By Chris Cannon
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A new sign hangs on the side of a West End Avenue
building in Nashville's midtown area, and it is a sign like no other seen
before in the city.
The 22' by 33' sign is on the side of the First State Bank building at 1720
West End Avenue, near the intersection of 18th Avenue.
The full LED sign will display advertisements, but by definition of Metro
Nashville code, is technically a sign, not a billboard.
"This would really be the first one of this kind that we've issued a
permit for, as far as a LED type sign of this size," said Joey Hargis,
zoning examinations chief for Metro Nashville.
While the on-premise sign can show advertisements for off-premise companies
and products, code does put several stipulations on what you will see as you
pass by.
"There are no video messages that could be displayed. There's eight
seconds between messages. There has to be a delay between switching from one to
another," Hargis said.
The cost of the sign listed on the Metro permit is $500,000.
People passing by on West End could not help but notice it.
"Pretty big," Matt Chandler said.
He has seen similar signs in other cities and said they always catch his
attention.
"If I was driving or walking it would definitely, it would definitely
grab my attention right off the bat. For sure," Chandler said.
While the cost of the sign is significant, the quality of the picture is
unprecedented for a video sign in Nashville.
"Pretty vibrant stuff; you can see in that flower picture there, a lot
of detail; the tiger head that just went by; even that gecko, nice color
spectrum," Chandler said.
While moving video is not allowed on signs in most of Nashville's commercial
districts, the city does permit them in the area that surrounds the Gaylord
Opryland Resort in Donelson.
email: ccannon@newschannel5.com
