For those of you who thought the iconic Austin Municipal Plant sign was gone and lost forever — well, let’s just say, you have to have faith.

It was clear, said Austin Utilities General Manager Mark Nibaur, that the public was interested in keeping the sign that proudly announced its presence each night at the old plant on Fourth Avenue Northeast.

After the plant moved to its current location, the sign and its red neon lights winked off for the last time in the old location about a year ago. The plant site will be used for the new community recreation center and YMCA. The sign was dismantled and then sent to the Rochester Sign Company for a facelift.

The company replaced all neon with LED diodes — some 800 of them, said Nibaur. At one point the company, apparently having a hard time finding red diodes, asked if it could replace the former red neon with white diodes instead.

Nothing doing, said Nibaur. Red was red and part of Austin’s history.

The sign company was able to locate the colored diodes.

Now, the refurbished sign sits on a building at the new Austin Utilities Service and Operations Center, at 1908 14th St. NE. The sign is displayed not on the main building, said Nibaur, but on another building on the site.

Still, he said, “no one will have a problem seeing it as they drive by,” Nibaur said. “It’s really bright.”

And, he added, it’s energy efficient. Workers there estimated that using diodes instead of the neon resulted in a 70 percent energy savings.

“That’s huge,” said Nibaur. “And it’s still true to its original color, and it’s really bright.”

Cost of the work was $6,500, he said.

And worth every penny.

After the plant moved to its current location, the sign and its red neon lights winked off for the last time in the old location about a year ago. The plant site will be used for the new community recreation center and YMCA. The sign was dismantled and then sent to the Rochester Sign Company for a facelift.

The company replaced all neon with LED diodes — some 800 of them, said Nibaur. At one point the company, apparently having a hard time finding red diodes, asked if it could replace the former red neon with white diodes instead.

Nothing doing, said Nibaur. Red was red and part of Austin’s history.

The sign company was able to locate the colored diodes.

Now, the refurbished sign sits on a building at the new Austin Utilities Service and Operations Center, at 1908 14th St. NE. The sign is displayed not on the main building, said Nibaur, but on another building on the site.

Still, he said, “no one will have a problem seeing it as they drive by,” Nibaur said. “It’s really bright.”

And, he added, it’s energy efficient. Workers there estimated that using diodes instead of the neon resulted in a 70 percent energy savings.

“That’s huge,” said Nibaur. “And it’s still true to its original color, and it’s really bright.”

Cost of the work was $6,500, he said.

And worth every penny.