Preserving Historic Signs

Signs for Bull Durham Tobacco once covered walls all over the country. Photo: Jack E. Boucher, HABS, NPS.

Historic signs can contribute to the character of buildings and districts. They can also be valued in themselves, quite apart from the buildings to which they may be attached. However, any program to preserve historic signs must recognize the challenges they present. These challenges are not for the most part technical. Sign preservation is more likely to involve aesthetic concerns and to generate community debate. Added to these concerns are several community goals that often appear to conflict: retaining diverse elements from the past, encouraging artistic expression in new signs, zoning for aesthetic concerns, and reconciling business requirements with preservation.

Preserving historic signs is not always easy. But the intrinsic merit of many signs, as well as their contribution to the overall character of a place, make the effort worthwhile. Observing the guidelines given below can help preserve both business and history.

Retaining Historic Signs

Retain historic signs whenever possible, particularly when they are:

• associated with historic figures, events or places.

• significant as evidence of the history of the product, business or service advertised.

• significant as reflecting the history of the building or the development of the historic district. A sign may be the only indicator of a building's historic use.

• characteristic of a specific historic period, such as gold leaf on glass, neon, or stainless steel lettering.

• integral to the building's design or physical fabric, as when a sign is part of a storefront made of Carrara glass or enamel panels, or when the name of the historic firm or the date are rendered in stone, metal or tile. In such cases, removal can harm the integrity of a historic property's design, or cause significant damage to its materials.

• outstanding examples of the signmaker's art, whether because of their excellent craftsmanship, use of materials, or design.

• local landmarks, that is, signs recognized as popular focal points in a community.

• elements important in defining the character of a district, such as marquees in a theater district.