We had a great time on this project. Our partner landed a piece of history and we were more than happy to be a part of it.
After we fabricated the sign in two sections, we were able to watch the entire installation process, which was really fun to observe (we don’t get out much). The talented team of installers were amazing to watch and so was the circus…
We fabricated these letters using .25″ thick aluminum for the faces and wrapped the returns with .090 aluminum.
We added extra support using aluminum bar stock inside each letter to make them extra rigid.
The fabricated letters were bolted to a structural aluminum support beam which had uprights with mounting plates for attachment to the building.
The backs were covered with .090 aluminum once they were attached to the support beams. The entire unit was painted Matthews brushed aluminum and clear coated for extra protection and durablility.
Now on to our field trip. Since the install location was relatively close to our facility, we decided it would be cool to watch this process. Our partner hired a local install company that did an amazing job.
Once the unit was delivered to the site, it was hard hat time…
The Tampa Bay History Center is located directly across the street from the back side of the Amalie Arena. How lucky did we get that the circus happened to be there during the install. Every few minutes, some animals were being led from a staging area right behind us, giving us some great photo ops.
The first half of the sign was lifted from the trailer using a crane. You can see the guys in the background waiting for it to fly their way.
Coming in for a landing…
Ponies on parade…
Prepping the building for the exact placement took a while. The sun was going down, but the guys were kicking it into high gear none the less.
Location, location, location… The History Center is located near the Channelside entertainment complex and the Hooters restaurant there was nice enough to send us some dinner via their friendly courier service. Many thanks to Hooters!!!
First half tied down, the second half ready to fly to its final location.
The decorative cladding on the History Center is all stainless steel, so the installers had to drape tarps over as much as possible in order to protect from the welding sparks that were flying.
The watchtiger keeping an eye on us.
The second half being welded to the roof of the History Center. The crane is done, and the guys are finishing up the attachment. All in all, it went quite smoothly. It was interesting to see how much can go into an install like this and the guys from TEAM CENTERLINE were absolutely amazing, making it look so easy. Even the elephants were impressed.
After everything was done and cleaned up, the sign turned out quite nicely and we were proud to be part of Tampa’s History Center.