Lost? Morris Tourism Unveils Pilot Signage Program

The Garden State Historic Preservation Trust Fund Historic Site Management Grant gave $50,000 to the Morris County Wayfinding Program in 2009. Back in 2011, the Morris County freeholder board endorsed the efforts of the county’s tourism bureau to get more and clearer directional signs along the roads. Now, several years later, the tourism bureau finally unveiled its “wayfinding” Sign Pilot Program for Morris County.

On Wednesday, a group gathered at Pocket Park at the corner of Washington Street and Schuyler Place to take a look at one of two pedestrian kiosks that were installed for this pilot program.

The 24-sign pilot program will improve the visitor experience to the area, and direct car traffic to eight of the county's most frequented historic and cultural sights, said Carol Barkin, Visitors Services manager for the Morris County Tourism Bureau.

“This is just one element in the wayfinding pilot area. The rest of the signs were also installed this week,” said Leslie Bensley, Morris County Tourism Bureau director. “This complex project began more than three years ago when we wrote a grant to the NJ Historic Trust ... I also want to thank the freeholders for donating the land and allow us to put in the kiosk.”

She added that this is the only county-wide plan within in the State.

Out of the 24, two are pedestrian kiosks, one at Pocket Park and the other at Mennen Arena. The other 22 are vehicular signs, added Bensley. The pilot program highlights eight cultural and historic sites. 

Each costs a couple thousand dollars and varies depending on the sign’s design and size. The tourism bureau is looking to install a total of 310 signs around the county.

"The whole cost of the of the (pilot) project was about $130,000," said Bensley. "The whole plan, if we can see it through fruition, would be over a million dollars." 

The sign at Pocket Park features a map of points of interest around Morristown and the county, a double-sided bulletin board, a QR code/barcode for smartphones and information about the “Discover NJ History” license plate.

The Pocket Park kiosk was underwritten by a grant from the Discover NJ History License Plate Fund for Heritage Tourism.

This special license plate features a Victorian-style row house from a painting by New Jersey artist Harry Devlin and money from these license plate sales will benefit heritage tourism planning and programs.

There are 30 main attractions around Morris County that the program is looking to highlight:

• Acorn Hall
• Bickford Theatre
• Boonton Museum
• Butler Museum
• Community Children’s Museum
• Cooper Mill
• Community Theatre
• Cultural Center
• Frelinghuysen Arboretum
• Fosterfields
• Fort Nonsense
• Historic Speedwell
• Jockey Hollow
• Macculloch Hall
• Mennen Sports Arena
• Montville Museum
• Morris Museum
• Morris Plains Museum
• Museum of Early Trades & Crafts
• Obadiah La Tourette Grist & Saw Mill
• Playwrights Theatre
• Ralston Cider Mill
• Schuyler-Hamilton House
• Seaton Hackney Stables
• The Seeing Eye
• Stickley Museum
• Shakespeare Theatre
• Washington’s Headquarters
• Whippany Railway Museum
• Willowwood Arboretum

While heritage and cultural sites are promoted by the Morris County Tourism Bureau, helping visitors locate the sites is the purpose of the way finding signage. The current system is poorly designed and posted, according to NJ Historic Trust. The grant helped fund the preparation of a wayfinding signage program for the city that will serve as a model project for other municipalities and counties.  

MERJE, a Philadelphia consulting firm, is heading up the project.