Historical Museum Advisory Board Chair John Honan was pleased to award the 2024 Louisville Pioneer Award at the annual Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner in January. This year’s recipient of the Pioneer Award is Louisville’s own sign painter Ed Helmstead.
Louisville Pioner Award Ed Helmstead
You might not know Ed, but if you have ever been to downtown Louisville, you know his work. Ed’s signs can be found up and down Main and Front Streets and throughout Louisville, enhancing the special feeling of the downtown area. Check out, for example, the Moxie signs, the front and side of the Louisville Historical Museum or the multitude of signs at the corner of Pine and Front Street. Don’t miss his most recent work, the sign on the Grain Elevator downtown.
Using both old time techniques and more modern technology, Ed works to create original signs that both grab our attention and convey within 2-3 seconds the nature of the subject business. To accomplish that, Ed likes to stick to plain lettering that pops, sometimes with a colorful background. Other techniques include wood carving, gold leaf and frosted crystal. Sometimes the signs are on the side of the building or hanging in the air; other times an A-frame serves to pique our interest and point us in the right direction. Ed’s original signs are denoted by a small “Eddidit” signature with the date of the sign following.
Since 1985, the City of Louisville’s Historical Museum Advisory Board has annually given the Pioneer Award to people in recognition of their contributions, in spirit and time, in promoting the interests and future of the City of Louisville through his/her or their personal service to the community and its residents.