Olympic Signs, located in Lombard, Illinois, west of the Loop, has acquired the assets of White Way Electric Sign & Maintenance Company, which filed for bankruptcy last November and was sold on May 20, 2015.

White Way had been in business since 1916. The family-owned company built marquees for Chicago Theatre, Oriental Theatre, and Wrigley Field, along with scoreboards at Comiskey Park, U.S. Cellular Field, and United Center. White Way had about 20 employees at a 34,000 square foot facility in Mount Prospect, Illinois, but filed for bankruptcy on November 12, 2014, listing assets of $10 million and liabilities of $50 million.

It started as a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeking debt relief but not liquidation. On March 17, 2015, however, it was converted to a Chapter 7 filing in which the debtor’s property is sold and proceeds are distributed to creditors.

On May 12, United States Bankruptcy Judge Donald Cassling granted a request by the bankruptcy trustee, Phillip Levey, to authorize him to sell White Way assets at a public auction. Heath Industrial Auction Services conducted the sale on May 20.

On Tuesday, Olympic Signs said it has acquired the customers, projects, and maintenance files of White Way.

“What this means for White Way customers is a seamless transition,” said Rob Whitehead, president and co-owner of Olympic Signs. “We are prepared to hit the ground running to provide top-notch service to White Way Sign customers who may be in limbo since the company’s sale this past May.”

(Right) Bill Pyter (left in photo) and Rob Whitehead, owners of Olympic Signs. They started the company in 1980 in a two-car garage and now have a 35,000 square foot facility in Lombard. Photo by Daniel White.

White Way lit up River North

The company’s name was from the nickname for New York’s brightly lit theater district, “The Great White Way.”

When it was still located in Waukegan, White Way designed, built, and maintained a beacon on the 426-foot broadcast tower built in 1964 on top of Marina City’s west tower. The beacon for WBKB (now WLS-TV) used red lights to display the weather forecast and to indicate if a local sports team won or lost that day.

Seen in photographs and movies throughout the 1960s, a sign for Seay & Thomas, a real estate company, was on top of a warehouse at 320 North Dearborn Street. The sign and the building were gone by 1987 when the 20-story Hotel Nikko was built. Olympic Signs is itself no stranger to downtown Chicago. It has made signs for The Boeing Company, Chicago Tribune, The Drake Hotel, and Portillo’s.