Weather beacon

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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.

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.

Video Weather beacon

History

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. Leigh resurrected his idea in Minneapolis in October 1949 with the Northwestern National Bank Weatherball.

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

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

Maps Weather beacon

Similar devices

• Coastal warning display tower
• Signal station
• Time ball
• Paris balloon
• Harbinger at The Met Condos, Toronto, is a colored beacon on the roof that indicates the current wind speed.

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List of weather beacons

Australia

• New South Wales
  • St. George Building Society, Hurstville
  • MLC Building, 105 North Miller Street, North Sydney
  • Westpac Place, Sydney
• Queensland
  • Hitachi Building (MLC Building), 239 George Street, Brisbane (1976 - 6pm, 26 November 2007)
  • Old MLC Building, 243 Edward Street, Brisbane (28 July 1958 - ????; non-functioning)
• South Australia
  • Beacon House (MLC Building), Victoria Square, Adelaide (June 1958 - December 1979)
• Victoria
  • IOOF Building (formerly MLC), 303 Collins Street, Melbourne (1973 - ????; non-functioning)
  • Carlton & United Brewery, Abbotsford
• Western Australia
  • Kingsgate Apartments (formerly MLC building) 171 St Georges Terrace, Perth (October 1957 - ????; dismantled)

Austria

• Wetterleuchtturm, Ringturm, Vienna

Belgium

• Who's afraid of Red, Green and Blue: Weather Tower, Dexia Tower, Brussels (22 October 2007 - 22 December 2007)

Canada

• Capilano Brewery, 1550 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia (1953 - ????)
• White Rose weather beacon, 570 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba (25 June 1964 - ????)
• Kitchener City Hall, Kitchener, Ontario
• Canada Life Building, Toronto, Ontario (9 August 1951 - present)
• Canada Life, 505 Boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest, Montreal, Quebec (April 1956 - January 1976)
• The Plains Hotel, Regina, Saskatchewan (???? - 2011)

China

• Gutzlaff Signal Tower, Shanghai

Denmark

• vejrpigen (Weather Girl), Richshuset, The City Hall Square, Copenhagen (1936 - present)
• Tomorrow's Weather, Aller Media, Havneholmen, Copenhagen (2009 - present)

Finland

• Näsinneula tower, Tampere

Germany

• Die Aachener Wettersäule, Aachen

Japan

• Tempozan Ferris Wheel, Osaka

Sweden

• Tomorrow's Weather, Stockholm Central Station, Stockholm

Turkey

• Beyaz?t Tower, Istanbul

United Kingdom

• Light Towers Project (Coventry Point, Mercia House, Hillman House), Coventry
• Castlemilk Lighting Project, Castlemilk, Glasgow
• Empire Square Tower, Southwark, London

