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Board: County to remake Romero Cabin homestead sign after LANL steps back from sign design
Summary
The Historic Preservation Advisory Board was told that two Romero Cabin signs removed during an urban-trail project will be replaced; Los Alamos National Laboratory told the county it views preservation, interpretation and public access as meeting its memorandum of agreement requirements and will support the county’s approach. The board will consult LANL and county staff on content and consider collaborating with the Art & Public Places board on site-level art.
Carrie Gregory, co-chair of the Historic Preservation Advisory Board, told members on Nov. 5 that two homestead signs at Romero Cabin taken down during an urban-trail project will be replaced and that the county plans to remake one Romero Cabin sign while consulting Los Alamos National Laboratory on content and images.
Gregory said a memorandum of agreement connected to the cabin’s move requires preservation, maintenance, interpretation and public access but does not specify the number, design or ownership of interpretive signs. “The laboratory’s position was that as long as Romero Cabin is preserved, maintained, interpreted, and open for public access, that the intent and stipulations of the memorandum of agreement are being met,” Gregory said.
Board members discussed timing and design. Gregory said the county delayed sign work while the urban-trail project was underway but now is moving into content design; Leslie Buckland, the county’s assistant public information officer, and Ellen Felton, marketing specialist in community development, are expected to consult on sign content and branding. LANL will make available images used on the previous sign for county reuse, Gregory said.
Mary Buckler, a member of the Art and Public Places board, described a working group that surveyed neighbors around a potential public-art site and found mixed support; she said the APP board favors smaller, site-specific artworks that reference homesteaders rather than large installations. “The feedback we got back from that neighborhood was very much a thumbs down,” Buckler said, explaining the neighborhood’s preference for maintaining wilder open space.
The board agreed it would be useful to hear a county update in the winter and asked staff to invite Leslie Buckland and Ellen Felton to present possible interpretive strategies and sign mock-ups; Gregory said she will share Buckland’s contact information and work with the liaison to add an update to an upcoming meeting agenda. The board also discussed outreach to homestead families and local oral-history sources to inform interpretive content.
Next steps: the county will proceed with content design, consult LANL on move details and image reuse, and present sign proposals to the board in a future meeting so members can provide input before final installation.
