Weather beacon

A weather beacon is a beacon that indicates the local weather forecast in a code of colored or flashing lights. Often, a short poem or jingle accompanies the code to make it easier to remember.[1][2]

"Weatherball" redirects here. For the antenna-protecting structure, see Radome.
"Weather star" redirects here. For the computerized units used to generate local weather information over The Weather Channel, see WeatherStar.

Weather beacon barometer atop the Westpac Place building in Sydney

The beacon is usually on the roof of a tall building in a central business district, but some are attached to towers. The beacons are most commonly owned by financial services companies and television stations and are part of advertising and public relations programs. They provide a very basic forecast for the general public and not as an aid to navigation.

In addition to displaying weather forecasts, some weather beacons have been used to signal victory or defeat for a professional sports home team.

History

Precursors

In 1898 on the orders of U.S. President William McKinley, coastal warning display towers were installed along the coast of the United States. In 1936, the Weather Girl sculptures were installed in City Hall Square in Copenhagen. In 1938, Douglas Leigh designed a Coca-Cola billboard with a weather forecast display at Columbus Circle in New York City.[3]

Weather beacons

The first attempt to create a weather beacon as a form of advertising was from Douglas Leigh, who, in 1941, arranged a lighting scheme for the Empire State Building to display a weather forecast code with a decoder to be packaged with Coca-Cola bottles. The plan was never implemented because of the attack on Pearl Harbor later that year.[4] Leigh resurrected his idea in Minneapolis in October 1949 with the Northwestern National Bank Weatherball.[5]

In Australia, the Mutual Life and Citizens insurance company installed weather beacons atop its buildings in 1957 and 1958.[6]

Weather beacons were most popular during the 1950s and 1960s.

Similar devices

List of weather beacons

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Canada

Denmark

Finland

Germany

Japan

Norway

Sweden

Turkey

United Kingdom

United States
  • Hurstville
    Hurstville
  • North Sydney
    North Sydney
  • Brisbane
    Brisbane
  • Brisbane
    Brisbane
  • Adelaide
    Adelaide
  • Abbotsford
    Abbotsford
  • Melbourne
    Melbourne
  • Melbourne
    Melbourne
  • Perth
    Perth
  • Vienna
    Vienna
  • Brussels
    Brussels
  • Vancouver
    Vancouver
  • Kitchener
    Kitchener
  • Toronto
    Toronto
  • Montreal
    Montreal
  • Regina
    Regina
  • Copenhagen
    Copenhagen
  • Tampere
    Tampere
  • Aachen
    Aachen
  • Osaka
    Osaka
  • Osaka
    Osaka
  • Oslo
    Oslo
  • Stockholm
    Stockholm
  • Istanbul
    Istanbul
  • Coventry
    Coventry
  • Coventry
    Coventry
  • Glasgow
    Glasgow
  • London
    London
  • Phoenix
    Phoenix
  • Fresno
    Fresno
  • Sacramento
    Sacramento
  • San Francisco
    San Francisco
  • Denver
    Denver
  • Miami Beach
    Miami Beach
  • Orlando
    Orlando
  • St. Petersburg
    St. Petersburg
  • Chicago
    Chicago
  • Chicago
    Chicago
  • Chicago
    Chicago
  • Des Moines
    Des Moines
  • Dubuque
    Dubuque
  • Sioux City
    Sioux City
  • Covington
    Covington
  • Lexington
    Lexington
  • New Orleans
    New Orleans
  • Boston
    Boston
  • Flint
    Flint
  • Grand Rapids
    Grand Rapids
  • Grand Rapids
    Grand Rapids
  • Duluth
    Duluth
  • Minneapolis
    Minneapolis
  • Nicollet Island/East Bank
    Nicollet Island/East Bank
  • Riverside
    Riverside
  • Uptown
    Uptown
  • Montevideo
    Montevideo
  • Rochester
    Rochester
  • Saint Paul
    Saint Paul
  • Minneapolis
    Minneapolis
  • Kansas City
    Kansas City
  • Kansas City
    Kansas City
  • St. Louis
    St. Louis
  • Wellston
    Wellston
  • Billings
    Billings
  • Helena
    Helena
  • Omaha
    Omaha
  • New York City
    New York City
  • Syracuse
    Syracuse
  • Bismarck
    Bismarck
  • Cincinnati
    Cincinnati
  • Cleveland
    Cleveland
  • Oklahoma City
    Oklahoma City
  • Tulsa
    Tulsa
  • Portland
    Portland
  • Johnstown
    Johnstown
  • Pittsburgh
    Pittsburgh
  • Pittsburgh
    Pittsburgh
  • Pittsburgh
    Pittsburgh
  • Reading
    Reading
  • Sioux Falls
    Sioux Falls
  • Sioux Falls
    Sioux Falls
  • Sioux Falls
    Sioux Falls
  • Watertown
    Watertown
  • Watertown
    Watertown
  • Chattanooga
    Chattanooga
  • Nashville
    Nashville
  • Amarillo
    Amarillo
  • Dallas
    Dallas
  • El Paso
    El Paso
  • Houston
    Houston
  • San Antonio
    San Antonio
  • Salt Lake City
    Salt Lake City
  • Salt Lake City
    Salt Lake City
  • Salt Lake City
    Salt Lake City
  • Newport News
    Newport News
  • Green Bay
    Green Bay
  • Milwaukee
    Milwaukee
  • Oshkosh
    Oshkosh
  • Wausau
    Wausau

