Thank you to the voice of reason presented by the arts and parks commissions regarding the placement of a giant “Love La Conner” sign in Gilkey Square! I am baffled that anyone would want to change the character of our charming square by installing an oversized ad in the space.

My initial objection arose when I saw the photo in the paper. I reached out to town council with my concerns and was contacted by a member of council who told me the story in the paper was misleading and inaccurate. However, it was confirmed that the proposed ad/sculpture is indeed 11 feet tall. That’s five feet taller than a six-foot person. Does council really think this is appropriate for the intimate space of Gilkey Square, which was so carefully and beautifully designed to fit our town?

I was told this intended “selfie spot” was inspired by a similar structure in Nice, France and that nothing in Gilkey Square says, “La Conner.” I did an online search for “Nice, France, selfies” and found a few images of a giant, garish, # I Love Nice, France sign on the beach in Nice. I haven’t been to Nice, but from my research I learned there is a population of over 300,000 in this city on the Mediterranean Sea along the French Riviera. Their sign is located on a promenade with an entire seascape in the background. In that location a massive scale might make sense. In a small, intimate square in a town of 900, not so much.

I also did a search for #ilovenice and #ilovenicefrance on Instagram. I mean, that is the point, right? To get people to take pictures and post them on social media? Guess what? Out of over 600,000 images tagged #ilovenice – hardly any are of their massive hashtag sign. There are just over 500 posts that use the entire hashtag #ilovenicefrance. Even among those, very few feature the so-called selfie spot. Maybe the selfie-station isn’t that popular? It certainly stands out against the gorgeous architecture, azure waters and blue skies of Nice. And it seems people prefer taking pictures of those things.

Social media is ephemeral by nature. TikTok is already more popular than Instagram. We don’t know what’s coming next. Why spend so much money on something that will look tired and dated in five years?

What was a charming novelty during the pandemic lockdown – a low-rise set of pots and Love La Conner sign – has somehow been distorted into a monolithic ad. Why not create something smaller and easily relocated to feature different parts of town? Something that can be used temporarily while it’s trendy. Something ... ephemeral.

For impact and longevity, look to Chicago’s Cloud Gate, aka “bean” sculpture. It says nothing about Chicago and yet, it is an iconic sculpture that immediately identifies the location. It’s also a wildly popular spot for photos. Great art can do that.

At the very least, there should be a design competition with more options presented. Apparently, the money has already been approved.

I hope the town council listens to the input of the two commissions and finds a more appropriate way to use that money.

Nancy Crowell, a photographer, is a longtime resident of

La Conner.