NORTHAMPTON — After more than a year’s absence, the letter “A” has returned to the Calvin Theatre marquee.
Chris Hwalek with Agnoli Sign Co., of Springfield, on Tuesday installed the letter, which had been missing since July 2015.
Hwalek said his first assignment ever with the company was to restore a missing piece of the sign, and now he was back fixing it again.
As Hwalek worked around 1 p.m., many onlookers took photos of the restoration.
Hwalek said he was working to fix the neon lights on the letter “A” so that it would complete the word CALVIN and be lit at night.
In April, theater owner Eric Suher declined to provide a timetable for a replacement of the missing letter. The incomplete name on the marquee has been brought up in public meetings by Mayor David Narkewicz, who also noted that Suher owns many of the vacant storefronts in downtown Northampton.
Suher could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
In June, the missing letter inspired local beer makers to create the C_LVIN India Pale Ale. The beer was a collaboration between Brewmaster Jack of Northampton and Abandoned Building Brewery of Easthampton.
The missing A is not the first time a letter has disappeared from the marquee. More than four years ago, the “C” fell off after a delivery truck struck the marquee and dislodged the aluminum character. For a long time, the marquee read ALVIN.