Iconic Del Ray Bank Sign Is Out For Repairs

The night sky in Del Ray went a little darker last week.

Thankfully, it’s only a temporary thing.

The iconic Burke and Herbert Bank sign on Monroe Avenue was taken down on Thursday so it could be refurbished.

“Right now it’s not structurally sound,” said Burke and Herbert spokesperson Yvette Golladay.

DMS Sign Connection of Mt. Airy, Md., is responsible for fixing up the illuminated sign that vertically spells “BANK.” It is expected to return to the Monroe Avenue branch in about four weeks.

At a Del Ray Business Association luncheon last year, representatives from the branch announced that the building would undergo a renovation and that the illuminated sign would remain. 

The renovations are part of a company-wide effort to revitalize the bank’s 19 locations across Northern Virginia.

When Scott McSween was hired as the president of Burke and Herbert in 2009, he was charged with giving the bank a new look—both inside and out—that would appeal to customers young and old, according to a report in the Washington Business Journal. Some of McSween’s changes included a new logo and tagline for Virginia’s oldest bank.

In the last month, the old script letters on the south facade of the Monroe Avenue branch were taken down and replaced with illuminated signs bearing the bank’s new logo.

Golladay said the old script letters are being reused. A graphic designer with the bank requested a few of them, as has Chairman E. Hunt Burke.

“I don’t think he realized how big they are,” Golladay said. 

The Monroe Avenue branch, which opened 58 years ago this month, will host a community open house shortly after the return of its beloved sign.