History
The sign was originally constructed in 1949 and was over Union Avenue, just south of California Avenue. That road was a part of the Golden State Highway (US 99), which was the main connector between Northern and Southern California by the San Joaquin Valley. The Bakersfield Inn wanted to expand across the street. The sign was constructed as a footbridge to connect the two halves of the hotel.
The Bakersfield Inn in 1949. You can see the sign did not have the "BAKERSFIELD" lettering on the north side
The construction of the sign also served another purpose. Most of the Central Valley communities along US 99 had an arched sign spanning the highway to welcome drivers to the towns and cities that they were entering. The Bakersfield sign became the arched sign for the city.
The Bakersfield Sign in the 1950s with the now demolished west side of the Bakersfield Inn with its distinctive tower.
In 1963, the new Highway 99 opened and most out of town travelers no longer drove along old Union Avenue through town, but the multi lane freeway. As a result Union Avenue started a long period of decline. The old motels closed or were burned down by arsonists. Crime and prostitution are the main commodities of this once bustling traveling hub.
The Bakersfield Sign in 1985 showing definite signs of wear.
By the late 1990s, the sign had fallen into a state of disrepair. The Bakersfield Inn had closed down and no one was maintaining the sign. California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), fearing the sign could collapse onto the road, wanted to remove it. The original sign was demolished, and a new sign and towers were built by Sampson Steel in their steelyard, just north of the sign's new location. Once the towers were built, the arched steel sign truss was carried down the street by crane in the early morning hours and stored on country singer Buck Owens' property to allow other trades access to perform their work.
The Bakersfield Sign in 1998, not too long before it was moved.
The renovation took place in 1999 on the 50th anniversary of the sign's original construction. On the Fourth of July, the arched sign was erected next to the Buck Owens Crystal Palace in front of a large crowd. The project cost Owens more than $175,000, but most of the cost was donated by the various subcontractors and the general contractor. Unfortunately, the old sign had fallen into such a state of disrepair that the only components that could be saved were the blue porcelain letters. By rebuilding the sign and using what original components could be salvaged, it was again visible to the important Golden State Highway route.
The Bakersfield sign in its new location.
Logging Requirements
The one and only requirement for logging this cache is to post a photo of you at the cache location , Per HQ guidelines "a face is not required in the photo" If you don't want to include your face take a photo of you doing a "thumbs up" at the location. Sorry, no old photos of you by the sign. Please feel free to come take a photo after the publish date to log this find.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.