First photo! The Palisades' 76 ball comes down

The Conoco Phillips oil corporation sees little value in the classic orange 76 balls that advertised their filling stations, but the mechanics and attendants at Jakel's 76 on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, California, surely did. They snapped way with their camera phones and disposable cameras as workers arrived Saturday at noon to remove the ball, cut down the pole on which it had spun for fifty years, and drove it away for smashing.


A mechanic on duty this morning told us the station owner Frank Jakel had fought the corporation for years in an effort to keep the Palisades landmark glowing. But he said that Frank sold the place and the new owners didn't care.

Update on grinch who stole Palisades' 76 ball

The landmark, revolving orange ball high above Jakel's Union 76 service station on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades was removed and its pole sawed down at noon yesterday, according to a service station employee who witnessed the surprise takedown.

We told you last night that we noticed the sky was empty where the spherical sign once shined as a beacon above the station and the adjacent Gelson's parking lot.

This morning, we spoke to attendant Zig, who was working yesterday when the Conoco Phillips troops arrived and got to work quickly and efficiently, removing the ball with a crane and cutting the pole it had topped.

"Now no one will even know it was there," Zig said. "That ball was an original, it was up there since the station opened in what, 1955? I asked the guys what they were going to do with it and they said they were going to smash it! Smash it! I thought they'd put it in a museum."


Zig realized he was witnessing history. He said he called the local Palisadian-Post weekly newspaper but got no answer (it was a Saturday).

Note to the Palisadian-Post and LA Times: He also snapped several photos of the ball removal with the disposable camera he keeps in his car. Make sure you pay him for his work!

The ConocoPhillips oil company has been on a campaign to remove all its stations' classic orange balls, despite a fight from preservationists.

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Pacific Palisades loses its big orange 76 ball

The distinctive, revolving, retro orange ball high above Jakel's Union 76 service station at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Via de La Paz in Pacific Palisades, California-- the last town before Sunset hits the Pacific Ocean-- has been taken down and replaced with a waist-level sign on the corner.

We saw the excavation work on the edge of the downtown district yesterday and noticed the empty sky while on a pizza run tonight.

The Texas-based ConocoPhillips oil corporation had expressed an intention to destroy all its big orange balls and has in recent years has been opposed by preservation groups.

The ball in Pacific Palisades, a landmark and reminder of the town's traditional atmosphere, had been believed to be safe.

!!UPDATE HERE!!