Steve Paulken, city manager for Winslow, Arizona, sent these photos of the old Moore’s Pawn & Trading sign along Route 66 in town being refurbished, thanks in part to a city program.
Paulken wrote in an email:
This sign has been here for over 30 years, but in recent years has been unused and totally faded out. I contacted the owner, Sid Moore, and explained the City’s program that financially assists business owners up to $500 to renovate old signs and storefronts. Sid hired a contractor and had the sign painted this week. While not the original design, it goes a long way toward sprucing up the image of the Mother Road through Winslow.
The photo below shows the contractor repainting the sign:
And the finished product:
The cities of Albuquerque and Tulsa also have assistance programs for business owners wanting to restore old signs.
Municipalities should encourage business owners to restore signs to the original look as much as possible. But barring that, this seems like a more than acceptable compromise.
(Images courtesy fo Steve Paulken)