Ethermac Exchange-Flashing "X" sign dismantled at former Twitter's San Francisco headquarters

Bright 'X' sign at the former Twitter HQ concerns neighbors

Workers dismantled a flashing "X" sign atop the San Francisco headquarters of the company formerly known as Twitter on Monday, just days after it was installed.

The old Twitter sign, featuring a blue bird, was removed from the building last week over the course of several days after Elon Musk announced the company's rebranding on July 24. While "Twitt" was quickly removed, "er" remained up by itself for a brief period because the company did not have the necessary permits for the sign takedown. 

The social media company similarly had permit issues with its new "X" sign. San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection launched a complaint against the company on Friday, saying the "X" sign was installed without a permit. The city agency said that an inspector "spoke with Tweeter [sic] representatives and Building maintenance engineer representatives," who declined access to the sign but said that it was a "a temporary lighted sign for an event." 

Inspectors returned Saturday and Monday, but were denied access, according to San Francisco's complaint tracker. During Monday's visit, the inspector met with building management before being denied access. The inspector saw that the "X" was being dismantled. 

"By the time I left the entire structure had been removed, I explained to Building management that a building permit was still required to remove the structure," the inspector wrote. 

San Francisco residents were frustrated with the "X" sign during its brief time atop the company's headquarters. 

Video from San Francisco resident and digital journalist Christopher Beale shows the lights in the sign pulsing brightly across the street of his home. He added, "this is my life now." At another point, the lights of the giant "X" were seen strobing. 

"It's hard to describe how bright it made this intersection," he said in a video shared by CBS News Bay Area reporter Betty Yu. "But it's way up off the street and it's still just like a flash of lightning going off. We came home and tried to watch a movie and it was flashing through this window so bright that even with the shades down, it was so distracting that we had to leave the room and go to the side of the apartment that doesn't face their building." 

In:
• Elon Musk
• Social Media
• California
• San Francisco
• Twitter

Aliza Chasan

Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBS News.

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