The artistic signs on vintage lampposts are part of a plan to bring an upscale atmosphere to downtown, planners say.
By TERRI D. REEVES
Published June 21, 2004
CLEARWATER - They are black and tan and will be read all over.
Beginning next week, 50 new directional signs will be erected throughout the downtown area to help visitors and residents locate City Hall, Coachman Park, Harborview Center, the fishing pier, the post office, the beach, the new main library and other places of interest.
The signage project should take about four months to complete, said Reginald Owens, director of economic development and housing for the city.
"The signs are very attractive and the colors are uniquely designed for the downtown core," he said. "We have the potential to attract over 700 town homes and condominiums to the downtown area over the next five years and we want it to look pedestrian-friendly, upscale and sophisticated."
The new signs, beige with scarlet and black edging, will replace the existing blue and white city of Clearwater signs in downtown. They will be attached to black, vintage-style lampposts with round decorative finials and cast aluminum scrollwork.
They will vary in height and size according to location. Some will be supported between two lampposts. Twenty will have temporary directions and will be revised when appropriate, to indicate such things as road closures and the completion of the Memorial Causeway bridge.
Twenty-seven will have smaller framed decorative glyphs attached on one side to help people with designated meeting spots. The vignette designs include a sea turtle, jazz trumpet, sunset, sailboat, heron, dolphin and saxophone. Some designs will be repetitive.
All signs will have a black and rose-pink diamond-shaped icon, a graphic design unique to downtown.
Bandes Construction Co. of Dunedin was hired to make and install the signs at a cost of $569,000. The biggest chunk of that money - $535,000 - will come from a federal community development block grant.
The signage is part of the $5-million streetscape program for Cleveland Street, which has been delayed because of problems with the new Memorial Causeway Bridge. The Cleveland Street makeover, from Myrtle Street to Osceola Avenue, is scheduled to begin near the end of 2005 and should take about 14 months to complete, Owens said.
