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The 'Miller' brewery sign on the 210 Freeway might be gone, but its legacy in Irwindale lives on
The new Irwindale Brewery sign overlooking the 210 Freeway.
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Anita Hernandez
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City Brewing & Beverage
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The search for the missing 'Miller' sign on the 210 Freeway
Daniel Martinez went to find out why the Miller brewing sign disappeared all of a sudden along the 210, and got this story on the history of the city of Irwindale.
For decades, the Miller sign greeted drivers on the 210 freeway passing through Irwindale.
But, a year ago, during January’s wind storms, the crimson red and white “Miller” logo was damaged.
Then in December, a new sign — "City Brewing & Beverage” — went up, leading many commuters to wonder what happened.
To answer that question, let's go back to Irwindale's history.
An aerial view of the wind-damaged "Miller" sign at the Irwindale brewery in September 2025.
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Iris Espino
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City of Irwindale
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More than a brewery
Irwindale was once best known for its mining quarries, which were older than the city itself and were integral to the construction of L.A’.s freeway system.
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Most of the quarries ceased operations in the 1970s, and with them, so went much of Irwindale’s industry.
Around that same time, the site of the old Irwindale Raceway, which used to be one of the few racetracks in the San Gabriel Valley, went up for sale.
And here came Miller beer.
“So Miller, according to legend, bought the property for a dollar and then they built the brewery,” said Anita Hernandez, communications manager for City Brewing who used to work for Miller.
As it turns out, the $1 land acquisition isn’t just a legend.
“No, that's actually true," said Iris Espino, assistant to Irwindale’s city manager. "So while it was just a dollar, the city thought it would build wealth over the next 30, 40, 50 years. And essentially, it did."
The Irwindale brewery under construction.
The Irwindale brewery under construction.
The Irwindale brewery at the beginning of construction in 1977.
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Iris Espino
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Irwindale Public Library
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The Irwindale brewery in the middle of construction in 1978.
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Iris Espino
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Irwindale Public Library
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The Irwindale brewery under construction.
(
Iris Espino
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City of Irwindale
)
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Miller purchased the lot in 1977. The deal included 230 acres of land to build the brewery, which opened in 1980.
Three years later, the sign overlooking the 210 went up. The 48-by-34-foot structure rolled into Irwindale on three separate rail cars.
It rotated until the late 1990s, but faulty gears led the company to make it stationary. It's been facing both sides of the 210 Freeway ever since.
A sign of identity
Ownership of the brewery — which locals just called Irwindale brewery for convenience — changed hands over the years.
In 2021, City Brewing & Beverage moved in.
They decided to keep the “Miller” sign for all that it had brought to Irwindale.
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“Over the last few decades, we have seen the jobs, the infrastructure and this economic identity that Irwindale is now this large industrial hub. And it started with Miller Brewery,” Espino said.
Other big manufacturers came in following Miller. Q & B Foods, which distributes Kewpie mayo in the U.S., moved there in 1986. Huy Fong Foods, the maker of
sriracha, broke ground on a new factory in 2010.
Ready Pac Foods moved there in 1993 and has become one of Irwindale's largest employers.
But Miller started it all.
“The sign, definitely iconic to residents, to just people that drive that 210 freeway every single day,” Espino said. “And we hear it. I can't tell you the amount of times we hear about that sign.”
The old "Miller" sign along the 210 Freeway.
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Iris Espino
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City of Irwindale
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For people in Irwindale, it’s still a point of pride to have worked at the business that started the economic boom.
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Ben Maillete is plant manager for City Brewing. He started working at the brewery in 2014, back when it was owned by Miller. He said there was one easy way to explain to people where he was employed.
“I was like, ‘Well, you know that sign on the highway?’ " he said.
Three construction workers inside the Irwindale brewery sign work on replacing the old "Miller" sign with the new "City Brewing & Beverage Irwindale" sign, December 2025.
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Anita Hernandez
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City Brewing & Beverage
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A sign for a new era
Employees at the Irwindale brewery debated on whether to restore the sign or make a brand new one when it was damaged during last year’s January wind and fire storms.
A third of the City Brewery's current employees worked for Miller and felt a connection to the original sign, so the company decided update the sign but keep the iconic structure and shape as a tribute.
The new Irwindale brewery sign near the 210 Freeway January 2026.
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Anita Hernandez
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City Brewing & Beverage
)
“I don't think anybody knew that City Brewery and Beverage was operating here, and now they do,” Maillete said.
He said it’s their way of giving a nod to the past while also looking toward the future.
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