Historic Fiesta 'cone' to stay

Historic Fiesta 'cone' to stay

Nov. 13, 1999

The 30-year-old neon sign at the Fiesta theater in downtown Cortez has been designated 'historic' by the city council.

By David Grant Long

For more than three decades its brightly colored neon lines have lit up the night sky in Cortez like ... well, a lively Fiesta, with the animated cone on top beckoning to movie-lovers across the Four Corners.

From the time of "In the Heat of the Night," Best Picture of 1967, through "Saving Private Ryan," which took the latest top honors, the sign jutting skyward above the Fiesta Twin Cinema in downtown Cortez has promised and delivered celluloid adventure, romance and comedy to film buffs of all ages.

"Although still attractive, it is a 30-year-old relic of the Sixties," wrote Lane Allen, owner of the Fiesta and several other regional movie theaters, in an application for historic status. "It has become a landmark to many Montelores-area old-timers."

And now, even though it’s a bit of a stretch, the sign has been designated a historic piece of local culture by the city council, so its retro allure will continue to be a part of the downtown for decades to come.

Regulations for commercial signs include:

-- Signs are not limited in surface area when painted on the exterior walls of a building, or when the surface of the sign protrudes not more than one inch.

-- The maximum size of other signs is determined by a formula that allows one square-foot of sign for each linear foot of the business’s lot frontage, with a maximum of 200 square feet (10X20, for example) for one sign and 600 square feet for any one business. These are the maximums even if more than one business is located on a lot.

-- A wall sign cannot be higher than the building it adorns and roof and ground signs can be no higher than 25 feet from the surface of the lot.

-- Ground signs cannot protrude into public rights-of-way, such as sidewalks, and wall signs that do must have at least eight feet clearance and can only stick out six feet.

-- Signs may be lighted with 25-watt incandescent bulbs and 118-watt fluorescent lights.

-- The maximum size of billboards is 128 square feet and may only be used to identify goods and services available in Cortez. Annual permits are required.

-- Signs containing "statements, words or pictures of an obscene, indecent or immoral character" are prohibited, as are those that may impair traffic regulation.

-- Permits are required for all new signs.

"It’s kind of scary when the things you grew up with are designated historic," quipped Mayor Joe Keck after the application was unanimously approved Tuesday.

Adopted several years ago to give business owners plenty of time to make any necessary changes, the city’s sign code is now being strictly enforced. The theater’s oversized sign would have been deemed out of compliance had the designation not been granted. The historic preservation committee, which screens such applications, had recommended approval.

Although the application as well as three letters of support touted the sign’s "eye-catching animation," the sequentially flashing neon stripes around the cone that make it appear to be revolving haven’t been working in the recent past, but Allen said yesterday that will be rectified soon now that its future is secure.

"We’re going to get right on that and it’s going to be really fun." Lane said.

"When we took over in ‘67, that was the sign we had made," he explained. "As soon as we can get one of the sign people on it, they can take a look at it and see what parts are necessary to get it back in good working order.

"We’re definitely planning on refurbishing it a little bit now that we know that we can keep it."

The Fiesta sign joins five others -- those of the Basin Industrial Bank, Aneth Lodge, Howard’s Sporting Goods (the neon fish and gun outlines), First National Bank and Cork ‘n’ Bottle -- that have been granted historic designation that exempts them from the code. The regulations provide for a total of nine such designations; then all other signs, no matter how long they’ve been in existence, must comply.

In other business, the council:

-- Found favor with the performance of City Manager Hal Shepherd, who was given a pay hike to $70,000 annually following an evaluation in executive session. Shepherd was hired in June at a starting salary of $60,000.

-- Approved a conditional-use permit to establish a freight-transfer station behind Maness and Associates, Inc. building on Mildred Road, where there had been a similar operation previously. The station will be used mostly during the day, according to the application, and is not intended as a drop-off location for local shippers, so truck traffic will be limited.

-- Heard from Salli Jorgensen, student representative on the council, that the Montezuma-Cortez High School senior class is donating 2,000 hours of community service to Cortez and would like some suggestions for projects. Working at the Welcome Center and with the Parks and Recreation Department were mentioned as possibilities.