United States

• Arizona
  • St. Luke's Medical Center, Phoenix (1969 - ????; dismantled)
• California
  • Mattei Building (formerly Guarantee Savings), Fresno (non-functioning)
  • ABC10 Weather Tower, KXTV, Sacramento (24 August 2001 - 2014; non-functioning)
  • One Rincon Hill South Tower, San Francisco (8 December 2008 - present)
• Colorado
  • National Farmers Union, 1575 Sherman Street, Denver (1956 - 1970; dismantled)
• Florida
  • Mercantile National Bank, 407 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach (???? - ????; dismantled)
  • American Federal Savings and Loan Association weather ball, Fidelity Storage building, 53 W. Jackson St., Orlando (1963 - 1974; dismantled)
  • First Federal Savings & Loan, Fourth Street and Central Avenue, St. Petersburg (1953 - 6 April 1970; dismantled)
• Illinois
  • Weather Bell, Bell Federal Savings (now Walgreens), 79 West Monroe Street, Chicago (???? - present)
    • Bell Federal Savings branch office, 180 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago (???? - 1996; dismantled)
  • WLS-TV Thermometer, Marina City, Chicago (1964 - 1978; dismantled)
  • WFRL weather beacon, State Bank Center, 50 West Douglas Street, Freeport (1974 - ????; dismantled)
• Iowa
  • KCCI, Des Moines (1960 - 1973, 1988 - 2012; non-functioning)
  • American Trust Tower, Dubuque {???? - present)
  • KCAU-TV Weather Ball, Terra Centre, Sioux City (???? - present)
  • National Bank of Waterloo, 315 East Fifth Street, Waterloo (???? - ????; dismantled)
• Kentucky
  • WLWT Weather Lights, Cincinnati Radisson, Covington
  • Tomorrow's Weather, 21c Museum Hotel, Lexington (2016 - present)
• Louisiana
  • Falstaff Brewery Weather Ball, 2601 Gravier St, New Orleans (1 August 1952 - 7 December 1978; 2008 - present)
• Massachusetts
  • Berkeley Building, Boston (15 March 1950 - present)
• Michigan
  • Citizens Bank (currently FirstMerit Bank) Weatherball, Flint (30 October 1956 - present)
  • 13 Weatherball, WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids (1967 - 1987 as Michigan National Bank; 2003 - present)
• Minnesota
  • WEBC Weather Beacon, Duluth
  • Northwestern National Bank Weatherball, Minneapolis (7 October 1949 - 25 November 1982; dismantled)
    • Riverside branch office, 1801 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis (dismantled)
    • Uptown branch office, 3006 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis (dismantled)
    • Hastings branch office, 111 E. 3rd Street, Hastings (dismantled)
    • Montevideo branch office, 107 N. 1st Street, Montevideo (dismantled)
    • Rochester branch office, 15 2nd Street, SW, Rochester
    • Saint Paul branch office, 360 Robert Street N, Saint Paul (dismantled)
    • Sauk Rapids branch office, 24 N. Benton Drive, Sauk Rapids (15 September 1961 - ????; dismantled)
  • WCCO-TV Weather Watcher, Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis (29 November 2013 - present)
• Missouri
  • KCTV Tower, Kansas City (1970s - 2001)
  • Business Men's Assurance Company (BMA) weather beacon, 215 W. Pershing Road, Kansas City (dismantled)
  • Terra Cotta Lofts (formerly General American Life Insurance Company building), 1501 Locust Street, St. Louis (1956 - 1979; non-functioning)
  • State Bank of Wellston, Wellston (1954 - 16 May 2014; dismantled)
• Montana
  • Midland Bank (now US Bank Tower), 303 N. Broadway, Billings (dismantled)
  • Union Bank (now Wells Fargo) Weatherball, 350 N. Last Chance Gulch, Helena (1959 - ????; dismantled)
• Nebraska
  • KMTV Weather Tower, N. 72nd Street, Omaha (non-functioning)
• New Mexico
  • KOBeacon, KOB, Sandia Crest, Albuquerque (???? - 26 December 1966; non-functioning)
• New York
  • 1740 Broadway (formerly MONY), New York City (non-functioning)
  • AXA Towers (MONY) Weatherstar, Syracuse
• North Dakota
  • KFYR, Provident Life building, Bismarck (???? - present)
• Ohio
  • 12 WKRC Weather Beacon, Chiquita Center, Cincinnati (1987 - 1990s?)
  • WKYC Weather Beacon, Cleveland (???? - present)
• Oklahoma
  • Liberty National Bank and Trust, Ramsey Tower/City Place, Oklahoma City (6 April 1958 - ????; dismantled)
  • National Bank of Tulsa Weather Teller, 320 South Boston Building, Tulsa (1 May 1967 -1973)
• Oregon
  • Standard Insurance Plaza, Portland (1964 - present)
  • Weather Machine, Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland (24 August 1988 - present)
• Pennsylvania
  • Handy Flame, Equitable Gas, 420 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh (1956 - 1972; dismantled)
  • Gulf Tower, Pittsburgh (???? - present)
  • WTAE-TV Weather Watch, Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh
  • Berks County Courthouse, 633 Court Street, Reading (???? - 1995)
• South Dakota
  • KELO-TV weatherball, Sherman Hotel, Aberdeen (dismantled)
  • KDLO-TV weatherball, Marvin Hughitt Hotel, 375 Dakota S., Huron (6 April 1960 - ????; dismantled)
  • First National Bank, Pierre
  • National Bank of South Dakota (now US Bank), 141 N. Main Avenue, Sioux Falls (non-functioning)
    • East Branch, East 10th & Omaha, Sioux Falls (dismantled)
    • South Branch, 33rd & Minnesota, Sioux Falls (non-functioning)
    • Sunset Branch, West 41st & Louise Avenue (dismantled)
  • KDLO weatherball tower, 421 9th Av SE, Watertown (dismantled)
  • KXLG Weatherball, Watertown (22 May 2014 - present)
• Tennessee
  • Provident Weather Beacon, Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company, Maclellan Building, Chattanooga (12 January 1952 - ????; dismantled)
  • Life & Casualty Tower, Nashville (non-functioning)
• Texas
  • WNL Weather Tower, Western National Life Insurance, 205 SE 10th Avenue, Amarillo (dismantled)
  • Mercantile Weather Tower, Mercantile National Bank Building, Dallas (1958-1993; 12 February 2008 - present)
  • 100 North Stanton Street, El Paso (26 March 1955 - ????; non-functioning)
  • Texas National Bank/Conoco Weather Eye, Travis Tower, Houston (17 October 1955 - 1964; dismantled)
  • Alamo National Bank weather spire (now Drury Plaza Hotel), 105 S. St. Mary's Street, San Antonio (non-functioning)
• Utah
  • Ford's Finance & Insurance, 2627 Washington Boulevard, Ogden (???? - ????; dismantled)
  • KSL-TV 5 Eyewitness Weather Tower, Trolley Square, Salt Lake City (1999 - present)
  • KTVX Weather Ball, 2175 West 1700 South, Salt Lake City (???? - present)
  • Walker Center, 175 S. Main Street, Salt Lake City (1953 - 1982; 2008 - present)
• Virginia
  • Newmarket Shopping Center, Newport News (dismantled)
• Wisconsin
  • Weather Beacon, H. C. Prange Co., 301 N. Washington Street, Green Bay (26 September 1952 - ????; dismantled)
  • Weather Flame, Wisconsin Gas Building, 626 East Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee (1956 - 1973, 1985 - present)
  • Oshkosh National Bank, 300 N. Main Street, Oshkosh (9 May 1952 - ????; dismantled)
  • Weather 9, WAOW, 1908 Grand Avenue, Wausau (1965 - present)

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Gallery

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Notes

Source of article : Wikipedia