Images: Three cheers for Hapeville’s artful placemaking push

Josh Green

Thu, 07/17/2025 – 15:17

Call it a sign of the times for this creative, southside downtown district.

The City of Hapeville officially unveiled a brightly lit, bold, and tastefully vintage-style new Arts District sign last month—bedecked with neon and an arrow that looks plucked from 1950s Las Vegas—completing one aspect of a placemaking project that’s been years in the making.

It reads “Welcome to Hapeville Arts District” with a billboard for special messaging, standing next to the ATL Printmakers Studio fashioned from a long-shuttered, 1950s gas station.

The new sign speaks to Hapeville’s longstanding goal of establishing itself as a more vibrant southside artists’ mecca. The $67,000 project, led by the Hapeville Main Street Program, was mostly funded by a $50,000 GM on Main Street grant awarded last year, according to Nikki Cales, the city’s Main Street and grants coordinator.

Prior condition of the Hapeville corner in question. Google Maps/submitted

The 748 Virginia Ave. signage and 1950s former Amoco station that’s been reborn as creative studios.Courtesy of City of Hapeville

Hapeville—a south ITP city of 6,600 residents known for its airport proximity, historic downtown, and abundance of Porsches—was one of five recipients picked for the GM on Main Street Grant last summer. The awards go to nonprofits and municipal government entities near General Motors facilities that are aiming to boost placemaking in local districts.

Hapeville’s project consists of the fabrication and installation of two sculpted metal, neon signs that harken back to the city’s past and early 1900s buildings, while also providing wayfinding and whimsical color, per program leaders.

The second installation will be an “Arts Alley” sign at the entrance to Hapeville’s Arts Alley from Dearborn Plaza. That formerly blighted alleyway behind historic downtown buildings has been remade over the past decade into an artsy focal point of the city.

The welcome signage in prep stages last winter. Submitted

Unmissable lighting scheme of Hapeville’s new landmark signage. Submitted

The grant program favored applicants whose ideas were focused on placemaking with an emphasis on pedestrian safety, inclusion, and scalability for other Main Street initiatives.

Beyond Hapeville, cities that received $50,000 grants in 2024 included Bowling Green, Ky., Columbia, Tenn., and both Holly and Pontiac in Michigan.

Courtesy of City of Hapeville