What Do You Think About Our New Entry Signs?

There has been some dissatisfaction about our new entry signs.  They were intended for most entry points of the Village, except the 6th Avenue bridge.  There were to be eight signs in all.  As of now, four are erected.  They are at the top and bottom of Griffing, the top of 10th Avenue, and the top of 8th Avenue.

The dissatisfaction has been about two features of these signs.  One is the finish, and the other is the white backing.  Some people think both look bad.  Here's the deal about the signs.

We did not pay for them, for whatever that's worth.  We got one of those patented "grants."  We did, however, manage the design, material, size, and placement.  The Village gets full responsibility-- credit or blame-- for the finished product.

A design was offered to the Commission.  The design was represented by a computerized photoshopped "photograph."  The design was of an upside down triangle, which is the shape of the Village, with the name Village of Biscayne Park cut out, and the silhouette of a bird on one of the upper corners.  The material was CorTen steel.  The "photograph" seemed to show the proposed metal sign as being more or less red in color, with blotchiness that I imagined was supposed to simulate shadows.

The Commission approved this design.  The design was then presented to the Art Advisory Board and the Parks and Parkways Board, which jointly approved it.  An actual, almost life size, model was made and presented at the May 5, 2015 Commission meeting.  I will tell you now, with regret, I was not there.  Commissioners who were there included David Coviello, Roxanna Ross, Bob Anderson, and Barbara Watts.

Barry Miller of the landscape architecture firm Miller Sorvino gave much of the introduction.  He cited the intention to invoke the Village's "rustic charm" in creating the sign design.  Mention was made of the actual color of the model and of the white backing behind the cut out letters.  Barbara Watts recalled that the color of the sign in the preproduction "photograph" did not match the color of the model presented at the meeting.  She had Mr Miller confirm that the intended color and finish would be that of the model, not of the "photograph."  It was also confirmed that the color came from a constant and self-renewing patina of rust that is characteristic of CorTen steel.  Bob Anderson also noted the "rusty coating" of the model, that it was intended as a protective finish, and he added that he thought the model looked "really nice."  Little else was said of the composition of the sign or the color.

The model presented to the Commission had a white material behind the metal sign.  This was intended to make the cut out lettering clear.  The preproduction "photograph" showed cut out letters with no backing.  You could see plantings through the letters.  Bob Anderson again noted this, and the Commission was reassured that the intention was to install adequate plantings behind the sign, so the white backing would not ultimately be seen.  Nothing further was said about the backing.

Roxy Ross said she "really liked" the sign presented to the Commission, and to the audience, and to the Comcast videographer at the 5/5/15 meeting.  David Coviello "loved" it and considered it "beautiful."  Bob Anderson, as mentioned, found the sign "really nice."  Barbara Watts didn't have a conclusion.  As I said, I wasn't there.

Now, some of these signs are erected.  Some Village residents don't like them.  Two people have complained to me about the signs, and neither of these people was at the 5/5/15 meeting.

As a personal matter, I'm not in love with these signs, either.  I agree the rust patina is not what I expected, and I don't like the white backing.  I'd like to see it removed, as it didn't exist in the photoshopped advance advertisement, or if that can't happen, then concealed from the back of the signs with plantings, as Mr Miller suggested.  But if I had been at the 5/5/15 meeting, and if these issues had struck me then as they do now, it appears I would have been outvoted.  Three, if not four, of my Commission colleagues appear to like the signs very much.  So did the landscape architect, the Village's Art Advisory Board, and the Village's Parks and Parkways Board.  No non-Commissioner residents at the meeting complained, and none of the people who might watch the meetings on video contacted anyone to register disapproval.

But what do you think of these signs?  Have you seen them?  If you don't like them, do you have any thoughts about what you'd like to see done with them?  I don't know enough about CorTen steel to know if it can be sanded, primed, and painted.  If it could, and you don't like the rust patina--if it doesn't invoke "rustic charm" for you-- would you like to have it treated this way?  What about the white backing, to show off the cut out letters?  Are you good with that, assuming it gets hidden by plantings behind the sign?