Downtown sign getting work done

Don't worry - the "Old Downtown" arrow that's stood at Tucumcari Boulevard and Second Street for decades hasn't disappeared for good. It's getting a new paint job, plus additional signs underneath to point out other attractions.

The sign was taken down Thursday morning so local rancher Jerry Koile and other volunteers and artists can refurbish it on behalf of the Tucumcari MainStreet program. With luck, the big arrow - along with new and smaller ones attached to the pole underneath - will be back up in a month.

Connie Loveland, executive director at Tucumcari MainStreet, said the arrow sign will come in turquoise and reddish brown colors - similar to the organization's logo. It will read "Tucumcari Main Street District."

Smaller arrows under the big arrow will point to the Tucumcari Public Library, The Gallery Etc., Tucumcari Railroad Museum and Odeon Theatre in durable, powder-coated paint. The color scheme for those will be determined later.

Loveland said she quickly embraced Koile's idea to revamp and improve the historic sign along Route 66.

"It's one of the things MainStreet wants to do - increase signage to our businesses," she said.

The disappearance of signs along Tucumcari's Route 66 corridor has become a sensitive issue lately. The Cactus RV Park and Paradise Motel neon signs were purchased and spirited away by collectors in the past year.

Tucumcari mural artist Doug Quarles will repaint the sign, Paul Hight will make the smaller metal arrows, Frank Gillard will work with some of the powder-coated paint, Sharon Latouf and Franklin McCasland helped take down the sign, and students from Tucumcari High School will do some of the welding for the project.

Koile, who's built elaborate signs in front of Tucumcari High School during previous projects, said he wasn't sure about the arrow sign's age.

"Everyone cannot remember when it wasn't there," he said.

James Crocker, owner of Le Deane Photography Studio and a photographer for the Tucumcari Daily News many years ago, estimated the sign was erected in the late 1950s.

Loveland noted the sign contains a few neon-lighting standoffs, but it never has been lighted to her knowledge, nor does any electrical wiring run up the pole. She speculated the arrow might have been repurposed from another business many years ago.

Koile said he initially approached The Gallery Etc. about a new directional sign, and its owners referred him to Loveland. The more he thought about a more-inclusive sign, the more he liked the idea.

"It's going to have an all-new look," Koile said. "I hope everyone's happy with it."