GBH/Summary

Logo descriptions by AsdfTheRevival, StephenCezar15, Clownninja78 and others

Logo captures courtesy of MSTS1, StephenCezar15 and others

Video courtesy of Tlogos, danf62465, NantoVision2, superpooper180, JohnnyL80, WheelWatcher12345, DudeThatLogo, and youngleader610 (Mr.Logo)

Editions by Hoa, MrThorax281, KirbyGuy2001 and StephenCezar15

Background: WGBH, known on the air as GBH, is a Public Broadcasting Service affiliate located in Boston, Massachusetts and was first aired on May 2, 1955 (though they never had an animated logo until 1971). The network is owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation.

1st logo (1956-1971)
Nickname : "The Menorah"

Logo : The logo consists of a "Circle" connected to a triangle at the bottom, a vertical line going through the center, and two circles on both sides of the symbol. Next to the symbol is a number "2" and underneath it is "WGBH Cambridge/Boston".

Variant : On the station's television productions, the following text is seen with the symbol next to "TV":

in association with                                                                                                                                                    WGBH-TELEVISION                                                                                                                                                              BOSTON

FX/SFX : Unknown for the station ID, but the production variant is an in-credit logo, which sometimes wipes in from top to bottom.

Music : For the station ID, unknown; in-credit version uses the ending audio of the show.

Availability : The station ID is extinct, and only a photo of it survives on Logopedia. The in-credit version is rare but is preserved on any surviving programming from that time.

Editors Note : The symbol is an ancient Aztec symbol for family. The vertical line and top two portions of the "X" represent a man, the triangle and vertical line represent a woman, and the circles represent children.

2nd logo (1969?-1971?)
Nicknames : "Early WGBH"

Logo : It's an in-credit logo, but with an early design of the WGBH logo:

A Co production of  WGBH  BOSTON

FX/SFX : None, unless you count the fades.

Music/Sound : Currently unknown as the narrator reads over the airing of the program but, most likely the ending theme of the program.

Availability : Currently unknown but, most likely very rare. This was spotted on "The Nader Report" 1st episode, currently available for viewing on WGBH's open vault.

Editor's Note : None; It's a simple logo. However, this logo with lack of compared to next logo.

3rd Logo (October 3, 1971-September 1977)
Nicknames : "Zooming WGBH", "WGBH of Doom", "Zooming Letters (of Doom)"

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, 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, or sometimes, the blue colors are instead dark green.
 * Some prints of this logo also uses the sea green color, it can sometimes be seen on most WGBH programs.
 * A black & white version exists. In this one, "WGBH" and "Boston" are both black, and "Presents" is white. This can be seen on the first two seasons of NOVA.
 * There is a black and white variant where "WGBH" and "Boston" are both black, and "Presents" and the background is white. This can be seen on early WGBH programs.
 * 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. And at the end, it flashes rapidly.
 * On many early episodes of NOVA, the background is beige at first, and the brown sky at the dawn after "Boston" zoomed 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. The same version also appeared in PBS airings of NOVA.
 * On The French Chef, the logo is superimposed over a slanted flag of France against a blue BG, animation and all, and the text is all in orange.
 * On season 3 of NOVA, everything that is supposed to be green in the logo is blue. Go here to see summary.
 * There was a variant seen on programs imported to Japan with Japanese text and a flash similar to that seen in the KBYU "Diamond Flash" logo. There is no music.
 * 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 yellow "WGBH" text on a burgundy or dark-red background. This is the earliest known version of it.
 * On Godspell Goes to Plimoth Plantation for Thanksgiving, the background consists of a moving image of floating blue and red balloons in the sky. "WGBH" and "Boston" are in inverted colors of the background, with the latter changing the whole screen to this effect.

FX/SFX : The zooming of the words; simple animation. Additionally, The French Chef variant with the transition from Boston to <span style="color:rgb(255,255,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">Presents looks awkward: the <span style="color:rgb(255,255,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">Boston moves upward to not fill the screen in this one, and as "<span style="color:rgb(255,255,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">Presents " stops zooming in, it's off centered, and the flag looks more like a crooked flag of The Netherlands instead of France. The confetti on the Evening at Pops variant makes the logo look really ugly. And the unmusical "music" is a recipe for disaster.

Music/Sounds : Composed by Gershon Kingsley, the jingle consists of eerie, choppy, UFO-computer like blips which ascend and descend several times. A rising Moog violin stinger starts playing over the blips, until said stinger settles on a high note.

Music/Sounds Variants :
 * The jingle is often sometimes played at a slower speed.
 * Sometimes, the B&W version of this logo has a higher pitch.
 * A low tone variant exists.

Availability : Extremely rare, as programming from this era is usually no longer rerun. Tape-trading is the only way to see it, or you could 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, Zoom, Evening at Pops, The Victory Garden and 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. Tape-Trading is also another you can find this logo. The DVD release of ZOOM: Back to the 70s has this logo and the 1971 PBS logo.

