Charleston Plans Welcome Sign
The story below appeared in yesterday’s Charleston Gazette.
By Jim Balow
Eighteen feet tall and about 40 feet long, the new sign along Greenbrier Street will be pretty hard to miss. And that’s exactly the point.
The “gateway” sign, which will spell out “City of Charleston” in letters up to 30 inches high, is intended to welcome visitors to the capital city. And in case anyone might think they’re near the ocean, the sign adds the words “West Virginia.”
If all goes well — designers are in final safety negotiations with the state Division of Highways — the sign could be erected this fall.
“The city of Charleston and the Charleston Area Alliance identified this as one of the major gateways into the Charleston,” said David Gilmore, land development services manager with GAI Consultants. “That’s where we have visitors coming into the city, especially from the airport.”
Gilmore got the design job about two months ago. His firm has gained a high profile around town lately as the prime civil, structural and architectural consultants on the riverfront projects — the canopy and stage at Haddad Park, the nearly completed overlook and canopy at the foot of Court Street and the soon-to-be-built floating boat dock.
“The assignment was to design a gateway that was iconic, that used natural regional materials identifiable to the area that kind of harked back to the area’s history. We wanted something simple and attractive, not something you’d see in other towns.
“The other requirement was to design something that could be scaled down to be used at other places around the city.”
Except for a few details, Gilmore’s work is nearly done. “It’s been approved by all the parties involved. We’re wrapping up some final decisions on material choices with the Department of Highways. We’re working with them to get final signoff on the materials.”
Gilmore’s original concept called for a steel beam, about 40 feet long, 18 inches high and a foot wide, running parallel to the road. DOH officials thought the beam could create a hazard if a vehicle ran off the road, so he’s come up with alternatives.
“Some sort of lightweight material — a thinner-gauge metal, like aluminum,” he said.
The uphill end will be anchored in a mound of boulders. The other will be supported by a stone monument, 18 feet tall. “It will be cut stone, sandstone, in an ashlar pattern typical to that seen in buildings around town.”
The broad side of the monument, facing motorists heading toward town, will feature the city’s wayfinding logo, with a blue river sweeping past a gold dome, water-etched into stone.
For safety’s sake, the entire sign will be set back about 50 feet from the edge of the road.
“There will be attractive landscaping through the greenspace, with meandering beds,” Gilmore said. “It will be uplit at night.”
Planning for the project began at least three years ago, when people on four different city groups recognized the need for welcoming signs at city gateways, said Susie Salisbury, a city councilwoman and vice president of the Charleston Area Alliance.
Interested members of the Alliance, Wayfinding Commission, Beautification Commission and Charleston Land Trust formed a task force and have been meeting ever since, she said.
“We all decided the first [sign] should go along Greenbrier Street. We then put out a request for qualifications to pick a designer.”
Of several alternatives Gilmore submitted, task force members overwhelmingly chose the beam and monument design, she said. “The others looked like something you’d see somewhere else.”
The group unveiled the preferred design to other members of the four groups on June 30 and Wayfinding members, who have official say on outdoor signage, approved it last week, Salisbury said.
With three state community participation grants and some Wayfinding funds, the group has raised $40,000 for the project. “That has to include design. We don’t know if that’s going to be adequate. If it comes in under, we’ll be able to go on to our second site,” Salisburg said.
“We’ll get our cost estimates done, then see if we have to raise more money.”
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