CHICAGO — Chicago alderpeople backed a preservation ordinance Wednesday to preserve the city’s vintage signs as historic landmarks.
The City Council voted Wednesday in favor of the measure to protect commercial signs that are at least 30 years old and have “significant iconic or cultural value,” subject to a city review.
Previously, such signs were vulnerable to being torn down or whitewashed if the property owner let their city permit expire.
The legislation was crafted by Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) and Mayor Brandon Johnson, and borne out of an effort to save the Grace’s Furniture sign in Logan Square.
Developers Blue Star Properties and Marc Realty plan to redevelop the old furniture store building at 2616-18 N. Milwaukee Ave. into a mixed-use project with the Logan Square Athletic Club as its anchor tenant.
The building’s neon sign, which has hung over Milwaukee Avenue for at least 70 years, was in danger of being removed as part of the redevelopment project. The city recommended the sign be torn down because the previous property owner didn’t renew their permit.
Ramirez-Rosa and Logan Square Preservation president Andrew Schneider appealed to the city for help, finding that many other developers and property owners were running into the same problem.
“In the end, it’s about providing small business owners with more options around signage,” Ramirez-Rosa said in June. “So many of our vintage signs are iconic of our neighborhoods, and it’s a travesty when we lose them, so this provides an avenue to preserve them for years to come.”
The sign ordinance also applies to murals and painted “ghost signs” around the city.
Last year, the owners of Memo’s Hot Dogs in Pilsen were temporarily unable to renew their business license because a mural featuring a hot dog on the side of the building was deemed a public way advertisement.
The legislation “allows for more artistic murals and options for small businesses to decorate,” Ramirez-Rosa said.
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