New signage would brighten up downtown

If you look at older photos of downtown Corbin, businesses up and down Main Street have signs extending out from the building extending over the sidewalks.

Dean Manning is sports editor of the News Journal.

Many of these signs were lighted so the businesses were visible day or night.

Florsheim shoes, Dyche Drugs, Corbin Deposit Bank, and the Hippodrome Theater were among those visible in the pictures I saw.

When downtown Corbin died, the signs had mostly disappeared.

With the resurgence of downtown, Andy Salmons remodeled the former Cottongim Pharmacy location at the corner of Third and Main, turning it into You and Me, Coffee and Tea. One opportunity that Salmons took advantage of with the location was that the Cottongim Pharmacy sign that came out from the corner of the building, was still in place.

Salmons had the sign redone to advertise his new coffee shop. Salmons has since sold the business. It was hard to miss the sign, even if you were flying up Main Street to keep up with the flow of traffic.

The building has been undergoing renovations, receiving a new, Navy blue or gray paint scheme, and a duck mural on the back.

The building is also slated to receive a balcony, which will be handy to the apartment occupant who steps out of the new door installed on the second floor.

Hopefully, the sign will be reinstalled once the balcony is in place, or something similar will take its place. But despite the new paint and balcony, losing the sign will have the building disappearing into the background.

When Salmons elected to keep the sign in place, I was hoping it would start a trend to see such signs return.

I have spoken with a number of downtown business owners who seemed receptive to the idea. It gives more life to the area. Imagine driving up Main Street at night and seeing those signs with the different colors of neon.

From what I have been told in the past, there is a city ordinance that limits how far the signs can extend out from the building.

That could be easily fixed.

Even if the businesses had half the distance of the sidewalk as a limit, it would be a win, while still ensuring that the signs weren’t a hazard to a passing truck or parked vehicles. There are several buildings where the connectors and even the wiring for the signs are still visible.

The Wrigley Taproom is one.

Imagine what Kristen Smith and Shannon Ferrell could create. I will give them credit for at least adding a sign to face traffic, even if it is on the smaller scale.

Josh Brock at Austin City Saloon is another that could take this idea and run with it.

The white Texas lone star outlined in blue neon. Orange neon Texas longhorns. So many ways Brock could take that. Shep’s Place, Alley Stuff, the tattoo parlor, Remax, Second and Main, The Depot on Main and The Caboose, Sweetie’s, and the new Pinball Museum of Corbin are among the others that could really have fun with such an opportunity and breathe new life into the atmosphere of Corbin.

How cool would it be to see the Remax balloon, the Depot engine, an L&N red caboose, giant ice cream cone, and giant pinball flippers in various colors of neon lights?

Come on, Corbin. Light ‘em up!