Admiral Television Appliances Billboard in Magnum Force (1973)

I remember that motion billboard well – the letters were always lit up, but above them were blinking skyrocket trails that exploded in strobe light flashes. The Hamm’s Beer sign was a good one too, and has gotten much more attention than this one, but I think the Admiral TV sign was better. It stood atop a warehouse on the south side of Rincon Hill facing drivers coming off the Bay Bridge into San Francisco and was built in 1951. It was a victim of the energy crisis dimouts of 1974-75, and was dismantled in 1977 having been unlit for several years. -Tony Arioli