High-Profile Billboard to Receive Some TLC

(Image courtesy of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.)

Listen to this story

Subscriber Benefit

As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now

This audio file is brought to you by

0:00

0:00

Loading audio file, please wait.

Speed
1.00

• 0.25
• 0.50
• 0.75
• 1.00
• 1.25
• 1.50
• 1.75
• 2.00

An iconic sign in Terre Haute is getting a makeover. A 44-foot billboard along U.S. 40 that promotes the city as the home of Clabber Girl Baking Powder is considered one of the first electric-powered billboards in the country and work is now underway by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Clabber Girl Corp. to restore the more than 80-year-old landmark. Initial work, which involves trimming overgrowth around the sign, is set to begin soon.

The full scope of the project includes fixing the wooden frame, repairing and replacing the works in the sign’s clock and repainting the sign’s Clabber Girl logo and the phrase "Five Minutes to Terre Haute… The Home of Clabber Girl Baking Powder."

Rose-Hulman took over ownership of the sign last year when it acquired 1,100 acres that included the former home of Mari Hulman George, who is daughter of the company’s late owner Tony Hulman. Hulman, who also owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, had the sign — and others like it throughout the country — built to promote the baking powder. RHIT says it is believed to be Indiana’s oldest billboard.

You can connect to more about the effort by clicking here.