Staff recommends approval of the proposed neon signs and an awning with the conditions based on the above-stated design guidelines that 1) the depth of the valance be reduced to at least 10 inches and; 2) that the selected color of the awning be less bright and more muted.
Install full-façade retractable canvas awning with valance and open frame sides. Edge of awning to project 8 feet. Mount with 7-foot-high clearance above ground and below existing first-level cornice and fascia board. (see drawings sunmitted 9/12/16)
The proposed neon sign to be mounted over entry door is to be 2.41' high by 6.65' long. Letters to no exceed 18 inches in height. The signage centered on the awning is to be 77.082" x 28" as indicated on drawings sunmitted 9/12/16.
W. H. Burroughs Building. Two-story brick building with three bays, arched second-story windows with corbelled arched window hoods with replacement sashes and a corbelled brick cornice. Altered c. 1930s storefront.
1) The building is a contributing building within the Market Square National Register Historic District and the Market Square Historic District H-1 Overlay.
2) As recommmended by the design guidelines, early documentary photographs have been included in and consulted for this staff report to learn the early design of awnings in Market Square. The photographs indicate that valances in Market Square were less than 10 inches deep.
3) The deepest awning valance that the HZC has approved is 10 inches at 12-14 Market Square. The 18-inch valance makes the proposed awning more of a contemporary boxed awning and does not allude to the historic style of awnings that were typical of Market Square.
4) The proposed brightness of the color is obtrusive and depicts a theme is not historically appropriate for Market Square, even though it may be historically appropriate for the UT campus.
5) The addition of the brightly-colored awning as a missing historic feature is not compatible with the color of the historic building or the context of the district as recommended by the Secretary of Interiors Standards Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings: Storefronts.
6) The inappropriate brightness of the awning color diminishes and overshadows the building's character and creates an entirely new appearance that has no historical basis. The color is not muted rather than being the central focus as noted in the NPS Presevation Brief Number 27- Interpreting the Secretary of Interiors Standards.
7) Staff believes that the brightness of the color of the awning and the 18-inch depth of the valance create an obtrusive boxed awning treatment that adversely affects the historic character of the building, and therefore the proposal does not meet the Secretary of Interiors Standards or the Market Square Design Guidelines.
8) The HZC denied the brightness and shiney finish of the red awning proposed proposed for 12-14 Market Square in December 2012.
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