On This Day In Alabama History: Vulcan’s Torch Turns Green For The First Time

By Alabama NewsCenter Staff

Vulcan’s torch was lit at a dedication ceremony on Oct. 23, 1946, and remained green for nine days. It then turned red, for the first time alerting citizens of a vehicular fatality when a woman died in a wreck at Birmingham’s Southside.

R. Paul Moon, who chaired a Jaycees safety committee, got the idea of using a color-coded beacon as a highly visible safety signal. The neon light would remain green until a fatality, then would turn red for 24 hours as a warning to others. It was decided that allowing Vulcan to be the bearer of the news would “combine high visibility with the sculpture’s Olympian authority.”

The Alabama Neon Sign Co. designed and engineered the torch. It was installed as part of the Jaycees safety campaign.

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