An artist’s rendering shows the 8-foot-tall sign that will be placed in Harmony Park as part of a downtown Arlington Heights branding campaign.
Courtesy of Village of Arlington Heights
It’s not the Picasso or The Bean, but a new public art sculpture coming to downtown Arlington Heights is already eliciting varied reactions.
An 8-foot-tall sign feature with the letters “DtA” will be placed in Harmony Park at Vail Avenue and Campbell Street next spring as part of a village plan to brand and enhance the downtown streetscape.
The abbreviation — which stands for “downtown Arlington Heights” — is what the kids say, according to an admittedly unscientific focus group of village staff members’ children.
“We want something that’s easily hashtagged,” said Village Manager Randy Recklaus, who envisions the sculpture becoming an “Instagrammable spot” for young people to take and post pictures on social media. “That’s the language of people of a certain age these days and how they express themselves.”
And though village board members agreed to spend $84,000 for the brushed stainless steel sign, they had opinions of their own before taking a vote earlier this week.
“The little kids … are going to love it. They’re going to climb through the ‘D’ and crawl under the ‘A,’” said Trustee Robin LaBedz. “I can see this as being very playful, even though it also strikes me as a little weird.”
Added Trustee Scott Shirley: “I think it could catch on. … It’s not me, but it’s fine.”
Trustee Jim Bertucci, who lives in a downtown condo, pulled the sign contract off the consent agenda and initially planned to vote against it, having conducted his own informal poll.
“Dare I say there’s a lot of us gray hair down there and spend money in the restaurants, and I know that they’re going to be saying, ‘What the heck is DtA?’” he said.
Bertucci later said he was more comfortable with the branding effort, which was endorsed by the Downtown Arlington Heights Business Association and mirrors the group’s own new logo. But at least the public board discussion helped residents see “how the sausage is made and what the sausage costs,” Bertucci said.
The village is paying $71,000 for another sign that spells “Arlington Heights” in 3½-foot-tall letters, which will be placed atop the existing stone wall that encircles the clock tower at Northwest Highway and Arlington Heights Road.
Letters spelling “Arlington Heights” will be placed at Clock Tower Plaza at Northwest Highway and Arlington Heights Road, as shown in this sketch.
Courtesy of Village of Arlington Heights
Charles Witherington-Perkins, the village’s director of planning and community development, noted nearly 30,000 vehicles drive by that plaza every day. He said the signage would enhance the downtown entertainment district and keep Arlington Heights on the “cutting edge.”
Trustees viewed artist’s renderings of both signs this week, but shop drawings are set to be approved early next year before fabrication and installation by Racine, Wisconsin-based Michael’s Signs in the spring.