Golden Gate Sign Decks Out San Francisco’s Oldest Restaurant in Neon

Shannon Baumgartner is sales and program manager for Golden Gate Sign Co. (Oakland).

The number of unique projects we’ve encountered serving the Bay Area keeps our work interesting. There are many creative, talented professionals and entrepreneurs in our area who challenge us to push the creative envelope with our signs. The Dal Bozzo family, long-time clients who operate eight San Francisco restaurants, had recently purchased The Old Clam House on San Francisco’s Bayshore Blvd. Built in 1861, The Old Clam House holds the proud distinction of being San Francisco’s oldest restaurant. It was even spared during the city’s horrific 1906 earthquake and fire; firefighters contained the blaze just before it would’ve engulfed the restaurant.

Although The Old Clam House enjoyed the status of a celebrated, local landmark, its previous sign was, frankly, lacking personality. The Dal Bozzos wanted a new sign to convey the restaurant’s historic character. However, instead of ordering a sleek, ultra-modern sign, they wanted a sign that appeared slightly aged and indicative of the restaurant’s history. “As though it’s always belonged here,” they said.

During our first onsite meeting with the Dal Bozzos, I listened closely to their design intent. I surveyed several photos they provided of vintage San Francisco signs that indicated their wishes. They wanted a small, classic blade sign reflective of the mid-20th Century: with exposed neon, a radius-corner, green cabinet, classic fonts – and, fitting for that era (and their current resurgence in popularity), a full martini glass. The colors had to complement the colors of a pending renovation. And, to keep the sign authentic for the era it reflected, they insisted on neon. To them, no other sign-lighting technology would suffice.

Making a vision real
I began to devise a few rough sketches. I compare this phase to being a cook in the kitchen; the ingredients are there, and it’s up to me to use my experience to decide on the right components to create a successful “dish.” After I’d developed a solid concept, I turned over my sketches to the art department to digitize the artwork. Our design team perfected the concept using Corel’s WordPerfect Office X6 and created PDFs to present to the client.

After we conducted a detailed survey and pulled the permits, we were ready to begin fabrication. We didn’t encounter any “dead stop” delays, but we did have to meet certain requirements. The sign had to be installed in the same position as the previous sign; it simply required new guy wires and turnbuckles.

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Because the sign was installed in the gust-prone Bay Area, it had to meet high wind-load standards and receive approval from the city engineer’s office. Also, the sign’s dimensions had to match the cornice of the remodel’s roofline. And, to meet city code, the sign’s projection couldn’t exceed 12 ft. from the wall.

Everything old is new again
The sign, which measures 6 ft. 6 in. tall, 23 in. wide and 12 ft. long, comprises four, 4 x 10-ft. sheets of 0.125-in.-thick aluminum, which were fitted over a 0.25-in.-thick, 2 ft. x 2-in., steel-angle frame.
We built the interior and frame to accommodate five France ServiceMaster transformers – three, 15,000V/30mA models and two 9,000V/30mA powersources. It’s important to use transformers with differing voltage capacities; this prevents under- or overpowering the sign’s 240 linear ft. of neon
and maintains even illumination through differing luminous-tubing lengths and diameters.

During a follow-up client visit, we decided to illuminate the sign with 3,000K white, luminous tubing instead of a more standard 6,500K. For the “Clam House” text and martini glass, we installed 15mm Voltarc tubing; for the secondary copy, we opted for 12mm. We wanted to mimic the color of an older neon sign. To add detail, we complemented the white with several additional tubing colors, such as clear blue for the martini glass; uncoated, light green for the olive, and ruby red for the pimiento.

After we primed, we painted the sign’s body with Sherwin-Williams 6447 Evergreen flat-finish paint. To make the paint job appear dated, we added faux-metal seams and non-structural rivets. We installed the rivets with a pneumatic rivet gun. We also used a sponge to dab on a rusty faux-finish that we concocted from mixing a dark-chocolate color with various shades of orange. We fabricated the copy behind the tubing with ivory-colored, 3M adhesive-backed vinyl to enhance the faux-finish color. The Dal Bozzos eagerly approved our progress.

Many conversations helped us evolve the sign’s aged look. We considered colors, viewing distances and how much might be too much. The clients’ schedules wouldn’t allow a timely in-house visit. So, to meet our deadlines, we created a video that provided a walk-around view of the sign’s progress. The Dal Bozzos loved our ideas. Following their approval, we continued fabrication and instituted a series of quality-control checks. To minimize breakage, we sheathed the glass stands in silicone. We installed the cabinet using a Skyhoist SR 77 hydraulic crane.

Because we installed this sign for a beloved San Francisco landmark, our installation drew the attention of many patrons, employees and passersby. Reactions varied – some asked “Where did they find that cool old sign?”; others asked, “Why did they buy that rusty old sign?” In any case, the attention it generated was very gratifying.

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Equipment and Materials
Coatings: Primer, flat-finish paint and faux-finish mixture, from Sherwin-Williams (Cleveland), (216) 566-2000 or www.sherwinwilliams.com
Crane: Skyhoist SR 77 hydraulic crane, from Manitex (Georgetown, TX), (877) 314-3390 or www.manitex.com
Neon: Twelve- and 15mm white, green and ruby-red neon tubing, from Voltarc (Orange, CT), (203) 799-7877 or www.light-sources.com; 9,000- and 15,000V/30mA ServiceMaster transformers, from France (Fairview, TN), (800) 753-2753 or www.franceformer.com
Software: WordPerfect Office X6, from Corel Corp. (Ottawa, ON, Canada), www.corel.com
Tool: Pneumatic rivet gun, available from such vendors as Grainger Industrial Supply (Lake Forest, IL), (800) 323-0620 or www.grainger.com
Vinyl: Fawn-red, pressure-sensitive-adhesive vinyl, from 3M™ (St. Paul, MN), (888) 364-3577 or www.3mgraphics.com

More About Golden Gate Sign Co.
Founded in 1969, Golden Gate Sign Co. (Oakland) is a full-service shop that designs, fabricates, installs and services signs. The shop’s repertoire encompasses channel letters; electronic digital signage; gas-station, LED-sign retrofits; monument signs and banners, among other products and services. Its portfolio includes signage for HP Pavilion, the O.com Coliseum and the San Francisco Giants’ AT & T Park.
For more information, visit www.goldengatesign.com