Willow Glen Resident

News

New signs help lure shoppers into the Garden Theater shops

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

New signage at the Garden Theater is showing residents the way to good eats, good drinks and good shopping.

The large square sign facing the parking lot at the rear of the building gives shoppers a rundown of the businesses inside. The same is true for the bracketed signs hanging outside the entrances on Lincoln Avenue.

Oct. 1 will mark the second anniversary of Willow Glen Business Association president Michael Mulcahy's ownership of the building. Along with the new signage, the Garden Theater has been dubbed "the Garden at Willow Glen." Its new name is on the entrance and embroidered on the parking attendant's uniform.

"We wanted to create a sense of place," Mulcahy said. "Essentially, we wanted to create a continuation of the street, give it a more pedestrian feel."

The idea is to grab people's attention as they walk by, Mulcahy said. Because of the building's configuration, businesses toward the rear sometimes were overlooked. "I think in a lot of ways, the signage has given the businesses a greater identity."

The style of the signage is Art Deco-inspired, Mulcahy said.

"Everything on the building has been driven off the marquee."

Business owner John Garland Tyson of Tyson Interiors said, "I'm already seeing more people coming in. It definitely helps people know that this is not just an office building."