Ampex is known for being one of the first American companies to make magnetic tape recorders. Its sign in Redwood City was at the company’s second location. It is now in Hayward.
After Stanford University began dismantling the long-standing Ampex sign in Redwood City last week, numerous residents, former employees and others who feel connected to the landmark are searching for a way to keep it in place.
“There’s a tremendous amount of emotion and pushback on this,” said Bob Wilson, a Redwood City resident and former Ampex vice president. “There’s a community of folks who have stayed together from the old days of the company and have been told for years the sign is protected and no one knew that it was under threat … I’m trying to find a resolution that’s a win for the community and the university.”
The sign is being taken down so that construction on Stanford’s new satellite campus can proceed. Last week, the letters were removed and placed in storage and the plan is to take the entire apparatus down by the end of this week. Stanford spokesman E.J. Miranda said the university has offered the sign to a variety of historical groups, and even Ampex, but so far no one has expressed interest in taking it.
“Ampex was an important part of Redwood City’s history and the development of Silicon Valley,” Mayor Ian Bain said in an email. “Many people in our community have a deep personal connection to Ampex, either having worked there or knowing someone who has. I would like to see Stanford come up with a tasteful way to incorporate the sign into its campus. I think it’s possible to find a location that works, where people could visit it and learn a bit about the company’s place in our history. I would view that as a community benefit.”
Ampex was founded in San Carlos in 1944 and relocated to Redwood City in the 1950s. The company is credited with making the first audio and video tape recorders, among other inventions. The sign appears to have been erected sometime in the 1960s.
“I understand if [the sign] was in the way and holding up an expensive project, but that doesn’t appear to be the case,” Wilson said, adding that he has not heard a satisfactory explanation as to why its removal is “suddenly imperative.”
He and others have also expressed concerns that Stanford didn’t at least notify the city before it took the sign down, and are looking into the history of the environmental review process for clarity on why it wasn’t preserved.
That environmental assessment was completed in 2013. At the time, the Historic Resources Advisory Committee identified the sign as a historic resource on the local level, said Jim Gernand, who was then a member of that committee. It appears the sign did not qualify for state or federal historic designation.
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“This recommendation was based on research and testimony from former employees and the fact that Ampex was an important company in the early history of electronics that developed cutting-edge technology,” he said. “And many felt the sign was iconic on the northern edge of Silicon Valley.”
So the committee recommended historic status for the sign. That recommendation was echoed by the Planning Commission and then denied by the City Council, which has the ultimate authority to determine if something is historically significant on a local level, according to city records.
If the councilmembers decided that the sign was historically significant, then the university would have to comply with various mitigation measures, including offering the resource to historical collections or keeping it on-site, salvaging materials for educational purposes or incorporating commemorative design elements within the new development.
Stanford University said it has and will continue to do many of those efforts even though it doesn’t have to, except keep the sign in its current location.
Wilson said the sign’s current location is part of its historic significance.
“We want the past honored and hopefully we can find a positive path to resolution,” he said. “Something is brewing and I don’t know where it will go, but hopefully we can find an appropriate spot. There’s a way to do it.”
San Carlos has lost its soul. The Ampex sign was a landmark and the gateway to silicon valley. But of course, San Carlos just want to build ugly buildings and cram as many people as it can in its charmless downtown.
Thanks Zach for your balanced reporting. We all want a solution and are running out of time. All we need now is for Stanford to hit the pause button and I know we can get Stanford and the community together on a plan that will work for all. Here is a link to a CBS5 story that ran last night. I am sure your story inspired them!https://youtu.be/_WY4XNe3l_M
More important than the sign, Stanford has the Ampex Corporation records in its care, custody, and control as described thusly: Artifacts (including audio and video recording devices, recordings, and memorabilia) formerly comprising the Ampex Museum collection; approximately 25,000 photographs (including negatives and prints) and related indexes; documents in hard copy or microfilm form (including manuals, memos, sales materials, public relations materials, articles, drawings, engineering notes, specifications, and manuscripts); and other miscellaneous material relating to the history of the Ampex Corporation and the recording industry.
The sign seems pretty bland and uninspiring to me. I get that the company is part of Silicon Valley’s history but the important historical archives have already been saved by Stanford. I’m not sure why a bland piece of corporate branding merits such an uproar.
The worship of corporatism here is obscene. Why would they want to keep this sign? What value does it provide other than nostalgia for nostalgia's sake?
Our history is not something that should be flushed down the toilet John. Nostalgia is not unimportant to those who have a long history on the peninsula. Doesn't take up much space? why not incorporate it into whatever it turns into. Thanks to all the old time tech people who made this region what it is today. I salute you and your history.
Stanford needs to keep this sign where it is. The Ampex sign is historically important and adds context to the area being redeveloped in Redwood City. This sign is similar to the Hills Bros. sign in San Francisco (by the Embarcadero). Living history is better than locking documents away in a vault.
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(8) comments
San Carlos has lost its soul. The Ampex sign was a landmark and the gateway to silicon valley. But of course, San Carlos just want to build ugly buildings and cram as many people as it can in its charmless downtown.
I think the sign was in Redwood City - but I completely agree with your comment
Thanks Zach for your balanced reporting. We all want a solution and are running out of time. All we need now is for Stanford to hit the pause button and I know we can get Stanford and the community together on a plan that will work for all. Here is a link to a CBS5 story that ran last night. I am sure your story inspired them!https://youtu.be/_WY4XNe3l_M
More important than the sign, Stanford has the Ampex Corporation records in its care, custody, and control as described thusly:
Artifacts (including audio and video recording devices, recordings, and memorabilia) formerly comprising the Ampex Museum collection; approximately 25,000 photographs (including negatives and prints) and related indexes; documents in hard copy or microfilm form (including manuals, memos, sales materials, public relations materials, articles, drawings, engineering notes, specifications, and manuscripts); and other miscellaneous material relating to the history of the Ampex Corporation and the recording industry.
The sign seems pretty bland and uninspiring to me. I get that the company is part of Silicon Valley’s history but the important historical archives have already been saved by Stanford. I’m not sure why a bland piece of corporate branding merits such an uproar.
The worship of corporatism here is obscene. Why would they want to keep this sign? What value does it provide other than nostalgia for nostalgia's sake?
Our history is not something that should be flushed down the toilet John. Nostalgia is not unimportant to those who have a long history on the peninsula. Doesn't take up much space? why not incorporate it into whatever it turns into. Thanks to all the old time tech people who made this region what it is today. I salute you and your history.
Stanford needs to keep this sign where it is. The Ampex sign is historically important and adds context to the area being redeveloped in Redwood City. This sign is similar to the Hills Bros. sign in San Francisco (by the Embarcadero). Living history is better than locking documents away in a vault.
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Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.