The case of the missing ‘E’ on the Pleasant District sign in downtown Oak Park has been puzzling store owners and shoppers alike, as the newly renovated street’s nameplate is missing a piece.
Patrons and business operators noticed the missing vowel from the black and white sign about a week ago, so Carla Gini, marketing spokeswoman for the Pleasant District, and others set out to solve the local mystery.
“I thought, ‘Did we produce a misspelled sign?’ Gini said. “Then I saw the space for the ‘E’ was vacant and the letter was missing. We all began trying to figure out where it had gone.”
Gini said others in the Pleasant District began omitting “E” in their emails when discussing the mysterious missing letter. The Pleasant District, formerly known as South Marion, received a facelift in 2011 and reopened in December, so the sign is relatively new, Gini said.
The mystery was solved this week, and Pleasant District tenants and shoppers can rest assured it wasn’t a Sesame Street caper. But Loretta Daly, business services manager for the village, said the ‘E’ isn’t the only letter that will need to be adjusted.
“(Sollitt Construction Company) had noticed a welding problem with a few of the letters so they have asked the sign company to fix this,” Daly said. “The ‘E’ should be replaced shortly and then the repair to the others will take place after that.”
“It was the case of the missing ‘E’,” Gini said. “It turned out to be a sweet little mystery.”
