Residents of the Benton County community of Van Horne Thursday expressed surprise at a new addition to Cherry Street on the town’s southeast side: a sign directing people to Czech Village in Cedar Rapids.
While not opposed to the helpful directional guidance, most residents were mildly bewildered by a sign pointing to a destination nearly 30 miles away.
“I mean, I guess it’s OK,” said Elizabeth Schroeder, 302 4th Street, Van Horne. “It doesn’t hurt anything. And now that I see it, I realize I’ve never been to Czech Village because I wasn’t sure where it is. Now that I know, Papa and I might want to check it out.”
That’s exactly the reaction Czech Village-New Bohemia Main Street District Executive Director Annie Hamilton is hoping for, she said.
“We thought, why only place wayfinding signs in Cedar Rapids?” she said. “Maybe what’s preventing people from driving an hour or more to Cedar Rapids is that they don’t know which way to go. Now that they know, it’s a lot easier to head over.”
Hamilton said the district has plans to install similar signs in Palo, Shellsburg, Keota, South English, Hopkinton, and Frytown. Plans for signs in Winterset and Estherville were sidelined when signs for the Brandon Frying Pan got there first, Hamilton said.
