Georgetown City Council approved the design for historic district signs at its June 14 meeting.[/caption]Georgetown City Council approved the designs for new signs in the Downtown and Old Town Overlay districts, including new street signs, during its June 14 meeting.
“Staff has been looking at some ideas for some signage that would differentiate the districts from any signage that is throughout the rest of the city to help with tourism,” Georgetown Historic Planner Matt Synatschk said. “It can really do something to enhance our historic districts. We put a lot of time and effort into making sure our districts look good and preserve our historic properties. So it would be another enhancement.”
Georgetown City Council approved the design for historic district signs at its June 14 meeting.[/caption]Synatschk said 512 street signs throughout both districts will be replaced and sixteen National Register of Historic Places Districts signs will be placed at the entrances of the city’s four NRHP districts—the Belford, Olive Street, University-Elm and Williamson County Courthouse districts.
Synatschk said a possible fifth district in the southwest corner of the downtown overlay district at Forest Street is being reviewed the state and the National Parks Service.
The signs architectural details reflects the architecture of the downtown area and feature a red poppy in the design, Synatschk said.
Funding for the sign replacements was included in the city’s 2014-15 Fiscal Year budget, and $5,000 from the downtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which is used to fund public improvements in the downtown area, will also be used to pay for the project.
Synatschk said the project could be completed within 120 days.
City Council Member Rachael Jonrowe said she has seen other cities, including Fredericksburg, that have used a similar technique to draw attention to their historic districts.
“I think these look really nice,” she said. “I think this [design] is keeping with the historic nature of the downtown.”
The signs were designed by Georgetown-based graphic design company Graphismo.
