The Sam the Record Sign Will Spin Once Again. Finally.

After Sam the Record Man shut down its flagship store just north of Yonge and Dundas in 2007, the land beneath it sold to Ryerson University in 2008, there was a hue and cry about the famous sign. It had to be preserved! Ryerson agreed. The sign was taken down and stored…somewhere and a new building went up in place of the old store.

The fate of the sign was in limbo for years. Where would it go? The answer came last year when Toronto City Council voted last year to have it reinstalled above 277 Victoria Street, which isn’t too far from the original location and fully visible from Yonge and Dundas Square. And now Ryerson promises to have it flashing and spinning again by sometime this summer.

Why the delay? The sign is of vintage neon design and needed a lot of restoration. A company called Sunset Neon has been selected to do all the work required. No timeline has been given–this apparently a pretty tricky job–but it should be illuminated by sometime this summer.