After more than two decades marking the location of Molly’s Seaside Market in Gibsons, the tall, metalwork “Molly’s Lane” sign has come down, but it will rise again.
The owners of the Quay Building on Gower Point Road wanted the sign removed because it was starting to deteriorate to the point where it might be a hazard, and the operators of the Market were worried it could be the end of the landmark.
Gibsons Coun. Silas White heard what was happening from one of the Market merchants. “The posts had become very rusty, and the sign was really shaky when I went down to check on it,” White said. “I can understand it was becoming a liability issue for [the building owners] and they were worried it would come down.”
White got together with Market owner Peri Clark and came up with a plan that will see the Town take ownership of the sign, refurbish it, and reinstall it at the entrance to Molly’s Lane off the Five Corners intersection.
“As a council we’ve talked in the past about how it would be nice to have that Molly’s Lane sign closer to the entrance so people [going through Five Corners] could actually see it and know there are shops down there,” White said. “It’s important to us that Molly’s Lane be a vibrant and visible destination.”
The sign dates back to the early ’90s. It was built by Joy Germaine’s husband and son a couple of years after the couple established the Market in 1992.
“We were sorry to see it come down,” said Germaine, who still works at the Market under the current owners. “There were a lot of people who took pictures of it, and it was an institution in the Lane. So long as they find a home for it where it will do us some good and still be visible, I’m fine with that.”
White said the Town’s public works department will need time to check over the sign and make any necessary repairs, so it’s too early to set a firm date to have it installed at the new location.
