Iconic Watchtower Sign Is Gone

DUMBO – Commuting into Brooklyn across the East River won’t be the same now that the iconic Watchtower sign is gone.

The illuminated 15-foot-tall red letters overlooking the Brooklyn waterfront from atop 30 Columbia Heights for more than 40 years were removed on Wednesday, the New York Post reports.

Columbia Heights Associates—a joint venture comprised of CIM Group, LIVWRK Holdings, and Kushner Companies—purchased the site for $340 million in August 2016 with plans to transform the former Jehovah’s Witnesses property into Panorama, a 635,000-square-foot office and retail complex.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses will keep the massive sign, according to the Post, though it is unknown whether they will display it at their new base in upstate New York. Signage for a new tenant will eventually replace the empty rooftop space.