- Home •
- On Sacred Ground: The Garden •
- A Sign of the Times
A Sign of the Times
Visitors of Boston Garden and North Station would remember the large billboard that topped the south facade of the building for decades. While it certainly had its detractors – reportedly First Lady of the United States Lady Bird Johnson wanted to tear down the board as part of the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 – it remained a local landmark. In 1998, the signage moved to the north wall of FleetCenter and greeted guests as they crossed the new Zakim Bridge. By 2011, the 147-by-35-foot sign was found to be in violation of the HBA due to a lack of state permits, yet the sign remained up. In something of a tribute to the old Garden, the billboard at TD Garden continued to display primarily Anheuser-Busch products until 2017 when it was replaced with a digital board.
Photo by Steve Lipofsky