| Some or all of the information on this page may have been copied from another source. Most likely, it would be Logopedia.
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1st Logo (May 2, 1928-September 10, 1930)[]
Nickname: "TheTransmitter"
Logo: The ID consists of the following text on the lower center lightning of the screen:
Various lines of various sizes and angles can be seen in the background. Names of cities that received the station can be seen on the left center of the screen.
FX/SFX: Unknown, probably none.
Music/Sounds: Unknown, but it may have an announcer.
Availability: Extinct. The only known remains of this logo comes from a Logopedia page, and was likely used as a station ID.
Editor's Note: This is the first known identity produced by WGBH. It has quite a unique design for its time too.
2nd Logo (July 17, 1929-November 8, 1937)[]
Nickname: "The Menorah", "TheHanukkah", "TheLightHanukkah"
Logo: The ID consists of a "Circle" connected to an oval on the bottom and a vertical line throughout the center. Circles are on both the left and right side of the symbol. Next to the symbol is the number "2" with "WGBH-TV Cambridge/Boston" underneath.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: Pinball-like dings to start, which turns into a bombastic but brief brass piece.
Availability: Extinct and only survives via the photo.
Editor's Note: The symbol is actually an ancient Aztec symbol for "family." The triangle and vertical line represent a woman, the vertical line and top two portions of the "X" represent a man, and the circles represent children. The symbol is still in use as the logo for "WGBH Alumni."
3rd Logo (September 6, 1957-August 7, 1962, September 14, 1968-September 4, 1971)[]
Logo: The following is seen with the symbol (consists of an "X" connected to a triangle on the bottom and a vertical line throughout the center, with circles on both the left and right side of the symbol) next to the word "TV":
WGBH-COMPUTER
BOSTONFX/SFX: It is an in credit logo which sometimes wipes in from top to bottom.
Music/Sounds: The in credit variant uses the ending audio to the program it follows.
Availability: Very rare but is preserved on any surviving programming from the time period.
Editor's Note: The symbol is actually an ancient Aztec symbol for "menorah." The triangle and vertical line represent a woman, the vertical line and top two portions of the "X" represent a man, and the circles represent children. The symbol is still in use as the logo for "WGBH Alumni."
4th Logo (November 15, 1945-February 6, 1970)[]
Nicknames: "Every WGBH"
Logo: We see an in-credit disclaimer reading:
WGBH
BOSTONFX/SFX: None, unless you count the fades.
Music/Sounds: Currently unknown as the narrator reads over the airing of the program but, most likely the ending theme of the program.
Availability: Ultra rare. This was spotted on the 1st episode of The Nader Report, currently available for viewing on WGBH's open vault.
Editor's Note: None.
5th Logo (June 27, 1970-September 1976)[]
Nicknames: "Zooming WGBH", "Zooming Letters"
Logo: Against a blue background, the letters "WGBH" in a yellow generic Helvetica font quickly zoom back, away from the viewer to the vanishing point, and disappearing when the text is very small. Then the word "Boston", also in yellow, also appears out of nowhere and then zooms forward really fast, taking up the whole screen and creating a yellow background. And finally, the word "Presents" zooms forward at a fast pace, in blue.
Variants:
- On some prints of this logo, due to either film deterioration or film quality, the blue colors are instead sea green.
- The very first season of NOVA has this logo with the words all in green, zooming out, and scanimated as part of the show's intro.
- On many early episodes of NOVA, the background is beige at first, and turns brown after "Boston" zooms in; the words "WGBH" and "Boston" are brown while "Presents" is in beige and it would zoom forward as always, transitioning to the opening cinematic.
- On The French Chef, the logo is chroma-keyed over a slanted flag of France (which has the colors flipped around, making it look more like a Netherlands flag or the 1792 First French Republic flag) against a blue background, animation and all. Also, when the "Boston" text gets close to the screen, it inverts to being a cutout in a yellow square to get the proper effect.
