University City: Residents Will Design New Baltimore Avenue Banners

A man walked by one of the current banners along Baltimore Ave.

Local artists will design the new banners that run along Baltimore Avenue The University City District is holding a competition that is open to anyone who wishes to submit a design for the new banner.

A man walked by one of the current banners along Baltimore Avenue

The University City District maintains about 70 pedestrian streetlamps with banners that run along Baltimore Ave. that aim to promote the growing corridor and the events that take place there. The streetlamps and banners start at the edge of Clark Park and extend all the way to 50th Street. Similar localized banners can be found in other parts of University City, as well as different neighborhoods in Philadelphia.

“We’ve done crowdsourcing in the past and I think we were just looking for some fresh ideas for the new banners and to get the community involved in the neighborhood’s aesthetics,” University City District Communications Manager Mark Christman said.

The University City District will choose the winner of the competition sometime this spring, and the new banners will be hung by the beginning of May. The winning artist will also receive $200 worth of gift certificates to restaurants in University City as well as $300 in cash, all provided by the University City District. The current Baltimore Avenue banners were created by the district’s graphic designer, Katie Holeman.

Christman expressed enthusiasm for the new locally designed banners and sees them as an important part of having the corridor recognized by visitors. “There’s been such diversity and growth in that corridor that it makes sense to reach out to the community to get their input on how the banners will look and how the avenue is articulated to the rest of the world.”

 

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*