ARCHIVE: Category Archive for: Others

Monoosnoc Brook Greenway Project

The Atlantic Ocean has many tributaries in North America, including: Massachusett’s famed Merrimack River, which is fed by The Nashua River, which receives a good deal of its water from The North Nashua River, which includes more than a little flow from The Monoosnoc Brook, some 50 miles inland from Boston. It’s a little stream, to be sure, but the Monoosnoc Brook has played a big part in the founding and subsequent growth of Leominster, MA, and the surrounding areas. More than 275 years ago, for example, the Monoosnoc Brook’s sparkling, tumbling waters were first harnessed to power a variety of paper, grist, oil, and other mills. Nurtured by its plentiful flow, the town grew and prospered for many years.

When Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) determined its ongoing rebranding program – which covers BCH Boston, as well as BCH Martha Eliot in Jamaica Plain, BCH Waltham, and BCH Lexington – required new signage, Metro Sign and Awning was happy to oblige. To begin with, BCH Boston initially contacted its existing sign vendor, Sign Systems Solutions (SSS), for help with this project. However, SSS quickly passed the call along to Metro Sign, asking us to do the actual surveying, fabrication, and installation of the new signs. (A different contractor works with BCH Peabody.) In total, Sign Systems designed and we built ten new signs for the hospital operating company: One sign with dimensional letters set on a curved radius Three new

EMCs Examined: Sign Technology Has Come a Long, Long Way I walked into my local grocer the other day and was surprised and pleased to see a brand new Samsung video screen hung high over the counter and used as an Electronic Message Center (EMC). With its text and graphics capabilities, it is everything you could want a sign to be: vivid,clear, attention grabbing, and memorable. It’s also cost effective. The sight made me think back over the history of variable message signs, and reflect on just how far we’ve come in the sign industry. Movable Type Mechanically variable signs have been around for a longtime. Think about movie theater marquees, for example, where letters and numbers were physically attached

What do you do when a company wants new signage, but doesn’t have the rights to install it on their location’s exterior? If you’re Bella Sera Bridal Boutique, on Route 114 in Danvers, MA, you “do without” for several years, experiencing quite a bit of difficulty, until a qualified, skilled,and multi-capable sign company finally comes to your rescue. Located above a separately owned and operated male clothing store,and handicapped since it moved to this new location in 2009 by an almost total lack of external points of recognition, Bella Sera Bridal had nevertheless endured. Heidi Nicholson, owner, had been able to keep the lights on by making word-of-mouth and other referral-based growth strategies work for her boutique business. But she

Signage Scam Stresses Small Business Owner If you can’t trust your sign-maker, who can you trust? That’s what Shay Kindle, owner of a do-it-yourself workshop in Lubbock, TX, is wondering after a run-in with a sales rep who scammed her, big time, on what should have been a simple, affordable, and effective signage project. In May, 2013, Shay found herself targeted by local representatives of Signtronix, a national company. The smooth-talking sales rep proposed to fabricate and install an electronic sign to promote her business, Pinspired, which is conveniently located on a high-traffic corner lot. Intrigued, Ms. Kindle listened carefully while the shady operator waxed poetic about how Signtronix wanted her business so bad it would discount the cost of

Veterans Administration National Cemetery, Massachusetts

For most people visiting a national cemetery – understandably coping with a powerful mixture of pride, grief and distress – it can be difficult to keep your wits about you. Learn how we pulled out all the stops for this project in terms of design, placement, visibility, clarity, and durability to guide veterans’ loved ones to their destinations.

Wayfinding Signs Key Part of National Cemetery Expansion Project

Metro Sign and Awning is immensely proud and honored that we were selected to partner with general contractor Spanish Springs Construction to provide all the wayfinding signs at the completely refurbished Bourne National Cemetery on Cape Cod. Bourne National Cemetery is one of only 122 official interment sites for our nation’s brave veterans. For most people visiting a national cemetery – understandably coping with a powerful mixture of pride, grief and distress – it can be difficult to keep your wits about you. That’s why the wayfinding signs must be extremely clear, concise, unmistakable, and – when they’re subject to the harsh weather that is so typical in New England – durable. Accordingly, we pulled out all the stops for

That’s a Refreshing Sign! New Balance Leaves Footprint on Parks Now we can say we left our footprint along the Charles River! Well, not our footprint, exactly – it’s actually the mark of Brighton’s favorite shoe manufacturer. We were absolutely tickled when New Balance asked us to create a few “footprints” for some of the water fountains they’ve provided to various Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation park sites. While New Balance wasn’t angling for extra outdoor advertising when the company donated the fountains, it was important that the signs look good and hold up extremely well in the environment. Even though the footprints weren’t designed to advertise the company, they had to represent the company and its brand in the

Yay! Today’s the day Forum Restaurant reopens! The popular bar and restaurant at 755 Boylston Street in downtown Boston celebrates with a new new menu and a new look. Remodeling and restoration over the summer gave all of Boston a visual reminder that “we are still here, still strong, and still standing.” Now, it’s time to celebrate – the restaurant’s reopening is a point of pride for everyone in Boston. We were delighted to work on the restaurant’s new sign this summer. Two of our installers enjoyed a little “brush with fame” when a local news crew caught them in the act. Look quick! Brad Quinlan and Mark DeFelice appear about 40 seconds into the video. In addition to a

We are excited to announce that Simon Properties has awarded Metro Sign & Awning the design/build contract for all new signage at Auburn Mall in Auburn, Massachusetts! From pylon signs to main entrance identification… Our creative team is already thinking about the best way to guide visitors from the surrounding streets and thoroughfares into and around the parking lot, and all over the mall. The package includes parking lot directional signage and traffic guidance, the mall’s main entrance identification signage – also known as the ‘big’ pylon signs – and exterior wayfinding. We can’t wait to get started – and what a coincidence, it’s back-to-school shopping time! … to interior wayfinding and branding. Metro will also handle interior wayfinding and