Construction of eight classic-car-themed Route 66 signs will begin within the next two weeks in Barstow, California.
The Desert Dispatch newspaper reported the signs will place vehicles popular on Route 66 during the 1950s through the 1970s on a masonry base.
The seven-foot-tall signs will light at night, using solar energy.
The newspaper reported:
“We are hoping that this will stimulate additional commercial development along the street,” Economic Development and Planning Manager Gaither Loewenstein told the Planning Commission on Monday.
The project will cost the city $111,360.
Don’t expect to see all the signs up if you travel to Barstow in mid-November, because each will be built one at a time. The report gave no timetable on the completion.
The signs are part of a plan approved earlier this summer for Barstow’s Route 66 corridor — including 1950s color schemes — to encourage businesses to be more attractive to Route 66 tourists.
Colors in the plan include 1950s hues such as aqua blue, grass green, hot-rod red, lemon yellow, dusk blue, flamingo pink, sunset orange, toast brown, turquoise, avocado green and stone gray. The plan also encourages historic preservation where applicable.
The plan suggests retro-themed new signs, Googie architecture, old-school facades, more public art, and drought-tolerant trees to bring shade from the desert sun for pedestrians.
The entire report may be read here.
(Image of the Barstow Route 66 signs via the city of Barstow)
Nice!