By Kathy Lee Scott/Garden Grove Journal
With its unanimous approval, the Garden Grove Council ended a decades-long quest for a way to hang banners across Main Street. Now the historic downtown will have a $100,000 decorative arch across it at Garden Grove Boulevard.
No city money will go to pay for the arch or its installation, according to Bill Murray, city engineer.
Instead, Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen arranged for county funds earmarked for such monuments.
The project design changed over the year since it first came before the council.
In April 2008, the GGDBA requested permission to put up two arches, one at the north and south ends of Main Street. At that time, the council agreed but asked staff to get more information about construction costs and a maintenance agreement from the group.
Since then, the project was scaled back to a single arch at the south end of Main Street.
According to Scott Weimer, former GGDBA president, a couple of local businesses agreed to design and construct the arch. “They gave us a break on their prices,” he said.
Dan MacLeith of Pacific Westline designed the arch, and Chris Canzone of C and C Signs will put it up.
Additionally, Canzone agreed to maintain the structure for five years.
“This is a marvelous proposal,” said Charles Mitchell. “It will help advertise what’s available in the city.”
Of the $100,000 grant, most will cover installing the structure, which will take three stages over two months.
The first involves laying the electrical line for the arch lights under the street pavers. The next step entails fabricating the two posts and truss work of the arch. The final stage consists of putting up the actual structure.
An old-fashioned sign, identifying the street as Historic Main Street, will sit in the center of the arch.
“This is a beautiful entryway for downtown Garden Grove,” Weimer said.
