The Center Street facing facade of Georges is still standing along with the iconic neon marquee sign. This has raised the question among the public, when will the sign come down?

Brennan Companies is overseeing the demolition of George’s and Senior Project Manager Brian Barnett said the current plan is take the sign off earlier next week. A representative of M&M Signs visited the site Thursday morning to determine the best way to remove George’s sign.

Barnett said because they were unable to access the interior of George’s, it was unknown how the sign was attached to the building. Now that demolition has begun on the back of the building, Brennan Companies will be able to make a plan for safely removing and preserving the sign.

“That is still the intent at this time,” Barnett said.

Demolition crews have torn down the back half of George’s Ballroom and are moving toward the front. The top of the famous neon sign is visible from the back. The sign will be removed before demolition is complete.

There are still some unknowns about how the sign will come down. M&M Signs could take it down by themselves or with assistance from the demo crew, but the goal is to save the sign.

From the moment demolition of George’s Ballroom was planned, there have been discussions of saving the sign. The neon sign hanging over the former bar entrance was built by A.B.C. Sign Company of Mankato. It features a unique Art Deco style and is the only remaining artifact from George’s that is salvageable. All artifacts on the inside were too far gone or removed earlier.

The redevelopment of the property is being managed by The Coldwell Banker Commercial (CBC) Fisher Group from Mankato. Beginning last spring, the Fischer Group began soliciting input from the public on the designs and themes of the building.

Fisher Group managing director Dain Fisher said during a public meeting last May that the sign was the top feature the public wanted to save and incorporate into the new building. Fischer gave assurance the ballroom’s iconic sign would be saved.

The entire demolition process is expected to take three weeks. Live footage of the demolition can be watched on Big Ideas website: BigIdeasUSA.org.

Once the demolition is complete, the Fisher Group will finalize construction plans and final designs for new apartment building. The developers hope to create for an 85 market rate apartment units.