Dispatches
The traffic signal box wraps feature local artwork or historical photos tied to the location, while the back of the boxes boast a "You Are Here" map to help tourists navigate the city.
Utility Box Wraps Fort Lauderdale, Florida—When the City of Fort Lauderdale was preparing to celebrate its Centennial back in 2011, Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Executive Director Chris Wren approached Chuck Black and Lynn Elsasser, co-owners of Image360-Fort Lauderdale (formerly Signs By Tomorrow), to brainstorm ideas on strategies for beautifying the aesthetics of existing traffic control boxes in the downtown area. The DDA previously 8
looked at ways to beautify these utility boxes and had worked with Broward County years prior on some painting ideas. "We told him we have material that could essentially wrap these boxes," says Black, noting that Wren was intrigued. "I suggested using historical photos from Fort Lauderdale as part of the City's 100th birthday celebration." Wren approached the Historical Society about donating old photographs of strate-
Sign Builder Illustrated // October 2013
gic city locations from the ’20s through the ’50s for wrapping these utility boxes. They embraced the idea but wanted to select the photos to use themselves. Broward County Traffic Engineering, a division of Broward County Public Works Department, also had to be brought onboard for approval, since it owns, operates, and manages the traffic signal boxes. They were unsure how vinyl would stand up to the heat generated inside the utility signshop.com