Remnants of the San Gorgonio Inn: 'In Storage' and 'Preserved' at Water Yard

Back in April 2011 when the aging landmark San Gorgonio Inn was demolished in Banning, city leaders said the iconic signs that beckoned generations of travelers on old Highway 99 and Interstate 10 would be placed in storage and preserved for possible future use.

They were taken down and moved from the demolition site in late August and early September.

The signs were spotted recently by a Banning-Beaumont Patch reader who said she was surprised to see them sitting outside in a field next to the San Gorgonio Memorial Park cemetery.

"I was just disheartened that they were stored in such manner because I would have thought they would have been boxed or something," Banning resident Janet Kloos said. "I found it ironic they were besides a cemetery, and wonder if our Pass history is fading away more day by day."

On Tuesday the signs were still there, in the Banning Water Yard north of the cemetery. Workers there granted access for the photos that illustrate this report.

Asked about the signs Tuesday evening at the Banning city council meeting, Public Works Director Duane Burk said the signs were still "in storage" and being "preserved," but there is no definite plan for using the signs.

The signs stood for decades outdoors, so it makes sense to store them outside, Burk said.

The first opened in the 1880s and became a recognizable Banning landmark through the 20th century. But it fell into years of neglect and disrepair before it was torn down in April.

The light-blue and white sign that stood on East Ramsey Street is considered an example of design, a futuristic style that emerged in the 1940s in Southern California and continued into the mid-1960s.

The other sign, less stylish but distinctive nonetheless with a declaring "Good Food," stood high above the south side of the old inn so that it was visible to travelers on Interstate 10.

The original inn was much older than both the signs, but the signs are among the few remnants that remain of the old landmark.

City leaders considered a key step forward in revitalizing downtown Banning, making way for the , which is planned to include restaurants, retail, offices and hotel space.