Here’s What Happened to Portland’s Time and Temp Sign – It’s Back Now

The Time and Temp Building in Portland, Maine, has been dark for almost a month, but it's back!

Portland’s Time & Temperature Building is something you either rely on or have at least noticed. While I'm driving on I295, I always try to guess the temp and see if I match the sign. Plus, working downtown, I didn't realize how much I looked at the sign for the temperature until it was dark.

According to the Portland Press Herald, the sign on top of the iconic building has been dark since March 10, with a whole lot of speculating about what happened. Good news, it's back!

Why did the Time and Temp sign in Portland, Maine, go dark?

According to one of the owners of the building on Congress Street in Portland, a leak fried the software that controls the sign, and they couldn't fix it remotely. Here's what Chris Rhoades told the Press Herald:

As a result, we could not spring forward with the time change a couple of weeks ago. So rather than display the wrong time, we shut down the sign until we could get it fixed.

They also missed the sign working and telling you to CALL JOE and giving the time and temp, hence the name.

Portland, Maine's Time and Temp building opened in 1924

The 14-story building with its nine-foot-high sign is an iconic part of Portland as much as the Observatory. It's not the fancy place it once was, but developers are hoping for a hotel, apartments, restaurant, co-working space, and retail center to bring it back to life!

Along with 'CALL JOE' (for the law offices of Joe Bornstein), the sign often has short messages for nonprofits. The law firm loves leasing that sign and giving it to charities. I know that the first time Cans for a Cure went up on that sign, I almost cried. It meant so much.

We'll all be looking at the skyline with a sigh of relief! Thanks for bringing it back!