Area Bon signs have marching orders

The lettering adorning one of Spokane’s oldest department stores will come down next month and be replaced with a shiny new Macy’s sign.

The removal of the Bon Marche signs will complete the company’s transformation into Macy’s, as its parent company solidifies its brand.

The Seattle-based department-store chain originally was known The Bon Marche. It became Bon-Macy’s in 2003 as Federated Department Stores moved to connect all its department store chains with the Macy’s name.

Northwest residents may be happy to hear a small piece of local history will remain. The ornate “B” and “M” on the downtown store, topped with a crown, are staying.

“We thought people would care about that,” said Kimberly Reason, a spokeswoman for Bon-Macy’s.

As for the actual Bon Marche signs, Bon-Macy’s offered them to the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, which declined, saying it couldn’t justify the expense of warehousing or displaying them.

Next, the signs will be offered for sale to executives of the company, with money going to charity.

And if they don’t want them?

“We’d consider all requests to buy the signs,” provided upper management approves of the sale, Reason said. As a last resort, they’ll be thrown away.

The signs on the stores at NorthTown Mall and the Spokane Valley Mall were scheduled to be removed beginning Wednesday. Signs on the downtown Spokane store are scheduled to go Feb. 25, and those on the Silver Lake Mall store in Coeur d’Alene on Jan. 24.