The large GE sign over the company’s main plant in Schenectady is coming down to be refurbished, GE Vernova said in a statement. It will return to the top of Building 37 later this spring. (John Carl D’Annibale / Times Union)
John Carl D’Annibale/Times Union
Entrance to the General Electric campus off Erie Boulevard is seen on Dec. 16, 2014, in Schenectady. GE Vernova is refurbishing the iconic GE sign and will return it to the top of Building 37 later this spring. (John Carl D’Annibale / Times Union)
John Carl D’Annibale
SCHENECTADY — The iconic GE sign, which has illuminated downtown Schenectady through the Great Depression, World War II and decades of invention, cutting-edge research and manufacturing, is coming down for renovations, the company announced Monday.
After the nearly 100-year-old sign is taken down and refurbished, it will be reinstalled on top of Building 37 — where it has always stood — later this spring, according to GE Vernova, the General Electric Co. spinoff that calls the historic GE campus in Schenectady home.
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The company is “modernizing its internal systems to ensure it continues shining — proudly and reliably — for decades to come,” the company said in a news release, adding that when the sign returns, its “appearance, design, and character will remain entirely the same” as it has been for 100 years.
“This sign has long symbolized innovation and progress in Schenectady,” Vic Abate, CEO of GE Vernova’s wind business, said in a statement. “As we prepare it for its next century, we’re proud to invest in preserving this landmark while continuing to move forward — leading a new era of energy in the Capital Region, across the country and around the world.”
Abate has been with GE since 1990, having senior leadership roles in Schenectady with GE Energy. He led the company’s global research center in Niskayuna before taking over GE Vernova’s wind business in 2023.
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GE Vernova became an independent, publicly traded company in 2024 after spinning off from GE, which also spun out its health care division into what is now GE Healthcare. The legacy GE now focuses on aviation and is known as GE Aerospace.
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GE was formed in 1892 in Schenectady, although the company moved its headquarters out of the city generations ago — first to New York City, then Connecticut, and now Boston. GE Vernova’s headquarters is in Cambridge, Mass.
Still, the Schenectady campus has long been a home to research and manufacturing for GE and its various divisions over the years. Several thousand people work between the Schenectady campus and the Niskayuna research campus. GE Vernova actually has a second research center that it is still in the process of building on Balltown Road, nearly next to the Niskayuna campus, where the three GE spinoffs do both corporate and government-funded research.
The sign is 167 feet long and has 10-foot-tall letters made of steel. It was erected on Building 37 in May 1926, featuring 1,399 lights, and was a technological marvel at the time. Since then, it has been welcoming visitors to the city and welcoming home commuters at the end of the workday.
In 1950, GE began changing the colors on the sign to red and green during the Christmas holiday season and for the Schenectady Holiday Parade. Last holiday season, however, GE Vernova did not use the holiday lights as it got ready to refurbish the sign this spring.
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GE Vernova has announced nearly $200 million in investments in its operations in Schenectady and Niskayuna over the past several years, leading to dozens of new jobs being created as the world seeks to add more electricity to the electric grid to power next-generation computer chip technologies as well as AI data centers. Much of that power has to come from renewable energy sources that GE is investing in as well.
There are currently more than 100 job openings in Schenectady County with GE Vernova, including 68 at the Schenectady campus.
“We thank GE Vernova for preserving this sign, which is a powerful symbol for the company and for Schenectady,” said Ray Gillen, chair of the Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority, which has worked with GE Vernova on repeated investments and job creation in the county over the decades. “We also welcome and appreciate GE Vernova’s continued investment in both the Schenectady and Niskayuna sites as the company meets the growing demand for electricity around the world.”