American Sign Museum

American Sign Museum
2515 Essex Place
Cincinnati, Ohio 45206
(800) 925-1110
(513) 258-4020, ext. 336
Fax: (513) 421-5144
E-mail: tod@signmuseum.org

ISA Makes Major Gift to the Building Fund
Board of Directors Approve $310,000 to Sponsor "Signs on Main Street"

The Museum's Capital Fund Drive got a major boost with a commitment of $310,000 announced by the Board of Directors of the International Sign Association. The pledge came following a presentation by Museum president, Tod Swormstedt, to the ISA Board at the Midwest Sign Association/ISA co-sponsored regional show, held October 3-5 in Indianapolis, IN.

The announcement was made in the form of two motions approved by the ISA Board. The first was that, "ISA pledge a donation to the American Sign Museum of $100,000 per year for the next three years (2004-2006)," followed by the second, which approved, "that ISA donate to the American Sign Museum $10,000 in 2003." The $300,000 will give ISA sponsorship of the Museum's proposed "Signs on Main Street" area, which visitors attending ISA's Sign Expo in Las Vegas in March 2001 saw in prototype. The $10,000 is in addition to $20,000 awarded earlier this year by ISA, and will offset development costs for the Museum's proposed permanent home in Norwood, OH.

"The progress that Mr. Swormstedt has made towards the realization of the Museum is impressive," stated Dean Garritson, ISA president and CEO. "We know that under his leadership, the museum will become a reality and certainly be an asset to the industry. We look forward to partnering with the Museum for years to come."

The total pledges toward the Capital Fund Drive now have reached $550,000, including a $250,000 commitment made by Jim Weinel, President of Gemini, Inc., Cannon Falls, MN. Gemini will be sponsoring the Museum's timeline "history of the sign industry" exhibit, which will tell the story of the development of signs through the evolution of three-dimensional letters.

The Museum has begun construction of a prototype of its permanent home at its present warehouse space at Essex Studios, minutes from downtown Cincinnati. Originally, the Museum had sought to locate at Essex Studios for three to five years, but remodeling cost estimates for the leased space were out of proportion to the Museum's need for a temporary home.

The prototype being built at present will be a scaled-down exhibit that will be open to visitors by the first of 2004. The displays currently under construction have been designed to be modular and transportable once the permanent home becomes available.