Ellsworth is looking to join a list of communities in the Northeast with a hopeful message raised on its buildings and rooftops.
That word — “Hopeful” — has been turned into stylized, brightly lit displays crafted by artist Charlie Hewitt as a way to brighten Maine’s dark winters and to encourage people to be deliberate in adopting a positive outlook.
“Hopeful is not a gift — it’s a challenge,” Hewitt said in a 2021 application seeking approval from Bangor city officials to erect a sign overlooking downtown. “To be hopeful requires action, it requires commitment. It is my wish that this sign will serve as a symbol to the citizens of Bangor as a message of hope and inspiration, and that it will provoke a dialogue and illuminate our better natures.”
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In Ellsworth, the goal is to erect a sign downtown on top of the Tracy Building, overlooking the intersection of Main and Franklin streets. Leslie Harlow, a local resident and businessperson whose shop Trio recently opened in the building, is spearheading the effort.
“I got all inspired when I saw the sign in Portland five or six years ago,” Harlow said. “I am a cheerleader wrapped up in the potential of what downtown Ellsworth can be. And quite frankly, it would not take a lot for the Main Street area to reignite its mojo. It just needs a push.”
Harlow said the sign is projected to be roughly 6 feet tall and 16 feet long. Each sign by Hewitt is custom built for its chosen location, she said. The sign is projected to cost around $40,000, but Harlow has gotten commitments from several organizations to help fund the project.
Cross Insurance in Bangor has pledged $10,000, while Franklin Savings Bank, Bangor Savings Bank, Ellsworth-based Maine Community Foundation and the city of Ellsworth also have agreed to make significant contributions. Other organizations and private donors also have made commitments, she said.
“We need to raise another $10,000,” Harlow said.
Though Harlow is cheerleading the project, she is not directly accepting donations. The nonprofit Grand Auditorium is serving as the fiscal agent for the project, which will make donations tax-deductible.
Nick Turner, executive director of The Grand, said that though his organization is not soliciting or raising funds for the “Hopeful” sign — its main fundraising goal is for a new air conditioning system — it is happy to serve as fiscal agent to help it happen.
“We’re excited about it,” Turner said. “I think it’s a great project.”
Hewitt, born and raised in Lewiston, moved back to Maine in 2010 after decades of living in New York City. Over the course of his decades-long career, he has worked in painting, printmaking and sculpture, including in metal and neon lights. His work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art, all in New York. In Maine, his work can be found at the Portland Museum of Art, the Farnsworth Museum of Art in Rockland and in the art museums at Bates, Bowdoin and Colby colleges.
According to Hewitt’s website, more than 20 “Hopeful” signs have been erected in communities stretching from Maryland to Bangor. Two are on display in Philadelphia and across the river in Camden, New Jersey, and 10 can be seen in the tri-state New York City area.
Portland was the first community to get a public “Hopeful” sign, on top of the Speedwell Building on Forest Avenue, with others since being installed in Brunswick, Lewiston, Ogunquit, Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth, Rumford and Augusta. Bangor’s “Hopeful” sign was erected in late 2021 on the McClure Building at 152 Main St.
