A glorious return for the Orchard Supply Hardware sign.
The classic Orchard Supply Hardware arrow sign, which pointed the way to the San Jose store for nearly seven decades, has been restored to its original glory at History Park. It’s a satisfying final chapter to the sign’s history, which included being stolen from its roost in 2018 and recovered by police months later.
“It brings back another piece of San Jose history that will be showcased at History Park,” said History San Jose CEO Bill Schroh Jr., who was overseeing the installation by Arrow Sign Co. of Alameda on Friday morning. Arrow spent months restoring the sign’s faded appearance and replaced the neon tubing, spelling out the store’s name and
declaring the slogan, “If it’s hardware, we have it.”
The sign was installed on the same pole that held it aloft roadside off West San Carlos Street, where the arrow had pointed the way to everyone from farmers to home repair do-ityourselfers since the early 1950s. Orchard Supply Hardware was founded in San Jose as a farmers collective in 1931 and grew to a statewide chain known for its knowledgeable staff and train calendars over the following decades. Home improvement chain Lowe’s bought the OSH chain in 2013 and — after a failed attempt to reposition OSH in the market — began closing the stores in 2018.
Preservationists in San Jose
already were talking to Lowe’s about having the sign moved and saved when someone took matters into his own hands and absconded with the sign in November 2018, leaving behind the empty pole — and video evidence. A police investigation led them to a person — whose name still has not been revealed — who had the sign in Campbell. The person’s intent was to preserve and display the sign, and no charges were filed in the theft.
One morning in January 2019, the sign was delivered to History San Jose’s collection center on Senter Road, as Lowe’s had donated it jointly to History San Jose and the Preservation Action Council. The sign was still in good shape, except all the glass neon tubing had broken off during its disappearance.
Ken Middlebrook, History San Jose’s curator of collections, said from the start he envisioned installing the sign right next to the green OSH boxcar, a former fixture behind the store on Auzerais Avenue, which the historical museum had received in 2013. And that’s where it stands now, where its red-and-green color scheme and lighting fit in currently with Christmas in the Park — which is taking place nightly at History Park through Jan. 3.
Middlebrook says the sign will be illuminated as part of Christmas in the Park through the run, but after that, funds will have to be raised to hook it up to the park’s power supply.