The Wrigley Field Marquee Is Going Green

The Cubs are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field this year with "decade" commemorations... one per homestand. The upcoming homestand will celebrate the 1930s, and the Wrigley Field marquee will be getting a retro look:

On Wednesday, the Cubs and Benjamin Moore will begin painting the marquee to match its mid-1930s color scheme. The sign, located at Clark and Addison streets, was installed in 1934.

The Cubs worked with Harboe Architects and Wiss, Janney, Elsnter Associates, Inc. to research the marquee’s color scheme from the era, which included removing layers of paint and primer to expose the first layer of enamel. Samples were then color-matched by Benjamin Moore to determine the Mallard Green and French Quarter Gold paints that will be used.

The photo at the top of this post shows the marquee as it looked during the series of September 14-15-16, 1962, 28 years after the now-famous sign was first installed. I believe the color shown in the photo is the original color, faded somewhat after nearly three decades of exposure to the elements. The marquee was painted its now-famed red in 1965.

Here's one more note on the 1930s commemoration:

Babe Ruth's 97-yr-old daughter Julia Ruth Stevens will deliver a ceremonial first pitch at Friday's Cubs game to honor the "called shot"

— Danny Ecker (@DannyEcker) May 12, 2014