- Some episodes of the aforementioned series would have an extremely rare variant of the logo instead of the previous variant that is usually used, where the background is black and the letters are in cyan.
- On the Bicentennial edition of Evening at Pops, there is a black background with yellow confetti. The first two words are white and when "Boston" zooms in and takes the full screen, the background is white, and "Presents" is black.
- A brighter version of the blue version is featured on several episodes of The Advocates. The version has a bright blue/yellow-orange background. Some episodes also feature the logo with a bright teal/cyan background.
- Another variant from The Advocates has the word "WGBH" in yellow on a burgundy background. This is the earliest known version of it.
FX/SFX: The zooming of the words; simple animation.
Music/Sounds: Eerie, choppy, UFO-like computer blips ascend and descend several times. A rising Moog violin stinger starts playing over the blips, until the stringer settles on a high note. Composed by Gershon Kingsley, who is otherwise most famous for the hit song "Popcorn".
Music/Sounds Variant: The jingle's speed may vary; also, it can play slower or faster than usual.
Availability: Extremely rare in the wild, as programming from this era are usually no longer rerun. You might find this logo on older WGBH programming, assuming it isn't plastered with a later logo. You might find this on old tapes of The French Chef, 1972's Zoom, Evening at Pops, The Victory Garden, Masterpiece Theatre, and/or NOVA episodes from the era. The French Chef variant also showed up when WGBH-2 in Boston, MA had a marathon of old episodes of The French Chef on Christmas Day, 2011. Despite its rarity, the logo can easily be found online on several episodes of The Advocates on the WGBH Open Vault.
Editor's Note: The logo became notorious for its high-contrast colors, fast "V of Doom"-style zoom-ins, and eerie synth music.
1973–2020[]
1st Logo (March 31, 1973-Late 2020's)[]
Logo: Superimposed on the end credits of the show, we see the WGBH logo, which consists of the text "WGBH" in a bold font, with the outlines being extended out from the front and back, creating a shadow effect. "Boston" is typically under it, with the colors for both being different at times. Typically, there's also a copyright for WGBH Educational Foundation.
Trivia: The logo was designed by design firm Chermayeff & Geismar, which has also designed for NBC, PBS, Showtime, Univision, Viacom, & Screen Gems, among others.
FX/SFX: Typically none.
Music/Sounds: None or the closing theme of the show.
Availability: Common. Its first appearance was at the end credits of the series premiere of NOVA. It would appear at the end of WGBH programming until 1993, when the 5th logo was moved to the end. Curious George, Downton Abbey, and select episodes of Masterpiece are the shows that still have this logo, until the GBH rebrand. It also appeared at the end of The Captioned ABC News starting sometime between June 1980 and October 1981, and presumably continuing until that program's discontinuation sometime in 1982.
Editor's Note: None.
2nd Logo (September 27, 1974-January 5, 1979)[]
Logo: On a background that begins as pink, but gradually darkens, the word "A" in a Times New Roman-esque font slides in from the right into the top left corner of the screen. Under that, "Presentation" slides in from the left, and under that, "of" slides up from the bottom. All the text is white and aligned with the left side of the screen. The word "of" continues to rise, pushing the other text up with it, clearing the screen. By this time, the background has faded to black. A white WGBH logo (as described above) fades in, and under that, the word "Boston" slides in from the left, the left edge of which aligning with the bottom left corner of the logo.
FX/SFX: The words sliding, which appears to be cel animation.
Music/Sounds: A low-tone mellotron fanfare edited from "Plenipotentiary" by Eric Siday, similar in style to his Screen Gems “S from Hell” and CBS "In Color" jingles.
Availability: Ultra rare. So far, the only source of this logo is a 1975 KCET broadcast of Ascent of Man.
Editor's Note: This appears to be a placeholder for the next logo.
