COMMERCIAL BUILDING

OSCEOLA ARKANSAS

While touring the town and photographing Vestiges, I came upon this interesting sign support. I’m strangely fascinated by sign supports for hanging signs. Most downtowns have stopped the practice of using hanging signs in favor of those that are mounted flat on the façade of the building. I think this practice takes away from the charm of commercial districts as well as fails to advertise the businesses to those looking down the street, as is pictured here. I suppose it has to do with less walking traffic and more car traffic. Sigh. We should all walk more in our downtowns. Maybe then we’d keep the businesses there.

 

The changes to the façade on this particular building could have been done better to accent the historic nature of the structure, though. The muntins (window crossbars) are unnecessary and nonauthentic; the originals would have been plain plate glass. The doors are also modern steel units, though a six-panel design is closer to the mark than a flat panel. Likely both doors had a single long window when the building was a business; it has apparently been turned into a residence, if the curtains and screen door on the first floor are evidence. The door on the right accesses a staircase to the second floor, which originally had either living or office space for the business below.

A nice paint scheme is another way to enhance a façade with very little investment, as well as some historically designed light fixtures. Of course it would be nice to see the transom windows reinstalled, but, as I’ve pointed out elsewhere, most transom windows in these buildings were blocked up when dropped ceilings were installed to save heating costs.

I personally like high ceilings, but I may not be the best to tout them; my own 1690 Cape Cod has seven and a half foot ceilings in some rooms and sevens in others.