When a Neon Sign Becomes a Sign-Off
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NEW YORK — Passersby looking skyward in Manhattan may wonder what “AN AM” means. It means the times, they are a changin’. And so is the sign on the old Pan Am building.
Workers removed the P Thursday. The remaining letters and Pan Am’s globe logos on the east and west sides of the 29-year-old, 59-story Park Avenue skyscraper will follow.
They will be replaced by 15-foot-high letters spelling out “MetLife.”
MetLife bought the building in 1981 for $400 million. Company officials decided to remove the blue-neon Pan Am sign, which has graced the 808-foot building since its was constructed, after the airline moved out.
Pan Am has ceased operations and is in liquidation in bankruptcy court.
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