Olde Town Covington Banner & Design Project Contest Entry Deadline Is October 16th   Covington, VA (Oct. 7, 2020) - Olde Town Covington is a recipient of a Commercial District Affiliate Grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The $7,000 grant is for a Wayfinding and Beautification Project involving the placement of banners on the Covington entry corridors leading to the Historic Downtown.      The Covington Downtown Historic District is generally considered to be the downtown area bordered by the mainline of the CSX railroad, W. Prospect St., Lexington Avenue, and the Jackson River. It specifically includes the Maple Avenue and Main Street Commercial District. The development of the district dates back to the incorporation of Covington as a town in 1819.      When the paper mill came at the turn of the 20th Century, the downtown attracted additional businesses. A 1917 fire destroyed most of the wooden structures on Main street which were then replaced with brick and mortar buildings. For the most part, Covington became a two-story town.      The ground floor housed a business while the second floor housed offices for doctors, dentists, insurance agents and others, or perhaps living quarters for proprietors or renters. Any structure in existence during the era of the Depression and World War II is considered to be a contributing building in the historic district and is eligible for historic tax credits involving renovation projects.      Olde Town Covington is a part of the Main Street Initiative of DHCD which is dedicated to the economic revitalization of downtown commercial districts. While businesses continue to come and go in the Covington downtown, efforts are continuing to attract businesses and visitors to visit the historic district.      It is proposed to place attractive banners on the entry corridors which will lead visitors to the downtown. The corridors will include those from Exits 14 and 16 of Interstate 64 and the Rt. 220 entry on N. Alleghany Avenue and E. Riverside St. Banners will also be placed on the Mid City Mall parking lot on Locust Street and compliment the banners located at the Covington City Hall.      Olde Town Covington volunteers and the City of Covington will provide in kind contributions of time and equipment to procure and install the banners. A banner design contest will be held to solicit a design for the banners. Details of the contest are attached. The winner of the contest will receive $100. Olde Town Covington Banner Design Contest Design Criteria:      •     The produced banners will be 30 inches in width and 94 inches in height. Therefore, the entry design should be created on paper which has roughly a 1 to 3 ratio of width and height (3 inches by 9 inches, 4 ½ inches by 13 ½ inches, etc.).      •     The Olde Town Covington logo has an outline of the historic lampposts located on Main Street. That lamppost image must be incorporated into the banner design.      •     Wording on the banner must include, “Visit Our Historic Downtown.” Other wording is not required but the designer may include it on their entry.      •     Entries will be judged by a design committee of local artists and Olde Town Covington representatives. The contest winner will receive a $100 prize.      •     The winning design becomes the property of Olde Town Covington and may be enhanced or adjusted. This includes a change of colors, size of lettering and necessary resizing of images. The banner manufacturer will make any necessary adjustments in the production of the banners with final approval by the design committee.      •     Entries must be received by Friday, October 16, at the office of Olde Town Covington, located in the Atlantic Union Bank Building at 450 W. Main St., Suite 100, Covington. The office is open on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 12:00 noon until 4:00 p.m.      •     Questions should be directed to Paul Linkenhoker, 969-6908.

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