INITIAL DESIGN for the new White Salmon City Hall sign sits on top of the near-complete version in the background. The old sign will be removed and restored by Hood River sign maker Dayna Reed before being returned to the City of White Salmon.
INITIAL DESIGN for the new White Salmon City Hall sign sits on top of the near-complete version in the background. The old sign will be removed and restored by Hood River sign maker Dayna Reed before being returned to the City of White Salmon.
Michelle ScottWithout the final touches, the large Styrofoam-looking sign appears monochrome. Teal and off-white shapes were the only indicator of the intended design: a leaping salmon superimposed over a forestry backdrop. This is the final stage of the new sign for White Salmon’s City Hall.
“It’s all made out of plastic,” explained Hood River sign maker Dayna Reed, “high density urethane — it’s really hard but it’s really easy to scratch and scuff until it gets a finish on it.”
After about three weeks of work, the sign is in its final stage before the three-eighths-inch black acrylic lettering and metallic color is applied to give the sign more dimension. Reed’s work can be spotted all over White Salmon.
The old White Salmon sign, currently hanging at the entrance of the old city hall, was commissioned by the city at least a decade ago, and The Enterprise sign is also one of his works.
“I did the original sign out of wood because they called for wood at the time, but wood has a limited life.” Reed assumed the last sign was up for 10 years or more. Once the new sign is sealed, the life span will be even longer than its predecessor.
“This is a process of cutting a mask, then this is sandblasted away, and then there’s layers of this High-Density Urethane, or HDU,” explained Reed. The 5-and-a-half by 6-foot sign weighs around 100 pounds, without the additional weight of paint and lettering. All the work is hand done, Reed explained.
“I have a CNC machine that can do this stuff,” said Reed, but the enjoyment comes from working with his hands. “I love this stuff,” he said referring to the material. After 30 years of working with HDU, he can easily navigate a shape into the plastic.
The coloring of the new sign will have a black and gun metal gray scheme, with the leaping salmon finished in white silver and black. “It’s going to have really vibrant colors,” explained Reed.
Installation of the sign is expected to take place in the next month or so, according to Reed, but the date is tentative.
“The thing about these signs is the dimension to them, you keep adding layers. You can paint things to where they look dimensional, but dimensional stuff like this is just incredible. Nothing else looks like it.”
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