By David Rosen

After years of being replaced by a giant T for Tully's Coffee a totally new and classic Rainier "R" was placed atop the old Rainier Brewery Building in Sodo Thursday night. The new "R" was built by Western Neon. Over 1000 people turned out for this historic event including Mayor Mike McGinn, King County Executive Dow Constantine and the Seafair Pirates. The event saw the massive neon landmark go up around 7pm to the cheers of those below. The history of the Rainier Beer brand was celebrated in memoribilia on display and the presence of the famous "Rainbeers" , costumed characters dressed as beers, made famous in the 70's in a series of TV commercials. Justin Fraher was the main man behind weeks of frame bending and constructing of the new sign.

Before the installation of the new “R” sign on top of the old Rainier Brewery, Western Neon towed the replica sign on a flatbed trailer through several Seattle neighborhoods on Tuesday. The sign started in Georgetown, and then traveled to Lower Queen Anne, Ballard, Fremont, Belltown and Capitol Hill. During the event, known as the “R Crawl,” people in each neighborhood got to take photos of themselves in front of it.