This year, Chandler High School celebrates its 100th school year. Chandler is the oldest school in the Chandler Unified School District and continues to thrive despite the construction of a plethora of new rival schools in the district such as Perry, Hamilton, and Basha.
New Additions
The school’s Homecoming celebrations were understandably amped up this year to commemorate its momentous anniversary. At the center of its celebrations was the unveiling of Freedom Circle, a generous gift on behalf of the Colonel Gary Jones and Christine Jones foundation.
Freedom Circle, a dedication to service, is a serene setting featuring three flagpoles, benches, commemorative plaques and the school’s new electronic marquee sign.
“When you have a historic high school like Chandler High celebrating our 100th year, a simple, plain-old electronic marquee just wouldn’t really fit,” said Principal Larry Rother. “Something like this really sets off Chandler High School.”
Chandler High School held its annual Homecoming Football game on Friday September 26. As a part of the festivities, the school selected its oldest living alum to be Grand Marshall of its Homecoming Parade. Zona Mae McAdams Shepherd is 95 years old and a graduate from Chandler High class of 1938.
It was a time when the school’s attendance was below 200 and “there were no numbers on the houses, and no one ever locked their doors.” Shepherd said. She also remembers when downtown Chandler consisted of a handful of small stores and the San Marcos Resort was reserved for Hollywood Celebrities and rich tycoons from the East. Amazingly, when Zona Mae graduated from Chandler, it had already been in business for 25 years.
The New Marquee Sign
Chandler High knew how crucial a quality marquee was for their storied school. The school’s classic and unique design meant that a modernized marquee would not do. The guidance given initially was, we need a new marquee and we’d like something nice. That set in motion a set of proposals including something good, something better and the best. As we embarked on the design of the latter, we wanted something grand that captured the uniqueness and primacy of Chandler High among its peers. But it needed to fit within the architecture of the school, not to outdo the grandeur of Old Main, but to complement it.
The result is an award-winning sign design that now graces the front of Chandler High School along Arizona Avenue and begins the revitalization of downtown Chandler north of Chandler Boulevard.
As you see throughout the images of the post (including the old marquee sign), we feel this sign really hit the mark. The sign stands 22-feet tall, much larger than the old 16.5-foot tall sign. It is 17.5-feet wide and includes a 3D Chandler High School logo and detailed scrolls constructed from high-density foam and push-through illuminated acrylic letters. Find sign installation images at the end of this post.
The complementing cast bronze metal plaques have etched inserts of Old Main and are 24-inches by 30-inches.
Happy Clients Are Our Goal
Principal Larry Rother offered the following about the new marquee sign:
“Working with Spotlight Signs and Imaging Solutions on our new marquee at Chandler High School was an outstanding experience. Spotlight’s design team presented us with a vision for what our marquee and electronic message center could mean for our community, and the finish product was nothing short of amazing. They certainly had a challenge of building a sign that was state of the art and aesthetically pleasing while also matched our existing historic structures. When the final product was delivered and installed, our faculty, parents, community members and students commented that although our new marquee was “high-tech” it looked like it had been there for years and matched the character of our school perfectly. I sincerely thank Spotlight Signs for not only enhancing the image of Chandler High School, but also for providing a marquee that truly brings value to the entire community surrounding our school.”
Whether a school, a stadium, or other venue, Spotlight Signs is happy to help design, fabricate and install marquee signs that are eye-grabbing. Click below for your free quote!
