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CHARLOTTE -- What's believed to be the longest-running billboard campaign in the Queen City came to an end Monday. The JFG Coffee billboard in uptown survived more than 40 years of sign ordinance changes and interstate construction but it's now just another piece of Charlotte's history.

“I used to see it back years ago many of times, when I was dating back in the early 60s,” said Charlotte resident Jerry Collins, who came out early Monday to see the sign one last time.

But Collins isn’t the only one with fond memories of the ad. Jeff Groves, a local photographer, said the letters on the sign meant something to him from a young age.

“Because my name is Jeff Groves, you know I associated with the JG,” he said. “So even as a little kid six or seven years old, whether we were going to grandma's house or were coming back from a long trip, as soon as we saw that lit up JFG sign, we knew we were almost home.”

Groves has photographed many Charlotte landmarks through the years and the JFG sign is one of his favorites.

“The time is going to come when these little things go away and I'm just hoping that one day, years down the road, that somebody might be able to appreciate some of these shots,” he said.

The sign taking its place is for Ortho Carolina, which will pay homage to the JFG design with three of its own large letters -- ACL.

Still, Collins says the JFG sign is a staple in the landscape and seeing it peeled away is upsetting.

“I tell you, Charlotte's been butchered,” he said. “They've just tore out everything. Just like that that Coffee Cup down there.”

Crews removing the JFG billboard said a local museum would be collecting the sign's letters but no details are available yet on how or where the old sign will be displayed.