- The Potter Park Zoo's entrance sign was designed by Robbin Sawyer 16 years ago
- On Friday, November 1st, the sign was taken down and moved inside the zoo to be inspected and repurposed
- Potter Park Zoo officials say the reason the sign was taken down was simply because it was getting old and the entrance needed a fresh look
- In the attached story, I spoke with neighbors about their memories of the sign
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
After 20 years of standing tall at the entrance to the Potter Park Zoo, Friday was demolition day for the beloved sign that, over the decades, has welcomed visitors to the zoo. I'm your neighborhood reporter, Asya Lawrence, here with neighbors who are looking back.
"When my daughter was young, it was a very important part of her understanding how animals fit into the ecosystem, and it was nice to have that here in Lansing," said David Waymire.
The Potter Park Zoo has created many memories for our neighbors, both past and present
"My granddaughter loves it, so I have to bring her here," said Charles Wheeler.
Throughout the 104 years that it's been in the Lansing community, there have been many changes, and while most of those changes have happened behind the gates of the zoo, the newest one can be spotted from outside the gates.
"It's time to move past some of the old stuff, and let's bring some of the new," said Waymire.
The Potter Park Zoo entrance sign has been welcoming zoo-goers for 16 years, and the artist Robbin Sawyer said it seems like just yesterday when she was designing it.
"My favorite animal is a tiger, so I knew that was going to bet of the sign... just trying to make it something that looked different and grabbed your attention, the main elemen" Robbin said.
But Potter Park Zoo officials say the time has come for a change.
"We have pieces that have been falling off. We have some fading with it," said Heath Thurman.
The response from our neighbors has been mixed, but many of them that I spoke to say although they're sad to see it go, they're looking forward to what's next.
"This sign is not the zoo;t an attraction to the zoo. It's really about why the sign is jusat's inside," said Waymire.
The sign isn't gone forever.
"We're going to come up with a game plan to display it inside the zoo," said Thurman.
And neither are all of the memories that were created when our neighbors drove past this sign. The zoo plans to have some of the old signs, like the tiger, displayed inside the zoo.
Potter Park Zoo officials say an update on the new sign will be announced in the coming weeks.
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