ASHLAND – If you’ve driven on East Main Street in the past few days, you likely noticed a new addition to the city’s landscape – a large stainless steel “A” at the intersection of U.S. 250 and U.S. 42.
The sign is one of three that will welcome visitors to Ashland. Two were recently installed at U.S. 250 and U.S. 42 and at Ohio 60 and Ohio 511 on the south side. A sign planned to be placed at U.S. 42 near the WNCO radio station on the west side has not yet been installed.
The new landmarks, which are the final piece of the 2015 Ashland Bicentennial Celebration, feature the Ashland logo that was adopted in 2014 crafted from stainless steel and mounted on a concrete foundation with “Ashland” on the foundation.
“We got a lot of community support for the sign project,” said Kim Spreng, co-chair of the Ashland Bicentennial Committee.
Sandra Tunnell, executive director of Ashland Main Street, said that the sign project started several years ago as a way to highlight the entry corridors to Ashland.
“We have so much to be proud of in Ashland and we should let visitors and residents know that from the minute they get here,” Tunnell said.
Schoonover Industries of Ashland created the 10-feet high by 10-feet wide signs out of 304 stainless steel, each sign taking a little over a week to make. The “Ashland” letters on the base are each 12 inches tall.
“The three different sections are each a little over 3 inches deep to give it a more 3-dimensional appearance,” said Schoonover CEO Mike Hauenstein.
The Bicentennial Sign Committee was made up of Hauenstein, Jen Hunt, Carrie Stewart, Spreng, Amy Daubenspeck, Matt Miller and Mark Burgess. The committee formed in 2014 and started the process of creating a design for the signs and finding locations to place them.
John Sidle with A&M Fire Equipment and Mike Mowry of Mowry Construction completed the drawing and design work for the signs. Employees of Enterprise Parkway Leasing installed the markers.
The Ashland logo was created in 2013-2014 after the Ashland Area Convention & Visitors Bureau realized a new design was needed to reflect Ashland’s identity. Several marketing and creative professionals in Ashland came together pro-bono to craft the new Ashland logo.
“The end result was a clarified, authentic, and exciting public representation of what Ashland is and where it is headed,” said Daubenspeck, executive director of the AACVB.
The new logo was presented to Ashland City Council in July 2014.
Jim Cutright, executive director of the Ashland County Community Foundation, said the signs have been funded entirely from private donations, with no tax dollars being used. The ACCF channeled the donation as a grant to Ashland Main Street through its Innovation Fund, a donor-advised component fund of the ACCF.
“Our Innovation Fund donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, desires to simply create an inviting entry experience to those that choose to visit Ashland, or may be considering doing business in the community. Additionally, the hope is that others, with a similar vision for Ashland, might be inspired to think innovatively, encouraging further economic development in the city,” Cutright said.
