One of Brooklyn’s most iconic signs is about to go the way of the Dodo, but one artist thinks she’s found the perfect replacement, a sign reading “Brooklyn” in the Dodgers font.
A new design for a sign to replace the sign atop the former Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Watchtower building complex has split many Brooklynites. Some think it would be a symbol of the burgeoning borough, whereas some think it’s just plain unnecessary.
The “Watchtower” sign that sits on the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Watchtower building complex (located at 25-30 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights) will be gone soon. The development team (a collaboration between Kushner Companies, CIM Group, and LIVWRK) that bought the complex last year plans to turn it into a fancy office and retail destination called Panorama. They paid $340 million for the Jehovah’s Witnesses property, as they, the Witnesses, plan on moving their operation to upstate New York.
Many lament the loss off of our red Watchtower sign, which perhaps spurred artist Susanna Briselli to speak out on her idea for a substitute. In a recent interview with the Brooklyn Eagle she explained:
“Brooklyn is a potent idea as well as a place, [it] summons vivid images and associations.”
Her argument seems to boil down to the idea that Brooklyn deserves its own signage as a symbol of pride in the community. In an interview with News 12 Brooklyn the artist was asked if the Brooklyn Bridge doesn’t already serve that purpose, her response was that the bridge “doesn’t belong to Brooklyn” and supposedly it doesn’t count because “it’s on the Manhattan side as well.”
Briselli‘s design would read “Brooklyn!” in a blue font based on the Dodgers logo. So, let me get this straight… a bridge that bears the boroughs name and has stood for over 134 years isn’t a suitable icon for the King’s County, but a baseball team that left the borough 60 years ago is?
She envisions the installation using eco-friendly technology, including LED lights and perhaps even solar-power… so there’s that.
Featured image courtesy of Susanna Briselli