Madison Arts Cinema Getting a High-Tech New Marquee

By Jack Kramer, Correspondent

MADISON, CT – It looks like the Madison Arts Cinema – and downtown Madison for that matter - is about to enter the 21st Century.

At the most recent Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the PZC voted to allow the cinema to replace the existing movie theater marquee with a new, state of the art LED electronic marquee.

Evan Walsh, of Cima Network, Inc., who represented Cinema owner Arnold Gorlick at the PZC meeting, described the new sign as an “upgrade” from the existing marquee which currently “requires a ladder and an individual to physically change the letters on the sign.”

The new marquee, Walsh said, “Operates with computer software, enabling the user to change the message in-house rather than going outdoors and physically changing it; has a three-primary color pixel configuration of red, blue, and green, thus enabling the sign to show color renderings and not strictly black and white composition.”

Additionally, the new sign has the ability to be changed every 15 seconds – and, Walsh told the PZC, could be used to “promote town events, give the time and temperature, or display emergency alert information to residents.”

It was pointed out to the PZC by audience member John Matthews that the town has invested lots of money into the downtown area and “that the current sign is ratty looking; it is time to move into the next century with the digital marquee.”

While most members were enthusiastic about the change in signs, some raise concerns about ensuring the signs’ use was in the town’s best interests, and how that would be regulated.

It was suggested that the commission monitor the use of the sign and also revisit existing regulations to see if they needed updating.

There was also some discussion about making sure the “community messages” that were to be displayed didn’t turn out to be advertising for businesses – but in the end the commission said it didn’t want to stand in the way of a good idea and voted unanimously in favor of the new marquee.

Originally posted by Brian McCready

(Editor's Note: This story first ran previously but here it is again in case you missed it.)