The sign of the TIGER When the hotel was first built in 1928, the TIGER sign could be seen for miles away as travelers on old highway 40 (now business loop 70) traveled across Missouri. In 1962, the sign was extinguished for 42 years, but in 2004 owners John Ott, Dave Baugher and Al Germond restored the sign. It is classified as a nonconforming sign, which means it does not comply with city ordinance because it’s bigger than anything that can be put up in downtown today. The TIGER sign existed before the current city ordinance. Here are the specs for the completed $20,000 five-letter sign restoration by Bee Seen Signs Inc. • Each letter is 8 ft. tall and 7 ft. wide. • They sit 150 feet above the ground. • Junior Dietzel, vice president of Bee Seen Signs, estimates that each letter is about 150 pounds making it the heaviest tiger in town. Sorry, Truman. • The letters are made out of rust-proof aluminum. • The red light is 15 mm neon, just like the original. • Dietzel says that they had to cut new letters in order to match the old ones, which had been drawn by hand.