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Downtown groups urge Glenview trustees to restore historic Patio Shops sign
Summary
Friends of Downtown Glenview, the Chamber and the History Center urged trustees to reverse a prior decision to store the 70-year-old Patio Shops sign and instead restore and reinstall it as part of a new parking-lot plan; speakers offered fundraising help and said preservation links Glenview's history to downtown redevelopment.
Multiple downtown advocates urged the Glenview board to reconsider a prior decision to remove and store the historic Patio Shops sign and instead restore and reinstall it in the new downtown parking lot.
Speakers from the Friends of Downtown Glenview, the History Center and the Chamber of Commerce told trustees the sign serves as an iconic link between Glenview's past and the new downtown. Kaye Laurie summarized the staff recommendation presented at a July meeting that had supported removing, restoring and reinstalling the sign as part of a parking-lot landscape plan; she said trustees instead voted to mothball the sign in storage and asked the board to revisit the decision.
Jeff Zay and James Carroll emphasized the sign's landmark recognition (Landmarks Illinois) and called the estimated restoration cost (about $45,000) modest relative to downtown investments; Carroll said the Friends of Downtown is prepared to run a capital campaign if the board agrees to reinstall the sign. Megan Carney, executive director of the Glenview Chamber, urged preservation as part of the village's identity and branding work.
No board action was taken tonight; trustees did not place the sign restoration on this meeting's consent or new-business items and made no motion to reverse the prior storage decision. Speakers asked staff and trustees to schedule the issue for board consideration consistent with earlier staff recommendations and with the forthcoming brand-development work.
