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Snyder Signs’ giant guitar honors Bristol’s musical heritage.
By Steve Aust
To commemorate its 100th anniversary, the Bristol (TN and VA) Chamber of Commerce wanted to create an iconic tribute. The area’s musical heritage provided an easy answer. Victor Records recorded many of the region’s traditional folk-music artists, most notably the legendary Carter family, in Bristol, which earned it the nickname “The Birthplace of Country Music” (country legend Tennessee Ernie Ford also hails from Bristol).
Thus, a monument that features a behemoth, acoustic guitar proved a fitting testament to local history. The chamber hired Johnson City, TN-based Snyder Signs to undertake the job. Although the inspiration might have arrived simply, the 22-ft.-tall guitar’s production required hard work, exacting attention to detail and more than 700 hours of labor.
Taking shape
Although both Bristols maintain independent governments, the chamber serves both communities because of their intertwined identity. Downtown’s State St. serves as the line of demarcation, and the cities’ iconic gateway sign proudly decrees the joint Bristol communities “a good place to live.”
Lisa Meadows, the Bristol Chambers’ president, received inspiration for the iconic monument during a visit to Cleveland. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Cleveland’s Rotary Club, the group commissioned the production of several replica guitars, which were set in concrete and installed between the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Science Museum.
When she returned to Bristol, she coordinated the formation of a chamber committee to explore the development of a monument to celebrate its milestone. She approached Thompson & Litton, a structural-engineering firm with an office in Bristol, TN, to develop conceptual drawings for several potential themes. Several themes, such as a fountain or an auto-racing themed sculpture (the Bristol Motor Speedway and Bristol Dragway feature several NASCAR and NHRA events annually), were considered. However, Meadows said the group reached an easy consensus that the city’s country-music heritage should be the monument’s focal point.
Scott Wilson, Thompson & Litton’s project manager, credits Emily Hope, an architectural student interning at the firm, with conceiving the idea from scratch. Needed were durable materials that would stand up to the Appalachian Valley’s changeable climate, yet still authentically resemble a guitar. The chamber’s property, which fronts a busy, four-way intersection, provided an ideal location.