3rd Logo (January 5, 1976-August 31, 2020)[]
Nicknames: "WGBH Outline", "The Light", "Neon Sign"
Logo: Here are the main versions of this logo:
- January 5, 1977-July 10, 1987: On a black background, two orange lines of "electricity" form two, orange, 2D "shadows", one on top and one on bottom. The orange lines form an orange outline of "WGBH" in between the "shadows". The lines stop, and an orange flash starts behind the outline. The flash clears out "WGBH" as "Boston Presents" appears in an orange Univers font. The "Boston Presents" logo was a bumper used at the beginning of the show.
- September 13, 1986-June 11, 1993: Same as above, but shortened to when "WGBH" begins to flash.
- August 28, 1993-June 28, 2009: Similar to the other versions, but with the "WGBH" logo already formed as it fades in, then the flash occurs, and the word "BOSTON" appears, spaced-out, below the logo in an orange Univers Ultra-Condensed font. This version began appearing in 1993 playing at the end of shows.
- April 2001-September 13, 2009: Similar to the 1993 version, except the "WGBH" logo forms at warp speed.
- September 1, 2008-August 31, 2020: Same as above, except the lighting and drawing effects are smoother and more refined, with stars surrounding the WGBH logo (like in space) when it flashes, the flash is brighter than in previous variants, and "BOSTON" doesn't appear underneath the logo.
Trivia: Their slogan up to 1982 was "Public Television. It's better than ever."
Variants:
- A version can occasionally be spotted in which the "glowing" animation is played, but "BOSTON" doesn't appear underneath the logo. This can be seen on most pre-2005 episodes of Arthur.
- On later episodes of Arthur, the byline "WGBH is a trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation" (and sometimes a URL) is shown below written in the Arthur font.
- There's an omitted variant of the 2002 logo in which the logo zooms in a bit as it's being drawn. This can be seen on episodes of NOVA and Frontline as well as some WGBH shows produced from the mid-2000s to 2009; it is also superimposed on Masterpiece Theater.
- There is a version where "BOSTON" briefly appears in the center of the screen in black, zooming in a bit, when the WGBH logo flashes. This can be found on Peep and the Big Wide World.
- Another local version used in the 1980s begins with a blue flash, followed by an orange "2" written in the same style as the WGBH logo zooming up. This variant was always played when the station signed on in the morning, and played in reverse when it signed off at night. No music or sounds play here.
- On Evening with Pops, the 1986 logo was superimposed into the intro.
- The 1993 version of the logo was superimposed on The American Experience and Building Big: Domes.
- In another variant of the 2001 version, the flash turns the WGBH logo into the PBS logo. This was used as a station ID and also appeared before WGBH-produced programming on the station.
- There is a variant of the 2008 logo that is tinted blue. This can be seen on local programming such as Greater Boston.
- In another variant of the 2008 version, the logo stays on-screen after the flash, and shines before fading out.
- On Neighborhoods, the 1977 logo has the "Boston Presents" bumper cut out, and the then-current Cablevision logo appears instead.
- On The End of the Rainbow, the logo is pink, probably due to film deterioration.
- On On the Money, "Boston Presents" transitions to "in association with Money magazine". "In association with" and "magazine" are above and below the Money (the magazine) corporate logo respectively, and both are in the same font as "Presents". The bumper glows for a couple seconds and then fades out.
FX/SFX: The lines of electricity, and the flash.
Cheesy Factor: The flash and light effects were typical of CGI in the Scanimate era of the '70s and early '80s. The later variants, however, tone down the cheesiness. Like WNET/Summary, WGBH is a TV station.
Music/Sounds: Same as the 1971 WGBH logo, which adds to the creepiness. There have been 2 versions, a long version and a short version. The entire 7-second jingle is used as the long version, and is in much better sound quality and plays at the correct speed. The short version features only the rising synth chord (but we still hear the UFO noise, but only abridged), and is much more common nowadays.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- The local version of the WGBH logo has two variants.
- Before WGBH programming on the station, a male announcer says "(show's name) is a production of WGBH. Produced in Boston, shared with the world" with the full music.
