What Do You Think of New 526 Main Sign?

Have you noticed the new sign on the turret of ? The owner of the dueling piano bar, Tony Kasab, hopes you have.

In a meeting last September, Kasab told Royal Oak planning commissioners he was investing a lot of money in the city, and he needed a viable sign.

526 Main is located at the south end of the building that also houses and .

“When you’re coming into Royal Oak up Main Street, it is the first thing you are going to see,” Kasab told planning commissioners, some of whom worried that the LED-illuminated sign was too large, too colorful and inconsistent with the character of downtown.

“This thing is 20 feet long. It’s bigger than anything we have around,” Planning Commission Chairman Tom Hallock said at the Sept. 13 Planning Commission meeting. “I mean, it’s like ’s front sign out on the monument. I have difficulties with it being this large.”

Commissioner Dave Poulton questioned the location of the sign. “I’m not sure a sign on the turret fits into the appearance of downtown,” Poulton said. “Why does it have to be on the turret?”

Mayor Jim Ellison, who sits on the Planning Commission, argued that a small sign would look out of scale. “That turret screams 'sign.' It’s the identifying part of the building,” Ellison said.

Ultimately, Kasab and Jeff Johnson of Harmon Signs compromised with the planning commissioners and reduced the sign size to approximately 14 feet long by 10 feet high. The variance passed 5-3, and the sign has been in place for just more than a week.

Have you seen the new sign? What do you think? Is it too large? Does it fit in? Tell us in the comments and take our poll.