It’s a bold Streamline Moderne landmark in the middle of downtown Bakersfield. The story of the historic Sill Building, today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots.
Situated at the northwest corner of Chester Avenue and 18th Street in downtown Bakersfield, the Sill Building has been a local icon since 1940. Built and still owned today by the Sill family, who were early Kern County pioneers, the Sill Building stands out for its design. It’s the product of Bakersfield-born Ernest Kump Jr. and Fresno’s Charles Franklin. The duo made national waves for their futuristic designs like Fresno’s 1939 city hall.
Like many streamlined buildings of the 1930s, the Sill Building has a gentle curve where it meets the street corner. The three-story building is clad in thin red Roman-style bricks and glass. But the most dramatic part of the building is its overall form. The windows are dramatically set back from the exterior walls. Open air walkways on the upper floors cantilever out over the sidewalk and the lower floors. The design shades the floor-ceiling-glass windows from the harsh Valley sun and gives the building a distinctive look. It was decades ahead of its time.
But there was one other element. Shortly after it opened, a 48 foot tall neon sign for Coca-Cola was added to the roof. Known as “Sam Lynn’s Weatherbird” for the local Coke distributor. One of the largest on the west coast, the animated sign displayed the local weather forecast. While the Sill Building still stands much like it did in 1940, the giant Coca-Cola sign was removed in 1962.