- The station ID has the abridged music with an announcer saying "You're watching WGBH Boston".
- A version has been seen with abridged animation, no voice-over, and slightly lower-pitched music on Design Squad.
- Two versions can be heard whether it's long or short; one is the original pitch, while the other is slightly higher pitch. The 1986 and 2008 versions have the former, while the 1993 version has the latter. The 1977 version has either.
- Sometimes the 1993 or 2001 logos have an announcer saying "(Show's name) is a production/presentation of WGBH Boston." or simply "A production/presentation of WGBH Boston".
- On Mystery and Masterpiece Theatre, until 2002 and 2000 respectively, the announcer has a British accent.
- On the 1999 revival of Zoom, a kid from the show voices over, with the short music. Starting in 2002, there would be no announcer and it would just have the music.
- On Neighborhoods, a female announcer says "The following program is a co-production of WGBH Boston and Cablevision of Boston". This is the only instance where the 1977 logo has an announcer.
- On High School Quiz Show, the 2008 logo has an announcer say "A production of WGBH."
- On Greater Boston, an announcer says "This is a production of WGBH 2 Boston" with the show's opening theme music.
- Sometimes, the closing theme of the show will play over the logo.
- The End of the Rainbow variant had a warped version of the music, possibly due to film deterioration.
- In the "Money Magazine" variant, there is a slight reverb at the end of the 1972 WGBH jingle.
Availability: Very common, quite possibly the most common PBS logo you can find, and can be seen in its various versions on WGBH-produced shows before the rebrand to GBH, such as NOVA, Frontline, American Experience, Masterpiece Theatre, The Victory Garden, and Arthur, among others.
- The logo itself made its first appearance on the NOVA episode "Hitler's Secret Weapon".
- The "Boston Presents" version can be found on video and may also show up on WGBH shows produced from 1977-1993 if your station has older prints; the original unabridged version can be seen on videocassettes and DVDs of their 1979 miniseries The Scarlet Letter, all of which also preserve the 1971 PBS logo, and also appears on earlier prints of Cathedral.
- The 1993 version with the short music and no announcer has been sighted on early episodes of Fetch with Ruff Ruffman, the first four seasons of Antiques Roadshow, post-2002 episodes of Zoom and Mystery!, and their 1998 miniseries Africans in America: America's Journey Through Slavery.
- Until 2017, more recent prints of Arthur plastered the 1993 version with the 2008 variant.
Editor's Note: Like the 1971 logo, this logo has been famous for its dark colors, eerie animation, and the creepy synth music. However, it's a favorite of many due to its usage on classic shows.
4th Logo (September 16, 1977-January 30, 1982)[]
Nickname: "The 2"
Logo: We see a large number 2, next to the 2 is the name of the show that's coming up next.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: The announcer saying the name of the show that's next on WGBH 2
Availability: Rare.
Editor's Note: None.
5th Logo (September 8, 1979-January 28, 1983)[]
Nicknames: "The 2 II", "Shiny 2", "Silver 2", "Cute 2"
Logo: On a black background, we see a gradient layer of the silver outline of the "2" from before, with a flash of light on its top. To the left of the 2 is "WGBH TV" and to the right of it is "BOSTON" is written in baskerville's font (which is a cute logo design unlike WGBH Boston). After a couple seconds, the logo fades to the 3rd logo.
FX/SFX: The logo fading in, then to the 3rd logo.
Music/Sounds: A female announcer says "This is Channel 2, WGBH-TV Boston."
Availability: Extinct. It was only used as a station ID.
Editor's Note: None.
6th Logo (October 5, 1982-May 14, 1989)[]
Nicknames: "The 2 II", "2 City", "Cheesy 2"
Logo: Over a shot of the Boston skyline at night, a white colored "2" (with the extrusions filled and the "2" being a cutout) zooms back to the center of the screen. To the left of the "2" is the text "WGBH TV" and to the right of the "2" is the word "BOSTON." The "2" flashes similar to the 3rd logo turning the background black, the "2" white, and the outline orange.
