It has long been an issue that many travelers pass through Guttenberg every day without knowing that they are missing out on our historic downtown, shopping, restaurants, and two mile riverwalk and park. Action on this problem was spurred by a recommendation from a downtown assessment of Guttenberg by the Iowa Downtown Resource Center to create a "gateway" to Guttenberg's downtown, with Schiller Street serving as the main access route from Highway 52. The IDRC team recommended that an interesting sign be placed on the highway to direct people to Guttenberg's historic downtown on the riverfront. With this idea in mind, the Chamber applied for a grant from the Upper Mississippi Gaming Corporation to help cover the cost of the project.
We owe many thanks to the Upper Mississippi Gaming Corporation for contributing to make this project possible, to Meuser Lumber Company for supplying lumber for the project, and to Alex Finch of Meuser Lumber Company and of the Guttenberg Chamber of Commerce Board for designing the signs and installing them. The signs were created by Sheryl Bahls at Autotek Graphic Design.