Editor's Note: The logo became notorious for its high-contrast colors, fast "V of Doom"-style zoom-ins, and eerie synth music.

4th Logo (March 3, 1974-Late 2020?)
Nicknames : "Silent WGBH"

Logo : Superimposed to the end credits of the show is the logo that we know, which is the text "WGBH" in a bold Univers font, with outlines being extended out from the front and back, creating a shadow effect. Below it typically is "Boston", with the colors for both being different at times. Typically there is a copyright for WGBH Educational Foundation.

Trivia : The logo was designed by design firm Chermayeff & Geismar, of which has also designed for NBC, PBS, Showtime, Univision, Viacom & Screen Gems, among others.

SFX/FX : None

Music and sounds : None or the show's end theme

Availability: Common, It was first seen on NOVA's series premiere, Shows that have this logo are any WGBH show made before 1993 when the 6th logo was moved to the end. However, Downton Abbey, Curious George, and Masterpiece Theater shows, are some post-1993 shows that have this logo, until the rebrand to GBH.

Editor's Note : None

5th logo (January 7, 1975-December 29, 1976)
Logo : On a pink background that gradually gets darker, the word "A" in Times New Roman font slides in from the right to the upper-left corner of the screen (similar in style to Viacom's "pinball" logo). Then the word "Presentation" slides in underneath from the left, and under that, "of" slides in from the bottom. All the text is in white and aligned in the left side of the screen. The word "of" continues to slide upward, pushing the other text along with it and clearing the screen. By this time, the background color has changed to black. A white WGBH logo (as described above) fades in, and then the word "Boston" slides in from the left underneath the logo, aligning with the left side of the screen.

SFX/Cheesy Factor : The sliding of the words

Music/Sounds : Same as the 4th logo

Availability : Very rare. So far, the only known source is a 1975 KCET airing of Ascent of Man. It also on July 4, 1976-December 29, 1976 reruns of 1974-1976 Nova episodes.

Editors Note : This appears to be a placeholder for the next logo.

6th logo (January 5, 1977-Late 2020)
Nicknames : "WGBH outline", "The Light", "Neon Sign"

Logo : Here are the main versions of this logo:


 * 1977-1987: On a black background, two <span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">orange lines of "electricity" form two, <span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">orange, 2D "shadows", one on top and one on bottom. Then the lines form an <span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">orange outline of "<span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">WGBH " in between the "shadows".  The lines stop, and an orange flash starts behind the outline.  The flash clears out "<span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">WGBH " as "<span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">Boston Presents " appears in an orange Univers font.  The "<span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">Boston Presents " logo was a bumper used at the beginning of the show.
 * 1986-1993: Same as above, but shortened to when "<span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">WGBH " begins to flash.
 * 1993-2009: Similar to the other versions, but with the "<span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">WGBH " logo already formed as it fades in, then the flash occurs, and the word "<span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">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.
 * 2001-2009: Similar to the 1993 version, but this time the "<span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">WGBH " logo forms at warp speed.
 * 2008-2020: 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 "<span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">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 "<span style="color:rgb(255,165,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">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 is a later variant of the 2001 version 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.
 * There is a filmed variant, which makes it clear "Boston" simply fades in.
 * 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.

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 computer blips, 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 Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery, until 2000 and 2002 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.
 * In 2003, there is no announcer.
 * 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.
 * In the "Money Magazine" variant, there is a slight reverb at the end of the 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.

7th Logo (1991-1995)
Nicknames: "Cute Globe" Logo: We see a small globe rotate and we see the word <span style="color:rgb(255,217,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">WQED (in <span style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(255,217,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;">yellow-orange ) with "PITTSBURGH" underneath in white text, and then we see <span style="color:rgb(255,217,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">WGBH (also in yellow-orange) with "BOSTON" underneath, also in white.

SFX/FX: The rotating globe and the letters.

Music/Sounds:
 * September 30, 1991-December 25, 1992: 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, 1993-October 4, 1996: 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 : TThe globe is pretty cute but the music volume depends on variant may distract some.

GBH
On August 31, 2020, the station rebranded to simply "GBH", dropping the W from its call letters, as part of its focus to expanding to digital platforms.

(August 31, 2020-present)
Nickname : "The Spotlight"

Logo : On a black background, we see lights shining on the new GBH logo (similar style as the older logo, but with geometric typography), illuminating the edges in a way similar to how the old logos formed up. As this happens, a spotlight turns on behind it, illuminating "GBH". Both lights die down to reveal the final product - a shining purple GBH logo.

FX/SFX : The lights both in front of and behind the logo.

Music/Voiceovers : The short version of the 1972 WGBH jingle or the show's closing theme.

Availability : Current. The animation of the logo was unveiled on August 31, 2021 and was officially put into use the following day. It debuted nationally one week later, on the Frontline episode "Growing Up Poor in America".

Editors Note : A great evolution of the branding for the digital age of public broadcasting. However, the animation is simple compared to the previous logos, and this will most likely be used as a placeholder.