By BOB OLIVER
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — The Dearborn Historical Museum is ready to bring a proposal to the city to have a larger sign installed at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Brady Street.
Chief Curator Jack Tate said a bigger sign for the museum complex on Brady is something the museum has considered for some time, but the public stepped in and really brought the issue to the fore.
“We were contacted by someone who wished to remain anonymous that offered to match up to $500 in donations toward a sign, so we started a ‘Raise the Sign’ campaign on Facebook and we were able to get that and a little more,” Tate said. “We got a tremendous response from people and we’re really grateful for it.”
Tate said he plans to take the sign design to Mayor John O’Reilly Jr. and the city administration in the next two weeks and if approved the sign would be put up as quickly as possible.
The sign would be non-permanent, roughly 4 feet by 8 feet and would be divided into three sections. The top would have the name of the museum and an arrow pointing toward the complex, the middle would be used for highlighting upcoming events, and the bottom would be dedicated to the sponsors who paid for the sign.
Currently, the museum has a small sign with an arrow on a post at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Brady letting people know that the museum is nearby, but Tate said a bigger sign would be better.
“There are thousands of cars going by every day at 45 mph and 95 percent of those people may not know that the museum is there,” Tate said. “The sign would be big enough for drivers to read and we could post upcoming events on there to get the word out.”
The property where the sign will sit is owned by the city and was previously the site of the Fairlane Inn and then Quality Inn before being demolished in 2010.
The lot has remained empty since and Tate said the city has not announced any plans for development of it.
Tate said any extra donated funds would be put toward repairing existing signs at the Commandant’s Quarters, 21950 Michigan Ave.
(Bob Oliver can be reached at [email protected].)