Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Those may be the words Torontonians can lean on if Hamilton city council decides to install a giant ‘HAMILTON’ sign that looks eerily similar to the one in Nathan Phillips Square.
The 20 metre-long by 2.28 metre high sign proposed by Hamilton city councillors would be multi-coloured and brightly lit at night – just like Toronto’s.
Based on an artist’s rending, it appears that each block letter would be hollow, allowing selfie-takers to get right inside the sign. The letters of Toronto’s 3D sign are sealed and solid.
City staff acknowledge in a report that the proposed sign is alike the one standing tall outside Toronto’s City Hall, but reference other cities that have similarly large “focal point” signs.
“Cities and regions around the world have preceded the City of Toronto in erecting large signs as focal points of the geographic city. Amsterdam’s signs are among the best known. Others are found in Nice, LAX, Hollywood and Brisbane to name a few other well-known examples,” a city staff report reads.
The report goes on to suggest that the brightly coloured addition to the city’s downtown would be a “significant gift” for Hamilton residents in honour of Canada’s 150th celebrations.
If approved, the report says the sign would be built and erected sometime this year.
The costs, meanwhile, would derive from a private donation campaign previously held by the CEO of Carmen’s Group and the president of Powergroup Communications. An estimated total cost was not indicated in the report.