Notes
  1. "Museum".
  2. "WKRC Weather Beacon 1987.WMV". YouTube.
  3. Gray, Christopher (24 October 1998). "Streetscapes / Douglas Leigh, Sign Maker; the Man Behind Times Square's Smoke Rings". The New York Times.
  4. "Manhattan Users Guide". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
  5. ""Remembering a beloved icon", Northwestern Financial Review".
  6. Centre, Australian Science and Technology Heritage. "Federation and Meteorology, Memories of the Bureau, 1946 to 1962, page 1032". www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au.
  7. "Harbinger, 2007". adriangollner.ca. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  8. "MLC Building, North Sydney". 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  9. Photo of Westpac Place: View of the weather beacon displaying its red light panels Archived 25 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Hitachi Building, Brisbane". 8 March 2007. Archived from the original on 8 March 2007.
  11. "Hitachi Building Weather Beacon RIP". 22 November 2007 – via Flickr.
  12. "Weather beacon to be given the flick". Brisbane Times. 19 November 2007.
  13. McCarthy, John (19 November 2007). "Weather beacon to be turned off". The Courier-Mail.
  14. "Brisbane Weather Beacon being Switched off". YouTube.
  15. "Hitachi building weather beacon in Brisbane". YouTube.
  16. "MLC Building, Adelaide". 26 May 2007. Archived from the original on 26 May 2007.
  17. Lloyd, Tim (30 March 2007). "City beacon stands tall". The Advertiser.
  18. "303 Collins Street, Melbourne". 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  19. "Docklands tower light show reflects weather forecast". 20 July 2016.
  20. "PROJECTS". lab-au.
  21. "Illustrated Vancouver Circa 1953 – the Capilano Weather Beacon |". 15 October 2011.
  22. Bérubé, Martin (17 July 2021). "Le phare météo de montréal".
  23. 505 Boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest, Montreal
  24. "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  25. "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  26. "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  27. "Plains Hotel weather vane returning to owner of Capital Pointe project".
  28. "Development firm will take Plains Hotel sign | CBC News".
  29. "Tomorrow's Weather, Copenhagen, 2009 | Bigert & Bergström". Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  30. STAWAG – Die Wettersäule. Archived 25 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  31. "Tempozan Course". Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
  32. "Tomorrow's Weather; Bigert & Bergström". Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  33. "Tomorrow's Weather Stockholm Central Station, 2012 | Bigert & Bergström". Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  34. "Beyazit Tower, Istanbul, Turkey". 6 December 1998. Archived from the original on 6 December 1998.
  35. "CoventryLive: Coventry news, sport, lifestyle and events". coventrytelegraph.
  36. "Coventry Design Awards 2001 - Three Towers Lighting Project : Hillman House, Corporation Street". www.cwn.org.uk.
  37. "Flashy Coventry £400k weather lights system doesn't work". 11 December 2012.
  38. "Castlemilk Lighting Project".
  39. "StackPath".
  40. "Architainment Lighting - Commercial LED Lighting Specialist".
  41. "Berkeley's barometer beacon highlights Tabard Square tower".
  42. "Mattei Building, Fresno". 28 February 2007. Archived from the original on 28 February 2007.
  43. Lloyd, Paula (9 April 2018). "Rain or shine tomorrow? You once could check the giant G in downtown Fresno". The Fresno Bee.
  44. "News10.net – News10 Weather Tower Key". Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
  45. Nolte, Carl (8 December 2008). "Lights atop One Rincon Hill signal S.F. weather". San Francisco Chronicle. pp. B-1. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
  46. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  47. Dickinson, Joy Wallace (7 April 2002). "Short Play Brings Rainmaker's 1939 Tale Back to Life". Orlando Sentinel.
  48. Orlando Sentinel – History of the Church Street Station Area by Archived 3 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  49. "Bell Savings Building, Chicago". 21 February 2007. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007.
  50. "Weather Bell". 24 August 2005 – via Flickr.
  51. "The Chicago Traveler » Weather Bell". Archived from the original on 5 December 2007.
  52. "MEMORIES OF MARINA CITY". www.scottchilders.com.
  53. "Warmer Weather Ahead". 13 May 2007 – via Flickr.
  54. "Colder Weather in Sight". 31 December 2006 – via Flickr.
