Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Historic Signage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Advisory board asks Museum of African‑American History to trim branding from Five Corners sign
Summary
The HDC Sign Advisory Council recommended holding the museum’s proposal for the Five Corners freestanding sign for revisions, citing concerns about logo size, the inclusion of "Boston/Nantucket" wording and the commercial look of the blade; the museum said the design matches its established branding.
The HDC Sign Advisory Council recommended on April 28 that the Museum of African‑American History’s proposed replacement sign at 29 York Street be held for revisions and sent to the full Historic District Commission for final review.
Chair Chris Young opened the discussion after Marca (the applicant’s representative) described a freestanding, grandfathered sign that largely reuses existing posts and reduces the height by about an inch. Marca said the letters would be carved rather than painted and that the museum’s current logo is used throughout its media. Alexia Lane, director of development and communications for the Museum of African‑American History (Boston and Nantucket), said the museum intends the sign to identify the Nantucket campus and its five buildings rather than a single structure.
Several advisory members said they were sympathetic to restoring a historic sign but raised objections to the proposed prominence of the museum logo and the inclusion of the words referencing Boston and Nantucket. Commissioner Paul Wolf said, “I don't believe the Boston Nantucket words need to be on there.” Mark Catone and others called for a finished border or molding to frame the blade and lower the visual impression of branding; Kevin Kuster defended carved lettering but urged caution about changing the historic character.
After a procedural discussion about whether a motion to request revisions should be detailed for the full HDC, the advisory board voted to recommend that the museum revise the design to reduce or de‑emphasize the logo, reconsider the use of “Boston/Nantucket” on the sign face, and add a framed edge or molding. The board’s recommendation will be included in the agenda materials for the HDC meeting later the same day; the applicant indicated she may still appear before the full board regardless.
The committee’s deliberations emphasized precedent: members said a prominent branded logo on a freestanding, grandfathered sign in a residential/historic setting could lead to similar requests from other nonprofits or businesses. The advisory board’s motion does not prevent the museum from pursuing its design at the full HDC meeting, but the committee asked staff to place the museum application off consent so the full commission can consider the advisory comments.
Next steps: the advisory board’s recommendation will go to the full Historic District Commission for a vote; the museum may submit revised artwork or present unchanged materials to the HDC.
