[lbi_editorial_note inner_content=”Photo is in production.” timestamp=”2:02pm on August 25, 2015″]
Perfect harmony
The parties involved in a long-running dispute over the historic neon Coca-Cola sign that sits atop the former Richoux Building at Florida and Third streets downtown have reached a tentative resolution. Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge President Renee Chatelain confirms a deal between her organization, which had claimed ownership of the sign; building owner Mike Crouch, who had also claimed ownership of the sign; and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, which recently became involved in trying to end the impasse. “This is a win-win for everyone,” Chatelain says. While details remain sketchy, Crouch’s attorney, Steve Carleton, says BRAF will play a key role in the sign’s future. “(Crouch) reached out to BRAF to achieve this resolution for the community and is very pleased with the result,” says Carleton. BRAF Executive Vice President John Spain did not return a call for comment in time for publication. The dispute over the sign began in May 2014, when, on the eve of the opening of Raising Cane’s on the ground floor of the building, Crouch had the sign covered with black tarp. The businessman had acquired the building in 2013 and had argued the sign—and compensation for advertising space, insurance and maintenance—came with it. The Arts Council, however, has paperwork showing it was given the sign in a donation by one of the building’s previous owners.
—Stephanie Riegel
