Photo by Jay Paul
Yearslong efforts to preserve a piece of Americana ultimately appeared to fall by the wayside as one of the few remaining neon cowboy hat signs that once beckoned hungry travelers to Arby’s was set to make way for a Wawa gas station. The restaurant itself, which opened at 5900 W. Broad St. in 1968, was razed in early January, along with several other nearby buildings. Images of the demolition on Richmond magazine’s Instagram spurred some readers to reminisce about the years they spent eating at Arby’s, working there or simply driving by.
The sign’s presence on West Broad Street helped mark the transition between downtown Richmond and Henrico County’s West End. Its significance has not been lost on county officials. In reviewing site plans for the Wawa in 2021, Mary Ann Soldano of the Henrico Recreation & Parks Division called the massive 10-gallon hat sign “iconic” and recommended preservation “if possible.”
Among the potential suitors was The Valentine museum, which rejected the offer “based on its large size and condition, as well as the museum’s collecting focus on documenting Richmond-region companies over national chains,” according to a spokeswoman. Likewise, Kim Sicola, Henrico’s history programs recreation manager, said in an email that the county’s museum services had no place to exhibit or store the sign and therefore had no plans to do so.
According to local developer Rob Lanphear, a member of the group that owns the land, a decision about the sign’s fate is still ultimately up to Wawa, but it appears that its support structure will be used for a new sign.
So, for a short time, as the surrounding buildings came down, the tall, brown hat stood alone and watched as old made way for new.
