The 90-foot-tall landmark cowboy sign at the Big Texan Steak Ranch returned Friday after being removed for about a month when a wind storm damaged it, reported the Amarillo Globe-News.
The newspaper reported about the saga of Bull, the name of the cowboy figure on the sign:
Strong winds in late June damaged the sign to the point where it would have been dangerous to leave it up. That surprised Bobby Lee, co-owner of the Big Texan.
“He’s survived two tornados, a plane, blizzards … wind, you name it, but that one got him,” he said. […]
AAA Signs of Amarillo spent weeks refurbishing and repairing the old herdsman. The high wind took its toll on the old steel, so plans were made for strengthening the design, AAA manager Dale Bural said. Some cosmetic touch-ups were made, but workers did their best to keep Bull authentic, Bural said.
The restaurant initially thought the sign would be down only a week or two. But the repairs apparently were more complex than anticipated. Either way, Bull probably will be fine for a few more decades.
Bull dates to 1960, among the earliest days of the Big Texan when the restaurant was on Amarillo Boulevard, aka Route 66. At one point, Bull had neon lighting. The sign’s surface was extensively renovated about 10 years ago.
Bull and the restaurant moved during the early 1970s after Interstate 40 opened.
(Image of Bull the cowboy in 2011 at the Big Texan Steak Ranch by bernachoc via Flickr)
Glad it is back . We have lost so many landmarks already
It would be really good if some of our multi millionaires and billionaires would not only help restore things along this route ,but take a lot of old towns and just preserve some the buildings in them