Sign Program

There is a large variety of sizes, shapes, and types of historic signs throughout the county. Historic Larimer County hopes to (slowly, over time) change that. As new buildings are landmarked or older historic signs need to be replaced, the goal is that property owners will turn to HLC for a sign that will match others throughout Northern Colorado. Eventually, once enough signs have been placed, a resident of Fort Collins could visit another part of the county, such as Berthoud, and see a sign from a distance, recognize the shape, and know that they’ve found a historic sign. This will not only provides a sense of continuity throughout the county, but it will also enable people, whether tourists or locals, to quickly identify historic signs wherever they are.

How the program works:

1. Property owner initiates discussion by contacting an HLC Board Member. The property owner will then be put in touch with whoever is in charge of the sign program at the time. (It’s currently Meg and Cheryl working most closely on this project.)
2. Together the program coordinator and property owner will determine the best size for the sign, how much content the sign will include, and how the sign will be mounted (most likely on a metal stand, but it’s possible some signs could be carefully mounted on buildings).
3. Someone from HLC will conduct research on the building in order to provide the content for the sign.
4. The HLC board and the property owner will be provided with a proof of the sign to check for typos, to suggest changes to layout, etc.
5. Once the final design has been agreed upon, the HLC representative will send the design to the printer.
6. The cost of the sign printing and stand will be split evenly between the property owner and the HLC Sign Program fund.
7. Once the sign is mounted, HLC may want to hold an unveiling ceremony (with an invitation to the press) to announce the new sign. (This is more the case for commercial properties than residential… unless the residential property owner would really like a ceremony or the residential property is a house museum or something along those lines.)
8. A web page will be added to the HLC website including an image of the sign and possibility additional information about the historic place that wasn’t included on the sign.
9. Eventually, as more and more signs are placed, walking/biking/driving tours will be designed to help guide people to signs throughout the county.

The first sign placed by Historic Larimer County was on the Montezuma Fuller house located at 226 W. Magnolia in Fort Collins. The house had received a historic marker in 1976, but the sign was vandalized in 2014. Historic Larimer County provided a new sign in 2020.