House of Como’s iconic street sign has a new shine. The towering landmark on South Kentucky Avenue which dates to the late 1960s and was broken in more recent eras, has been repaired and updated — but not because it had lost its kitsch.
Rather, a July letter from the Evansville-Vanderburgh Area Plan Commission stated the sign
qualified as being “abandoned and altered” and was not “maintained in a safe, presentable, and good structural condition at all times.” A city ordinance passed in November cracks down on signs deemed in poor condition.
The letter threatened fines starting at $500 for a first violation: fines then soar to four figures. Acknowledging the time and cost attached to compliance, an August follow-up letter from the commission’s Executive Director Ron London extended the 60-day response deadline to early January, but the message was received: House of Como fixed the sign, which manager Libby Hage says had been mostly untouched for at least 25 years.
She says the local government’s action left no choice regarding repairs, but she believed the banged-up sign was part of Como’s kitschy appeal. She’s not alone: “Some people are disappointed that it’s fixed,” she says.
Real estate broker and House of Como diner Philip Hooper says the restaurant boasted one of Evansville’s best vintage signs, but the new lettering and design are true to the original. “It’s keeping in the spirit of Como,” he says. “I think they nailed it.”
