end of an era. That sign has stood since 1954, it's a landmark in this community. It's a landmark that people recognize who don't live here," Barnes said.
It's going to be preserved in some form, somewhere. The replacement is an appropriate replacement for it. So we will still have a landmark that is very close to the original landmark. So I'm very pleased. I'm not sad."
The sign will be replaced with an updated model that looks nearly exactly like the old one, but will be sturdier and more energy efficient.