The home of Clinton Hill’s “Hamilton” is getting a new marquee.
Brooklyn Public Library wants to install brighter signs outside its Clinton Hill branch — best known for a storytime session that is so popular, parents compare it to the hit Broadway show — because the current ones are so dingy that passersby don’t even realize what the building is, the woman in charge of the revamp told Community Board 2’s land-use committee on Wednesday night.
“Some people were passing the library not realizing that it was indeed a public library because of the contrast of the signs or that they were old,” said the mastermind behind the design, Laura Varacchi of creative firm Lvck, before the panel voted unanimously to approve the new look.
The Washington Avenue branch has been sporting the same drab green and yellow signage since the ’90s and now library honchos want to replace it with spiffy stainless-steel lettering, colorful banners, and a new sign with a changeable hours near the door.
“We wanted to add some color and life to the neighborhoods,” said Brooklyn Public Library creative director Leila Taylor.
The building is part of the Clinton Hill Historic District, so the book buffs need to get approval from the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to make the changes.
But they had no problem convincing members of the local advisory panel, who loved the new design so much that they barely even discussed the changes, with only one committee member praising it as “great.”
The organization has been hoping to take its signs from drab to fab for years, and now has the funds it needs for the change, said Taylor.
It is currently working on putting up new signage at six libraries across the borough, and anticipates that the Clinton Hill branch — along with other book hubs that are landmarked or in historic districts — will be sporting the new look by the end of 2017, pending city approval.
