Shell Oil Company "Spectacular" Sign

The Shell Oil Company "Spectacular" Sign is a historic advertising sign by the Shell USA (the US-based subsidiary of Shell plc) located at 187 Magazine Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Shell Oil Company "Spectacular" Sign
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The sign and filling station pictured in 2008
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Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Coordinates	42°21′24.5″N 71°06′51.9″W
Built	1933; 92 years ago (1933)
Architect	Donnelly Electric Manufacturing Co.
Architectural style	Moderne
NRHP reference No.	94000546 [1]
Added to NRHP	June 3, 1994

History

The Shell USA sign was built in a Moderne style in 1933 by Donnelly Electric Manufacturing Company, and was originally located on the Shell Company building in Boston on Commonwealth Avenue, which now houses Boston University Academy.

Night view of the sign

It was moved to its present site adjacent to Memorial Drive in 1944. It is, along with the Citgo sign in Boston, one of only two surviving advertising signs of its type in the area.^[2] Although the regular station signage is updated to reflect the company's current logo, the "Spectacular" sign itself also remains in the same location where it has always been.

The sign was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.^[1]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Commonwealth Avenue (Boston)