OAK LAWN TO LOSE HIGH LIGHT?

The historical significance of neon may be tested soon. Owners of the Esquire Theater on Oak Lawn Avenue, whose neon sign has been a landmark of the neighborhood for decades, have received notice the sign must go by April 1983.

The sign is in violation of Chapter 42 of the Dallas City code, which sets a maximum height for advertising signs. When the ordinance was passed in 1973, buildings with existing signs built according to former codes were given 10 years to conform to the new requirements. That time is drawing near.

A representative for Plitt Theaters, Inc., owner of the Esquire, says an application for historical landmark status – the same loophole that saved the Mobil flying horse in the downtown area – has been filed with the city’s Urban Planning Commission. But Bonnie Meder of the Urban Planning Office says no such application has been received. She says members of the commission were surprised they haven’t received such an application.