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Head to Columbus Circle, well look in that direction anyway and you will find the gigantic Biography billboard in lights promoting the Biography channel and corresponding series on A&E. Just beneath it you will find an old school light ticker that alternates between the time and temperature, short term forecast, and a plug for the next episode of Biography of course. This structure has been long standing though not always for Biography. Gothamist remembers this from days growing up when big signs and billboards were much more impressive and intriguing than they are now. We don't remember what companies were sponsoring this particular billboard though, we think we remember Hitachi as one... perhaps you readers can help?
And then there is the famous MONY Tower on Broadway. On top of this 25 story art deco building sits a vertical tower of lights, and on top of that, a colored star. When the lights on the tower are moving up, the temperature is rising. If they are moving down, the temperature is falling. No movement... well you get the idea. There is another MONY Tower located in Syracuse, NY with the same weather "forecaster" on top. A call to Mary Taylor, Vice President of Communications for The MONY Group confirmed that the following rhyme from The New Times Syracuse Guidebook: 1976 entitled "Weatherstar Rhyme" (how creative) accurately deciphers the meaning of the star's color.
Green light...weather bright. Orange on high...overcast sky. Orange flashing...raindrops splashing. Flickering white...snow in sight.
While reading up on this, we got a chuckle from someones comment in a newsgroup claiming the forecast was about as helpful as "hanging a rope out of your window". Interesting... interesting... Somewhere in the back of your head, we can feel you wondering... and yes it is. The tower itself was the inspiration for the original song "Mony Mony" by Tommy James and the Shondells (sorry youngsters... Billy Idol didn't write that song). Apparently, he was staying at a hotel in the city with a window facing the tower and was inspired. What is inspiring about a flashing sign? As we said... signs and billboards used to have much more intrigue.
Come on readers... what else you got? What other interesting locations offer weather info?
Big ups to Doug for tracking down the MONY people for that info and for shooting the photo for us.
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I remember that rhyme! My parents would never fail to point out the weather lights on top of the MONY tower on those rare occasions when we'd drive into the big city (Syracuse).
Tommy James himself entertainingly tells the "Mony Mony" story on the Aug 7, 2002 edition of Jonesville Station on WFMU.
In the spirit of celebrating the Red Sox’s miraculous ALCS comeback (woohoo!), how about a superior weather beacon rhyme, from the old Hancock Tower in Boston:
Solid blue, clear view
Flashing blue, clouds due
Solid red, rain ahead
Flashing red, snow instead
Accurate, but habitually late. I remember being in Copley Square during rainstorms, with the beacon still showing blue. 10 minutes into the storm, it would finally switch to red.
Okay, someone else confirmed that the Biography billboard used to be Hitachi. But what was it before that? It's killing me!!!
I remember when the tower lights were just installed (late 80s?) and they had folks on the street handing out wallet-sized cards on how to read the sign.
If you've got to hand out instructions on how to read a gigantic public installation visible for a mile or two...that's not a sign of success in your design tasks.
I live across the street from the MONY building and I check the temperature on it every morning as I get ready for work...by sticking my head out the window and looking up. I love it. But I never knew about the direction of the lights until now...
And remember for the Hancock building, flashing red in the summer means the red sox game was cancelled.
I never hated a baseball team until I moved to Boston. Red Sox fans are worse than the team they root for. Nice Kenmore Square riots.
I WENT TO SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY FROM 1974-1978. FOR TWO YEARS I LIVED UP ON THE HILL, AND HAD A VIEW OF THE MONY TOWER FROM MY DORM ROOM WINDOW. WE WOULD CHECK THE FLASHING LIGHTS AND STAR EVERY DAY TO SEE WHAT THE WEATHER WOULD BE LIKE. YOUR WEBSITE BROUGHT BACK MANY MEMORIES!!!