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Loeb, who inherited the sign after the property was purchased in the ’60s, said the Norge ball needed to be taken down recently so it wouldn’t be damaged during demolition of the building in order to make way for new condominium and retail units.

“You just can’t have that type of thing in the way — it would be destroyed,” Loeb said. He understands that the Norge ball was a fixture in Centretown and he was sad to have to take it down.

While most signs are square or rectangle-shaped, Loeb said the sign’s unusual sphere shape captured the attention of onlookers, and “seeing it turn was quite dramatic.”

He said while he has seen several moving signs before, “I, quite frankly, haven’t seen anything quite like it in my travels.”

“It’s like the Drummond Gas sign on Bronson, it has emotion, it’s not just flashing lights,” Loeb said. The sign is about two metres in diameter, with a plastic covering, and the ball sits on a motor that makes it spin.

Loeb said he understands that there are very few signs in North America like this. He admits that while his history on the sign is a little hazy, he knows it’s “very retro, very unique,” and worth preserving.

He added that while the look of the Norge ball might clash with the new project, he is adamant about finding the sign a new home “because it’s unique, it’s motorized and it hasn’t spun in a long time.”

He said he received a call several months ago from a person interested in purchasing it. “We hope that even though it’s not there anymore we can keep that legacy going somewhere.”