Taking Action to Save the Discolandia Sign

Let’s hear it for preservation! Our old pal Linda teamed up with Mission Local to save this here sign:

“I was alarmed when I saw the place up for lease after so many years,” said Linda Lagunas, a Mission resident of 15 years. “A lot of people have a soft spot in their hearts for that sign, myself included.”

Lagunas fears the sign will suffer the same fate as the famed 17 Reasons sign that sat atop Thrift Town on 17th and Mission streets before it was replaced by a billboard.

A post on MissionMission that sparked a discussion about Discolandia’s closing prompted Lagunas to take action. She’s written to the Historic Preservation Commission expressing her concern and asking what can be done to protect the sign.

Hurrah! Read on. (Also, you’re welcome.)

(Now can we take action against mushing Mission Mission into one word? What do we look like, KitchenAid?)

9 Responses to “Taking Action to Save the Discolandia Sign”

  1. i would keep the sign if someone would buy it for me!
    aha, ill make it into the best art gallery/cafe/bar ever! :)

  2. redbearded says:

    OH NO! Nothing can ever change! I have a soft spot for all the gum that’s stuck to the sidewalks on Mission Street. Lets preserve that tooooo!

  3. Alicia says:

    I wonder if they’d just sell the sign to someone who could use it, like how the Doggy Diner heads show up at events and things. It’s a cool sign (and featured in one of my favorite murals too).

    • I know the Doggy Dinner head owner and it’s such a huge labor of love to keep those painted and stored so they can be carted around for all of us to enjoy. So many businesses have sprung up in old industrial buildings where the name was kept long past the original occupant. Punk clubs mostly it seems. The Deaf Club, Starlight Cleaners, Luggage Store, The Box Factory (not a punk club but condos), CBGBs. Someone could probably do a way better job of naming more than I could. Point is, it doesn’t have to be moved. Discolandia Tacos? Discolandia Dry Cleaners? Discolandia Shoe Repair? I’m gunning for a service oriented occupant because of the flood of galleries recently. But that’s just me.

  4. P.S. While we’re at it, where the heck is that 17 Reasons sign. There was a movement to restore it and bring it back. I recall a website and t-shirts being sold.

  5. JP says:

    The sign’s iconic presence in the famous Carnival mural above the House of Brakes on the SE corner of South Van Ness and 24th St. should be a part of the supporting arguments for historical preservation.