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Sunken Gardens copying an original
By JANEL STEPHENS
What happened? "Everybody keeps asking that question," said Lee McKinney, project manager for the Sunken Gardens restoration project. "You wouldn't believe how many people stopped by and asked why they took it down." The city pulled down the sign to restore it. But work had just begun when specialists determined the sign was beyond salvation. Instead, a new one will be built to look like the sign did in 1961. The work should be done in two weeks. The sign will still say "Beautiful Sunken Gardens," but it will also sport pink, green and yellow neon -- flowers and starry, stylized palm trees -- that light up the night, a look it hasn't had in years. "As soon as we started to take the sign apart it was falling off the poles," said Paul Nucci, president of Commercial Graphics and Signs, the St. Petersburg company hired to fix up the sign, which was dismantled right after Christmas. "It had a tremendous amount of insect residue and bird droppings. Just its general conditions ... we decided it would be better to start with newer pieces that are safe and environmentally friendly," said Nucci, pointing out that the neon lights will replace old lamps that contained mercury. Some old sign parts were saved and used as templates. Others were scrapped and recycled. What's left of the original sign are the poles and footers that kept it firm for decades. The project will cost just under $18,000, Nucci said. Discussion to refurbish the sign came about after City Council member Virginia Littrell, a longtime preservationist, heard the sign would be taken down and replaced not with a replica, but with a completely new sign, one that was smaller and shorter and conformed to current rules. "The Sunken Gardens is a part of our history because of its roadside attraction, and that sign is particular to that kind of roadside attraction," Littrell said. After doing some research, Littrell discovered that the sign was left out of the legal description that designated Sunken Gardens as a historical landmark. That makes the restoration a goodwill project for the city, Littrell said. "In retrospect, it was the best option," said Raul Quintana, city project manager. The Environmental Developmental Commission approved a variance to let the new sign retain its old size and height and to include references to Great Explorations, Hands-On Museum, which will be a tenant in the newly refurbished building along with Carrabba's. Some say the sign, indicative to the 1960s roadside attraction era, will look odd with the newly restored 1926 Mediterranean-style building. "It's going to look out of place," said McKinney, the restoration project manager. "The sign is going to look newer than the building." Littrell disagrees. "I don't think it necessarily has to match the 1920s facade of the building," said Littrell. The installation of brown stonelike material on the building that will house Carrabba's and the Great Explorations children's museum raised questions this week in the minds of some passers-by. Was this some sort of concession to the Italian-themed restaurant chain after city staffers had insisted they wouldn't let the chain modify the outside of the building? Preservation architect Steve Johnson says no. "That's based on original design," he said of the precast concrete pieces being installed around doorways, the base of the building and as cornices. "There are a couple of different pictures. In some, it is lighter." Johnson said leaders of the project are discussing whether to paint the concrete a lighter color that might match the yellow stucco and white trim better. -- Times staff writer Bryan Gilmer contributed to this report.
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