New sign getting changes

Complaints about one distinctly different colored stone in the new Fairfield sign along Highway 1 South has prompted a revision.

According to engineer Jerry Long of French-Reneker-Associates Inc., all of the stone in the 8-foot by 20-foot sign was handpicked from the Anamosa quarry by the Country Landscapes Inc. mason and approved locally before construction.

Long said he liked the darker stone because it added interest to the sign, but once the wall went up, the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce began receiving complaints.

Because removing the stone would require taking down 11 tons of stone at significant expense, Long said the mason was asked to chip off the darker outside wall. The darker stone is now lighter than before, he said.

Long also believes the addition of some darker colored stone in front of the sign will help tie everything together.

It also was discovered after the sign went up that the shadow cast by the letters made the sign difficult to read.

Long explained the letters are made of COR-TEN steel, which naturally weathers to a more coppery color. The letters were mounted distant from the wall to prevent the rust from staining the stone.

Long said the letters will now be re-mounted closer to the wall so they can be read in daylight without the blurring shadows.