The Late Show with Stephen Colbert may be gone from the Ed Sullivan Theater, but one sizable piece of it has officially made the trip west.
The massive lighted Late Show sign that sold at auction in April has a new home: WeHo Bistro in West Hollywood.
The restaurant’s owner, Jeff Douek, revealed he was the winning bidder Monday, sharing photos and videos of the 12′ x 8’6″ x 9″ sign being delivered and installed on the restaurant’s rooftop. Draped beneath it was a banner reading, “Thank you Stephen Colbert for all the magic.”
“For more than a decade, millions of people welcomed Stephen Colbert into their evenings through The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Douek wrote in the restaurant’s Instagram post announcing the sign’s arrival. “The iconic sign that welcomed viewers to so many unforgettable nights has now found a new home right here in the heart of West Hollywood.”
Douek said that when the restaurant learned the sign was being auctioned to benefit World Central Kitchen, “we knew it should remain somewhere it could continue to be seen, appreciated, and shared with everyone.”
For now, the sign will spend approximately two weeks on WeHo Bistro’s rooftop before being moved to its permanent home on the wall of the restaurant, where fans will be able to stop by, take photos, and “share a little of that late-night magic.”
Colbert memorably put the sign up for auction in a late April “Late Show Home Shopping” segment alongside special guest Jon Stewart. “Buy this,” Colbert said at the time, “and, like me, you can have The Late Show hanging over your head for the rest of your life.”
The sign ultimately drew more than 170 bids before selling for $102,100.
For a sign that made its name in New York, it’s a fittingly showbiz second act: retired from late night, relocated to West Hollywood, and still ready for its close-up.
