Sign Restoration & Repair - Boulder, Colorado

We value historical preservation. We will remove your sign with care, assess the current situation, provide historical documentation and service your sign. We stay as close to the original as possible.

Below is an article about our work from the Boulder County Business Report.

Holiday Sign Restoration

Historic drive-in theater sign restored to lead way to Holiday Neighborhood

BOULDER - Some neighborhoods have plaques that display their name. But maybe only a few, like the Holiday Neighborhood in North Boulder, have a 24-foot, historic drive-in theater sign.

William Hayes, owner of Supersign Inc. in Boulder, was hired to restore the Holiday Drive-In sign because of its history and its ability to capture the identity of the Holiday Neighborhood.

"Just about everybody in Boulder knows where this sign is located, Hayes said. "People used to take their date out to the drive-in. Fixing this sign is a sense of pride for us."

The sign was constructed 1956 in a "futuristic googie" style and was originally located on 28th Street at Pennsylvania Avenue in Boulder . In 1969, it was moved to its current location at 28th Street and U.S. Highway 36. The sign was used at the drive-in twin screen from 1969 through 1988.

Boulder Housing Partners is the site planner and developer of the Holiday Neighborhood and initiated the restoration of the Holiday Drive-In marquee. It submitted the grant proposal to the State Historical Fund with the intention of transferring the ownership of the sign and other public use land to the Holiday Neighborhood Homeowners Association after the project was completed.

The grant totaled $24,500 and required a 25 percent cash match from Boulder Housing Partners. The total cost of the project including the site-final electrical connection was $33,000.

"We provided $10,000 for this sign, which was part of the plan for a vibrant and interesting neighborhood," said Cindy Brown, co-executive director of development for Boulder Housing Partners. "The project cost a little more than we thought originally."

In 2003 the Landmark Preservation Advisory Board determined the sign qualified as a historical landmark.

After the grant was accepted, the bidding for companies to restore the sign started in 2001. Supersign Inc. won the bid in 2003. The next step was to gain the correct permits from the city of Boulder , which took an additional two years.

With its size - 24 feet long and 5 feet high - as well as flashing lights and neon lettering, the Holiday Drive-In sign "pretty much breaks every rule in the book," according to Hayes.

The sign had not been operational since 1988 when the drive-in closed. After Hayes completed the site survey, his team was ready to take the sign down and see how it was put together.

They took off the face and found two great horned owls. These owls are a protected species, and Supersign Inc. was informed by the city of Boulder 's Mountain Parks and Open Space Department that all work needed to immediately stop until the chicks were ready to leave the nest. This took more that 10 weeks.

"This was a state-funded project and could not go past the deadline," said Hayes. "The sign was a total mess filled with five feet of bird droppings."

It took four weeks to restore the sign to working order. Repairs included fixing electrical equipment manufactured as far back as 1935, rewiring and troubleshooting mechanical problems. After the sign was fully functional, it needed to be moved 80 feet north of its previous location, which required new holes and steel pylons.

Supersign Inc. has been in operation since 1970. Hayes purchased the business April 1. It is a full-service sign company that creates everything from small digital prints, such as bumper stickers, to large signs on building exteriors. Its job prices range from $5 to $70,000 and clients include Elevations Credit Union, The W.W. Reynolds Companies and Colorado Group Realty.

"I think the sign is a wonderful, beautiful historic sign and a unique asset to the neighborhood," said Aaron Brockett, president of the Holiday Neighborhood Homeowners Association. "The sign also offers a way to announce neighborhood events. We are currently working to get lettering on the sign where the name of the movie playing would have been posted."

The homeowners association controls the six days per year the sign can be lit. It intends to have outdoor movies in the park during the summers starting in 2007 on a permanent artistic screen structure.

"It was a vision when we started, and you don't understand all of the steps it will take to complete," Brown said. "Seeing all of the family enjoying the lighting ceremony was the most satisfying reward."

Source: Boulder County Business Report
Author: Jennifer Quinn
08/18/2006