Loss of a Landmark

The neon Coca-Cola sign, a long-standing commercial landmark overlooking the Charles River, will probably be torn down and relocated early next year and replaced by a 15-story hotel.

If it is removed, the 65-ft by 54-ft, sign will be taken to another site in Allston, developers said yesterday. The building below it will be torn down to make room for the hotel.

The Beacon Company of Boston now has the opportunity to buy the land on which the sign stands, said Monique Doyle, a company spokesman. The realty firm would work with the Coca-Cola company to remove the sign and transplant it to the new site.

Coca-Cola Bottling Company has issued a statement which describes the situation as "a very challenging one."

The three-panel sign is too large to sit atop the new building, so-instead of preserving the entire sign. Casey stated, the front portion of the sign will be preserved and erected else-where.

Otherwise, according to Casey, they would "probably be attempting an impossible task. We would triple the engineering difficulties."

But despite the engineering costs and the intricate logistical problems, Casey said of the quarter-century-old landmark. "We believe it is a part of a history of an era and an area and will make our best efforts to finding a solution to the issue."

According to Doyle, however, moving of the sign has not perturbed too many area residents. The project, at an estimated cost of more than $30 million, will provide 250 construction jobs as well as 250 full and part time jobs in a 315-suite hotel, Doyle said.

If the project goes as planned, what Casey called "a valuable sample of commercial art" will be replaced by 1986.