August 02, 2016
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
The Franklin Institute on Logan Square in Philadelphia.
A Philadelphia museum named after a man who studied electricity and invented the lightning rod will now be able to display a digital sign.
Mayor Jim Kenney's Office announced Tuesday that city officials reached an agreement with the Franklin Institute to allow the museum to convert an existing sign to digital.
The pact settled a dispute between the city and stakeholders of the Institute that began in 2012 when the museum applied for permission to begin the conversion.
Under the terms of the agreement, the new sign can only display content associated with the museum, must be turned off between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and can not use strobe lights or flashing messages.
The Institute must also consult with the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections after installation on the sign's brightness.
“This agreement in no way means there will be more electronic signage on the Parkway,” said Managing Director Michael DiBerardinis. “The arrangement protects the Parkway and doesn’t turn it into the Las Vegas Strip. More importantly, the city has formulated new regulations to prohibit such signage elsewhere on the Parkway going forward.”
The city's Zoning Board of Adjustment issued a variance to the Institute that permitted the signage.
Opponents challenged the museum's right to install the digital sign. However, the permit was later upheld in court.
