As Detroit gears up to host the 2024 NFL Draft this April, the city is embarking on a series of beautification projects, including the installation of its very own Hollywood-like sign. According to the Detroit Free Press, a 10-foot-tall luminous sign spelling out "DETROIT" will rise along eastbound I-94, set amid what's promised to be lush greenery.
The city's deputy chief operations officer, Jessica Parker, described the upcoming sign as "gonna be like the Hollywood sign, but smaller,” a vision of letters seemingly adrift in greenery and aglow in Detroit's emblematic hues of green and white. In contrast to its towering Los Angeles counterpart which stands at 45 feet, Detroit's marker will maintain a more modest yet impactful presence. Parker divulged the details of the project, which involves working with Fairmount Sign Company, a local business with a track record of notable projects such as the Fox Theatre and Wayne State signs, signaling their familiarity with the city's landscape.
Bringing the project to life are signs crafted from aluminum, welcoming locals and visitors alike at strategic entry points into the city. These "Welcome to Detroit" signs, as WWJ Newsradio 950 notes, will punctuate Detroit's periphery at I-75 and 8 Mile, I-96 and Telegraph, among other significant thoroughfares.
With less than 10 weeks until the NFL Draft, the anticipated influx of up to 300,000 attendees adds urgency to the city's facelift, which includes the multimillion-dollar refurbishment of Hart Plaza's fountain and grounds. The plan, which encompasses various sites like Campus Martius and Hart Plaza, according to wrif.com, aims to create an event "footprint" fit for the grandeur of the occasion. Yet amid the promise of citywide enhancements, community reaction ranges from optimism to skepticism, as gleaned from a Reddit thread cited by wrif.com. Comments ranged from enthusiasm about the sign's potential to attract attention and emulate iconic status, to concerns over its $400,000 price tag, and the pragmatics of its maintenance in the face of vandalism.
