The Colorado Springs Downtown Development Authority is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the recovery of a sign from a historic downtown store, according to a Wednesday news release.
The large sign above the entrance to Michelle’s Chocolatier, a downtown institution for more than 50 years before it closed in 2007, was reported missing in December, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.
It had been removed from its former place in front of the store to make room for a new business sign and was in the storage lot of a sign shop on the east side of the city, said spokeswoman Carrie Simison.
“We’re looking for it so we can have it restored,” Simison said. “If you used to frequent Michelle’s as a kid, it holds a special place in your heart. So we want to fix it and place it in another location downtown, so people can see it and enjoy it.”
Longtime Colorado Springs residents may remember lining up outside the store at 122 N. Tejon St. for chocolate hearts or homemade ice cream, Simison said. Michelle’s was founded in 1952 and moved to its downtown location in 1954. In 2007, the IRS took the building in a voluntary seizure to satisfy a federal tax lien, according to previous reporting in The Gazette.
The sign, which is old and in disrepair, may have been taken by someone who thought it was being discarded, Simison said.
“It could have been taken for some innocuous reason,” she said. “For all we know, it could be sitting in someone’s backyard somewhere.
“It had broken bulbs, and it was rusted,” she said. “The sign doesn’t have much actual value to it, except maybe as scrap. But it does have emotional value for a lot of the community.”
The sign is light blue, says “Michelle” in an ornate script, and is decorated with multicolored light bulbs. It weighs about 1,500 pounds and should be fairly easy to spot, officials said.
Anyone with information about the sign’s whereabouts is asked to call 719-886-0088 or email info@downtowncs.com. Officials hope to recover the sign before April 30.
“If we get it back and restore it, people who have years of memories at Michelle’s will be able to relive them in a small way,” Simison said. “That’s all we want.”
