Politics & Government

Lafayette, Cheeburger Can Put Up Signs, City Says

Zoners approve mural-sized sign for new Lafayette film and media center.

Lafayette College's new film school is going to have its name in lights.

The Easton Zoning Board on Monday approved a request by the college to put a 475 square foot sign advertising the school's new Film and Media studies campus on North Third Street.

The sign would be visible from Route 22 east. 

“It’s closer to the Crayola mural than it is to the typical sign," said attorney Daniel Cohen, representing the college.   

School officials said the LED sign could be dimmed past 11 p.m. or midnight, depending on activities at the center. And architect David Zaiser assured the board it won't distract drivers.

“What it looks like won’t change as your driving. It won’t flutter or change,” Zaiser said.

The board approved plans for the film and media school earlier this year. Cohen called it an opportunity "to put Easton and Laf on the map in terms of the film industry.”    

The project got some attention beyond the city earlier this summer, although not in the way Lafayette might appreciate:

Author James Howard Kunstler named the film and media center the July "eyesore of the month" on his blog.

Also Monday, the board approved a request from Cheeburger Cheeburger to put up two signs at its new location at 336 Northampton St.

The hamburger chain is set to open its first Lehigh Valley franchise next week inside the former Pomeroy building.

The company has said it plans to stay open seven days a week and will operate around the clock, 24 hours a day, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This makes Cheeburger the second downtown fast-food joint this year to cater to the late-night crowd, following N. Fourth Street's Downtown Dawg.

Cheeburger Cheeburger has more than 60 restaurants in 18 states, with the Easton site being its sixth in Pennsylvania.

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Although it seems to take its name from the John Belushi SNL skit about a diner with a pretty limited menu, the chain says its claims to fame are its angus beef burgers with multiple toppings and its 1.2 million flavor combinations of milk shakes.


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