November 23–30, 1995

hit and run

Turn On Your Love Light

When the Breyers ice cream plant in West Philly closed down Oct. 27, the city's children, young and old, mourned its passing.

With no more screaming about ice cream, Hit & Run wondered about the plant, and especially the landmark sign atop the plant, that childhood neon beacon in the sky.

So we asked John Gould, a spokesperson for Unilever, the parent company of Good Humor-Breyers, what's the plan?

"If you go by there, you'll see the sign is off," said Gould. And it won't be going back on, he said.

When we asked City Planner Richard Redding — who has responsibility for planning issues in West Philadelphia — about plans for the electric landmark, it struck him as a new idea.

"I've heard of no discussions about it, but it's an interesting idea," said Redding. "Sometimes they can be preserved by discussions with the private owners."

Those owners would not speculate on the sign's future.

Oh. And what about the rest of the plant?

"We're in the process of disposition of the property," said Gould. "Until now, the main consideration has been taking care of the employees and getting production stopped."

At this point, some equipment has yet to be dismantled and sent to other facilities, and the refrigeration is still on. Everything should be shut down by early December, he said.

— Tamar Charry