[Reader-list] Heritage Signage Disappearing

[kabi cubby sherman]

Hi Vishal,

just judging from the 2 photos there seems in this
case to be two different situations.

1) the eastern watch company seems to be our bmc at
their finest and most subtle thinking - that is a
heritage building and that is the sign on it so it
should come down because having signs plastered or
affixed on the physical wall of a heritage building is
not allowed. no matter that in this case the sign is
the building and originally  part of the building and
therefore part of the heritage. it also sounds like
the owners realise this and has safely put it into
hiding in the hopes of someday sanity striking the bmc
and he can put it back up. or that in any case, it
must be saved anyway for its intrinsic value as
heritage. and because it is beautiful and they
probably value it aesthetically also. so the problem
here (and in probably more undiscovered cases) seems
to be the BMC. so effort needed in that
area........heritage groups brought in.

of course the current sign doesnt bear out my theory
that they value the aesthetics of the old sign as its
pretty not in keeping. but perhaps it is in keeping
with the surrounding signages. Maybe the owners
wouldnt mind redesigning the current sign using the
same typography as the old sign, until they can get
the old sign back up. (if that is possible) maybe it
just didn't occur to them? Maybe this was easier?
Maybe their neighbors advised them? Maybe they have a
relative that does, or knows someone that does,
signage and that is what they came up with and the
owners were so traumatised, or disgusted with having
to take down the original sign they let the signage
person do whatever. my point i guess is has anyone
spoken to the owners..... (which leads me to the 2nd
point)

2) the star of asia morphing into yokos. can't really
tell from the photos, but it seems to just be an
entrepreneurs choice on switching the sign. it doesnt
seems to be a bmc edict. looks like they took down the
start of asia sign, did some fancy plastering which
includes the actual yoko in plaster. so problem here I
think is with the lack of appreciation for heritage on
the part of yoko's owners. is this their 'branding'
font type? so  my point is that there needs to be some
conversations with the owners/entrepreneurs about
typography and heritage.

still thinking how to best do this. some area-wide
space for conversation, or building by building?
engagement should be personal and two-way. maybe they
are thinking that their success lies in the 'new' idea
of bombay and that this is what it looks like and that
is what they want to say about themselves to the
public. has anyone engaged them and asked them?  I
think this is important.

also, along with timeout, midday, etc, what about
marathi, gujarati, hindi urdu newpapers. or getting
some reporter on the local english/vernacular  tv
stations interested in doing a piece.

i'll keep thinking. and i'll try to remember to
document anything i see and send it to you.

kabi



--- Vishal Rawlley <vishal.rawlley at gmail.com> wrote:

> Friends,
> 
> In 2002 the Typocity project (www.typocity.com) was
> initiated to document
> typefaces and signage styles in public spaces of
> Bombay. Since then, many of
> the old signs that we documented are slowly
> vanishing. However, I was most
> distressed to find that some of this heritage is
> being destroyed by the
> municipal corporation itself in the name of
> protecting and
> restoring heritage structures. Nothing can be more
> absurd.
> 
> Please follow this link to see the pictures of
> replaced signs and find out
> more: http://bombay-arts.com/signs_gone/  Do excuse
> the quality of some of
> the recent pictures as they were taken on the spur
> with a phone-camera. If
> anyone has better pictures of the recently replaced
> Eastern Watch sign
> please share it with me.
> 
> I am desperately looking for suggestions and ideas
> to counter this lack of
> sensitivity by the municipal corporation. I shall be
> very grateful for any
> help.
> 
> 
> Best,
> Vishal
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