Concord Sign Museum Preserves Memories

BY TAMMY ROSE

“I don’t know if this one will make it,” says Billy Crosby, evaluating the badly deteriorated old Tourist Info sign that hung for decades outside the old Visitor Center. “They painted directly onto untreated plywood, so it’s flaking. The seal sticker is peeling. And look at how they tried to fix the lettering!” He shakes his head. Anything that does not make it to the display hallways still has no fear of the dumpster. Billy’s not about to toss any of it. “Someday I might do a hall of ‘Frauds’,” referring to signs so badly deteriorated that he has to stabilize them so they can hang in the museum. The gentle wear and tear of the handpainted signs reflects not only the patina of weather but also the quality of the original construction and he wants to be fully transparent about their condition. His main job for the past 40 plus years has been to create and refresh the signs around town. Anytime a Concord business closes, his creations will usually find a way back to his own collection. And now that collection has formed the bulk of the new Concord Sign Museum.

Billy Crosby contemplating the old Tourist Info sign for Visitor Center

Original location of Tourist Info sign in front of old Visitor Center

Some owners want particular colors, but Billy is the consultant to remind them that the signs need to be read from the street. Decades ago, when Friendlys on the corner of Sudbury & Thoreau Streets was being replaced by Dunkin Donuts, Guy DiGiovanni wouldn’t give it a lease unless he could approve the signage. He picked colors for the letters and the background that were literally almost the same color, not giving enough visual contrast to even be legible. Like any good signmaker, Billy created raised lettering and tweaked the colors slightly. The store has recently been remodeled and the corporate pink and orange logo is back, but the video of Billy talking about the famous beige on beige sign can be seen on the museum’s website, concordsignmuseum.com.

In the decades before computers made everyone familiar with the notion of a font, consistent lettering was created by an artist’s hand. Before Billy, Charlie Mogan was the Concord sign painter in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of his work is signed, other pieces can be identified by his distinctive use of “gold leaf and a classic look.” In the Museum, the current arrangement is informal, everywhere they will fit, taken completely out of their native context. They certainly hold their own as objects of art.

If you have grown up in town, like John Boynton, the other founder of the museum, you can point to the photography studio where your family went for their portraits when you were a kid, like Anderson Photo. Or a sign might trigger a funny memory from when you were a teenager about a town trend. The House of Good Spirits (HOGS) once was where Concord Provisions is now on Thoreau St. “When I was in high school, this was the Concord Package Store (aka a “packie” or liquor store). They had t-shirts that said HOGS. Lots of high school kids wore HOGS shirts around. I hadn’t thought of it for years. Oh my god, I had that t-shirt!” John says with a laugh, knowing that other locals his age share the in-joke.

John was the one to connect the dots to make the Concord Sign Museum happen, aware that these artifacts were community treasures. Coming from generations of real estate businesses and builders in Concord, he had amassed a modest collection of signs himself, knowing that they were the last representation of a business before it moved, changed logos or names, or just plain closed. Being so involved in the local business community, he also wanted to create a way to honor the neighborhood institutions as well as the locals who shopped or worked there. He lights up when he shows off a video he did of a daughter and father dropping off a sign for donation.

Since opening to the public on September 15, 2021, with 60 signs, more have been added. Most date from after World War II and are part of living memory. There are plans to post QR codes next to the signs; each has its own page on the main website. The ultimate goal is to create a crowdsourced repository of memories for today and for future generations, including pictures and videos.

The signs for the Toy Shop and the West Concord 5&10 are in the Museum; both shops have closed recently during Covid, but not directly because of it. The sight of them in a new context feels like a bit of a surprise. Like old familiar friends, they seem comfortable in their new home, no longer announcing an actual brick and mortar store, but still signifiers of more than anything a building could contain.

Tammy Rose is the founder of Transcendental Concord.com, a community platform which celebrates Concord’s history and literature and the people who keep them both alive.

SOURCES

Crosby Design Inc crosbydesign.com

Bradford Mill bradfordmill.com

Toy Shop bostonglobe.com/2020/07/09/ metro/toy-shop-concord-willclose-end-month/ Closed 7/31/2020 after 78 years

West Concord 5&10 wickedlocal.com/story/ concord-journal/2020/07/15/ changing-of-times-west-concord5amp10-closing-debs-planningexpansion/114659878/ Closed Jan of 2021 after 70 years

Guy DiGiovanni interview: concordlibrary.org/uploads/ scollect/OH_Texts/DiGiovanni.html

Anderson Photo concord.wickedlocal.com/ x1130688382/COMMENTARYAnderson-family-s-photospreserve-Concord-s-history. Closed in 2010 after more than 60 years

LOGISTICS

Concord Sign Museum is located off the beaten path, literally. Take a turn off Commonwealth Ave in West Concord onto Bradford St and you’ll enter the Bradford Mill complex. Drive past the three buildings which once housed the Allen Chair Company and are now full of coworking spaces, design firms, and art studios. The entrance is in the very back, between the smokestack and the commuter rail tracks.

The museum can be visited online at concordsignmuseum.com or in person between 9am and 5pm. The building has an elevator for easy accessibility. Tours are selfguided; explore the building by following the signs that are displayed in the lobby, up the staircase, winding around the hallways and up a few stairs onto the outside deck. Admission is free. If you have a memory to share, go to the website and contribute your story. Bonus points for videos that document a genuine Concord accent! And if you happen to have an old Concord sign in the attic or garage, the museum is eager to grow the collection and might take them as a donation or even on loan. For walking tours of West Concord which start at the Sign Museum, go to visitconcord.org.