DERBY – On May 13 the City of Derby began the countdown to its 350th birthday with a program to not only celebrate the past, but also to leave a legacy for future generations. The Historic Birmingham Borough Signage Project began a two-year program installing historic signage starting in the old Birmingham Borough – what most people would today consider to be “downtown” Derby.
A major redevelopment is currently underway on Main Street, and it’s planned to include plaques for new buildings that come online as the city as well as the older buildings.
The first plaques were installed in May in time for Derby’s 348th birthday. On October 1, the city’s Department of Public Works began installing four new plaques highlighting an era when Derby was the financial center of the entire Valley signified by the thriving financial institutions along the north side of Main Street.
Starting at the corner of Main and Olivia Streets, the plaques are being installed on the current Cohen & Thomas office building, the Senior Center, the Twisted Vine Restaurant and Derby City Hall. Many don’t know the origins of the current structures prior to their current uses, but the plaques installed by the Department of Public Works tell the story. The Cohen & Thomas building was once the home of the Derby Savings Bank. The Senior Center housed The Home Trust Company and the Twisted Vine Restaurant was The Birmingham Savings Bank. The current city hall is much newer, but prior to being converted to City Hall, it was the home to a later Derby Savings Bank office and its successor Webster Bank.
The plaques at City Hall and the Senior Center were funded by the city while the plaque at Cohen & Thomas was sponsored by Cohen & Thomas. Bill Malerba paid for the plaque at Twisted Vine as an example of the public-private partnership that is making the Historic Signage Project possible.
The project will also be open to developers and other property owners. The committee has developed a preliminary interactive Google map showing potential sites to be included.
The map is a work in progress and other sites will be included. Developers and property owners will be asked to fund their own plaques and the committee will work with them on the historic language. All signs will include the graphic of the city seal to easily identify the site as having historic significance.
Additional sites will be announced periodically between now and May 13, 2025 which is the official 350th birthday.
