'Welcome' Message Replaces Brooklyn's Iconic 'Watchtower' Sign

DUMBO, BROOKLYN — The iconic "Watchtower" sign that once hung on Brooklyn's waterfront for nearly 50 years has officially been replaced with a "Welcome" message.

Developers of the 690,000-square-foot office campus that took over the former Jehovah's Witness' campus announced Monday that the sign they chose to replace the longstanding "Watchtower" sign has been completed.

The developers first said they were planning a "Welcome" message in similar big red letters last month, after years of speculation about what would sit in place of the "Watchtower" sign after it was taken down in 2017.

The developers, Columbia Heights Associates — a venture by CIM Group and LIVWRK — said Monday that they thought the "Welcome" message would make an appropriate greeting for those visiting both the borough and the new office space, named "Panorama" for its views.

“Seen from Lower Manhattan and greeting travelers as they cross the Brooklyn Bridge,‘Welcome’ embodies the message to our tenants and the entire city that Panorama is a vital part of the transformed Brooklyn waterfront and reinforces the idea that Brooklyn is an inviting place for companies to set up shop” said CIM Group's Jason Schreiber.

(Will Femia)

The five-building office campus is set to open later this year, three years after developers first bought the property for $340 million in 2016.

It will bring a retail plaza, 20 outdoor spaces and 635,000 square feet of workspace to the buildings that line the northern portion of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Developers said the new "Welcome" sign will be lit for the first time on Wednesday, honoring the 50th anniversary of when its predecessor was lit for the first time on November 27, 1969.

(Will Femia)

The big red "Watchtower" sign stood above the building from that day until it was taken down when the Jehovah's Witnesses moved their headquarters to Warwick.

The new sign will be 15 feet tall, 80 feet wide and was designed by New York-based Morris Adjmi Architects. It will include a rotating time temperature display.

“The ever-evolving landscape of Brooklyn’s culture, energy, and creativity is now signified by a new beacon of light that is the ‘Welcome’ sign.” Asher Abehsera, founder and CEO of LIVWRK, said. “We see this marquee sign as a message to the greater New York community to walk over the bridge and to discover the joy and charm of experiencing DUMBO."

(Will Femia)