Vintage business signs could be saved under proposed ordinance

Grace’s Furniture is gone, but the sign remains on the building in Logan Square — and a proposed ordinance would protect it and other older signs that, backers say, are part of the character of the city. (Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times)

In the 2012 book “Signs, Streets and Storefronts,” author Martin Treu wrote that old neon signs “often serve as important urban landmarks.”

He argued that they “help to visually identify key locations in a city, marking them with distinct visual icons.” They give streets “character and animation, reinforcing local history.”