  55. "Weather Tower". Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  56. "Weather tower on top of American Trust and Savings Bank | Dubuque iowa, Dubuque, Iowa". Pinterest.
  57. "Channel 9 KCAU-TV Weather Ball". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2006.
  58. "What Do The Weather Lights Mean?". WLWT. Hearst Television. 17 April 2009. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  59. "Tommorrow's Weather, About the Exhibition". Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  60. "Tomorrow's Weather Lexington, 2016 | Bigert & Bergström". Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  61. "1952 The Falstaff Weather Ball is First Lit". www.pontchartrain.net.
  62. "Falstaff's forecasts on the ball - by BUDDY STALL". Archived from the original on 10 March 2005. Retrieved 14 December 2006.
  63. "Falstaff Brewery - New Orleans Louisiana". 21 September 2006 – via Flickr.
  64. Buser, Steve (2 October 2007). "New Orleans Daily Photo: Weather ball signals winds of recovery".
  65. Tower shines after 50 years: 10/1/00
  66. "Flint skyline sees changes to historical weather ball".
  67. "The Story of the Weatherball". WZZM-TV. ABC (Local Channel 13).
  68. "Grand Rapids Business Journal – Weather Ball History". Archived from the original on 31 October 2006.
  69. "weather ball". 9 January 2006 – via Flickr.
  70. "Valley City Sign". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
  71. "Chapter Five". www.northpine.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2008.
  72. "The Weatherball in Minneapolis". Forgotten Minnesota. 9 March 2012.
  73. Guided by History: Weatherball Archived 16 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  74. "Museum". Minnesota Historical Society.
  75. History of the NWS in the Twin Cities – At the Airport
  76. A History of Minneapolis: Banking and Finance Archived 16 June 2002 at the Wayback Machine
  77. "Remembering a beloved icon". Northwestern Financial Review. 2001. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010.
  78. Calavano, Alan (2008). Rochester. ISBN 9780738551944.
  79. "MHS Visual Resource Database Image".
  80. Morgan, Bill. "Architect used Prairie Style on Central Minnesota banks". St. Cloud Times.
  81. "Business Men's Assurance Co. Building | KC HISTORY". Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  82. "Harmonotes/December 2005" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  83. "Pershing Building, Kansas City". Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  84. "Built St. Louis | Central Corridor | Downtown West | Locust Street". www.builtstlouis.net. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  85. "Terra Cotta Lofts". www.terracottalofts.com. Archived from the original on 19 September 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  86. Blacktie-StLouis | PREMIERE EVENTS | The 8-foot, 1200-pound neon ball sits on top of a 50-foot rotating tower and can be seen over a 10-mile radius when lit Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  87. "Terra Cotta Lofts, St. Louis". 22 May 2007. Archived from the original on 22 May 2007.
  88. "Weather Ball 2". 19 December 2004 – via Flickr.
  89. "Weather Ball". 19 December 2004 – via Flickr.
  90. "Historic Bank Sign That Served as Weather Beacon Saved from Scrapyard".
  91. "State Bank of Wellston | National Building Arts Center".
  92. "US Bank Tower, Billings". 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  93. "Helena_Last_Chance_Gulch". www.lifelikecharm.com.
  94. Dunlap, David W. (4 February 2008). "No More MONY in the Midtown Skyline". The New York Times.
  95. "Find Another Weather Forecast". Gothamist. 21 October 2004. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008.
  96. "Mutual of New York Building, New York City". 23 November 2004. Archived from the original on 23 November 2004.
  97. Burleigh County : General Information Archived 10 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  98. "Bismarck-Mandan Blog – Weather Beacon: been there, done that, got the t-shirt". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  99. "Save the Weather Beacon! You can help!". www.bismarckmandanblog.com.
  100. "Chiquita Center, Cincinnati". 9 November 2006. Archived from the original on 9 November 2006.
  101. Lisa Miller (producer) (1987). WKRC-TV Gets Weather Beacon (Television advertisement). Cincinnati, Ohio: WKRC-TV. ♪ If you wanna know / what the weather will be / just look up to the top / of the Chiquita Building. ♪
  102. "The Channel 3 Weather Beacon | WATCH | Did you know the Channel 3 Weather Beacon on top of the WKYC studio in downtown Cleveland keeps you informed of the weather? Meteorologist Greg... | By WKYC's Weather Warriors | Facebook". www.facebook.com.
