The best show in town at midmorning Monday --- at least on the Chariton square --- was provided when a crew and trucks from Nesper Sign Advertising Co. of Cedar Rapids pulled up and situated themselves at the northeast corner in order to remove the landmark "Hotel Charitone" sign, then carry it away for a lighting upgrade.
The sign is expected to return to Chariton in a couple of weeks for reinstallation and relighting.
A big sign --- this version and a predecessor --- has been a feature of the square since March of 1931 when the original was added to the hotel building, constructed during 1923.
During September of 2012, when the Charitone was being restored from top to bottom, the sign was removed and restored, too, then reinstalled and relighted on Nov. 29, 2013.
That restoration involved renewal of the original fluorescent lighting, authentic but problematic. The system has been subject to break-downs, both annoying and extremely expensive --- at $2,500 or so per house call --- when a specialist is called in.
Nesper Sign will replace the fluorescent system with an LED system expected to provide the same "look" but more durability and more energy efficiency.
Nesper used the same technique last year when it repaired, restored and upgraded the landmark Quaker Oats Co. sign in downtown Cedar Rapids, damaged during the August 2020 Derecho.
So if you're on the square during the next couple of weeks and start wondering where the big sign has gone to, rest easy --- it's spending spring break in Cedar Rapids.
No comments:
Post a Comment