The installation of the sign for the new 3rd St. Market Hall is slated to begin sign Tuesday, June 1 and be complete by Thursday, June 3.
The new food hall – announced in 2018 – will be located in the main level of the former Grand Avenue Mall (now a development called The Avenue) at King Drive and Wisconsin Avenue.
The sign – 29 feet tall and 17 feet wide – is made by Mount Horeb's Sign Art Studio and will tower above the glass front of the hall and will rise 81 feet above Wisconsin Avenue.
It is expected to arrive at noon Tuesday in four sections. After it is lifted in to position by a crane, a crew will then wire the sign, which should be lit on Thursday.
The sign has 652 of LED neon.
“We couldn’t be more excited to see this amazing project take shape. Courtney Morris and her team at Hempel Real Estate trusted in our team to produce this landmark rooftop sign,” said Dan Yoder, president of Sign Art Studio.
“The Kubalo Washatko Architects team did the original design, and we were honored to assist in designing the illumination plan. We came up with this LED neon layout that gives the sign a retro look.”
The food hall, which is expected to have 24 vendors, plus a bar and recreational activities – with Dairyland Old Fashioned Frozen Custard and Hamburgers as an anchor – should be open by late summer.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