  103. Griffith, Terry L. (2000). Oklahoma City: 1930 to the Millennium. ISBN 9780738508801.
  104. "Downtown Tulsa Building Used to Predict the Weather".
  105. "Throwback Tulsa: Weather Teller beamed color-coded forecast over downtown".
  106. "Tulsa TV Weather". www.tulsatvmemories.com.
  107. "Tulsa Historical Society | Learn | Exhibits | Historic Sites". Archived from the original on 27 March 2003.
  108. "320 S. Boston 3". 30 April 2003 – via Flickr.
  109. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  110. "Standard Insurance Plaza, Portland". 14 December 2006. Archived from the original on 14 December 2006.
  111. "Sign in to OregonLive.com". The Oregonian.
  112. "Local Weather Forecast, News and Conditions | Weather Underground". www.wunderground.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011.
  113. "officeflowers". 7 November 2006 – via Flickr.
  114. @CrispinHavener (27 November 2021). "Since we have ❄️ tonight, thought I'd post pictures about something I get asked a lot about: the weather beacon ato…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  115. "Gulf Building, Pittsburgh". 22 February 2007. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007.
  116. "Link Alternatif Dragon303 | Link Alt Dragon303 Slot Online Tergacor". www.koidas.com.
  117. "Carnegie Science Center: WTAE Weather Watch". Archived from the original on 20 April 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2007.
  118. "New twist on an old landmark – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review".
  119. "You Ask Youker: Did the Berks County Courthouse lights offer a weather forecast?". Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  120. "Berks County Courthouse". GoReadingBerks.
  121. "'Weather ball' once perched on hotel". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
  122. "US Bank Building, Sioux Falls". 30 September 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
  123. "Greetings from Sioux Falls Presents: The Weatherballs". Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  124. http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008808150336
  125. http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008808130330
  126. "Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022.
  127. http://mykxlg.com/kxlg-reliabank-weather-ball/
  128. "28 January 2007 – Provident: a Beacon in the Chattanooga Community – Memories – Chattanoogan.com". Archived from the original on 22 October 2007.
  129. "Maclellan Building, Chattanooga". 30 September 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
  130. "Historic Nashville". Archived from the original on 18 November 2008.
  131. "Life and Casualty Tower".
  132. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-mercantileclock_13met.ART.State.Edition1.454c55b.html
  133. Buchanan, Matthew. "snarky malarkey". Tumblr.
  134. "Mercantile clock to tick once again | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Steve Brown | Real Estate | Business Columnist | Dallas Morning News".
  135. "El Paso Times".
  136. "The Center for American History".
  137. "6006032fa.jpg - Click to see more photos". ImageShack.
  138. "Travis Tower, Houston". 19 March 2007. Archived from the original on 19 March 2007.
  139. "6006085yc.jpg - Click to see more photos". ImageShack.
  140. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  141. "Six Flags Stamped Concrete Houston TX". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  142. "Drury Plaza Hotel River Walk, San Antonio, Texas". Archived from the original on 14 June 2007.
  143. "Drury Plaza Hotel- San Antonio Riverwalk, San Antonio". 22 February 2007. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007.
  144. KSL 5 Eyewitness Weather Tower at Trolley Square – Utah News from KSL-TV, Salt Lake City, Utah Archived 16 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  145. "ABC4 Utah Weather Ball". s3.amazonaws.com.
  146. "Deseret Morning News | the signs they are a-changin'". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
  147. March 21, | Posted-; A.m, 2008 at 11:50. "Historic weather tower lights up skyline". www.ksl.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  148. "Glimpses of the past: Sept. 24-30".
  149. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  150. "JS Online: Galvin envisioned weather flame on old Gas Co. building". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  151. "Wisconsin Gas Building". 22 February 2007 – via Flickr.
  152. "Why do we have a neon weather 9? - WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, Sports". Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.