What will happen to Cottage View’s sign?

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As mentioned earlier, there was a flurry of media activity when the Cottage View Drive-In (Cottage Grove MN) closed last fall, making way for a Walmart. A recent Minneapolis StarTribune story discusses the efforts underway to preserve its iconic sign, somewhere, somehow.

One thing seems to be sure – the sign won’t stay there. The site’s owner has offered the sign to the city, which is looking into options for preserving it. Cottage Grove mayor Myron Bailey said that he would like to see the sign included in the new development, but hasn’t had any formal talks yet.

“We would encourage the city to keep the sign as close to the original location as possible,” said Erin Hanafin Berg, field representative for the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota. Part of its historical significance is the context of its surroundings.

Personally, I hope they keep it like the Boulder CO Holiday drive-in sign, which stayed in place even as a housing development sprouted on its land. Worse would be like the Cinderella in Englewood CO; the condo development that replaced it changed the sign to promote the development. But anyway, go read the StarTribune story, which has more details and quotes about the Cottage View sign and who’s interested in it.