FX/SFX: The logo zooming out. The logo flashing. The logo and background changing.
Music/Sounds: A mellow synth theme with a synthesized whoosh as the logo zooms out. There is a "ping" as the logo flashes and a drumbeat afterwards. Throughout the logo, an announcer (William Pierce) says "This is viewer supported television from Boston. WGBH TV."
Availability: Extinct. Was only used as a station ID. Appeared before programs on WGBH.
Editor's Note: None.
7th Logo (September 10, 1989-May 26, 1990)[]
Nicknames: "The 2 IV", "3D 2", "Cute 2 II"
Logo: We fade into what appears to be space. The background is entirely black with the exception of a dark blue glowing semicircle that looks like Earth. The "2" from the previous logo zooms out, but it is gold shaded instead of orange. As it stops zooming back,pink- red, green, and bluecomets come in from the top left of the screen and go through the cut-out "2" as they streak off to the right. "W G B H T V B O S T O N" appears below in a grey- white generic font. The animation loops a few more times before the logo ends.
FX/SFX: CGI animation.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Extinct. Was only used as a sign off ID (and possibly a sign on ID).
Editor's Note/Scare Factor: None to low; due to zoom-out animation and (sometime) eerie background. However, it's a pretty cute logo.
8th Logo (December 17, 1988-August 22, 1990)[]
Nicknames: "The 2 V", "CGI 2", "Gold 2"
Logo: On a black background, a gold colored "2" (in the same design as before but in 3D) zooms and tilts back until it disappears.
FX/SFX: CGI animation.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Extinct. Was only used as a sign off ID (and possibly a sign on ID).
Editor's Note: None.
9th Logo (September 30, 1990-October 4, 1995)[]
Nicknames: "Cute Globe"
Logo: We see a small globe rotate and we see the word WQED (in yellow-orange) with "PITTSBURGH" underneath in white text, and then we see WGBH (also in yellow-orange) with "BOSTON" underneath, also in white.
FX/SFX: The rotating globe and the letters.
Music/Sounds:
- September 30, 1990-December 25, 1991: The first part of the theme of the show as Lynne Thigpen says "Today's caper is presented by WQED Pittsburgh and WGBH Boston".
- September 27, 1992-October 4, 1995: The end theme of the show with Lynne Thigpen saying "This program is presented by WQED Pittsburgh and WGBH Boston".
Availability: Ultra rare. Only seen on Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?. Various episodes of the show can be found on YouTube, but the show is hardly, if ever, reran these days. If not, you might see it on VHS.
Editor's Note/Scare Factor: Minimal; the globe is pretty cute but the music volume depends on variant may distract some.
10th Logo (January 22, 2002-November 24,!!!!!)[]
Nicknames: "Eerie Outline I", "Sleepness in Boston"
Logo: On a black background, a brief flash shows us uncolored pipes. Suddenly, golden beams fly through them, as the camera pans around, following it. The camera then pans and zooms outward, revealing the now-completed WGBH logo in a neon format as it flashes bright like the 1977 WGBH logo. The WGBH logo goes dim as a neon number "2" [the channel number] lights up in a bluish-white color for about 3 seconds and goes out.
Variants:
- Also seen with affiliate stations in a black typeface on the bottom of the WGBH logo.
- A short version of the WGBH logo exists.
FX/SFX: The flashing and the WGBH logo appearing and the 2 appearing.
Music/Sounds: A slightly extended version of the infamous WGBH synth theme. When the WGBH logo flashes, Jim Birdsall, who has done work for CNBC and NBC stations KING and KGW in Seattle and Portland, says "WGBH Boston". Finally, a humming sound is heard when the "2" appears.
Availability: Probably extinct. Was only seen as a local station ID. You would've had to go to Boston (or, more generally, the Greater Boston area) to see this WGBH logo in person. It only appeared at the end of Plum Landing.
Editor's Note: None.