Arts & Entertainment Community
New welcome sign adds some color to city’s front door
Gig Harbor has a bright, new welcome sign, thanks to the generosity of the Tallman family and local Rotarians.
Arts & Entertainment Sponsor
Arts & Entertainment stories are made possible in part by the Gig Harbor Film Festival, a proud sponsor of Gig Harbor Now.
The sign, bearing the words “Welcome to Gig Harbor” and the three gig sails of the city’s logo, stands on Pioneer Way near Highway 16.
It replaces a faded welcome sign promoting the town’s many service clubs. The city plans to move that sign to the Point Fosdick exit.
“This sign says what we all feel, which is welcome to Gig Harbor, welcome to our community, welcome home,” Robin Callahan, past president of the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor, said at a dedication for the new display on Friday, Oct. 3.
The new “Welcome to Gig Harbor” sign on Pioneer Way. Photo by Vince Dice
James Tallman
A plaque nearby honors the late James O. Tallman, a developer and real estate executive who died in 2021.
Tallman’s wife, Dian, approached the Rotary after reading a Gig Harbor Now story from February 2023 about the club’s efforts to beautify the Wollochet Way off-ramp from westbound Highway 16. Her husband loved flags, and she asked about the possibility of installing a giant flagpole — like one near the Highway 16-Interstate 5 interchange — there.
A plaque near the new welcome sign on Pioneer Avenue honors the late James O. Tallman and his wife, Dian. Photo by Vince Dice
That wasn’t feasible. The state owns the interchange property and may someday need it for a redesigned off-ramp.
The parties agreed on a welcome sign, along with a new flagpole, across the street. The flagpole was delayed after sustaining damage in transit, but will be installed soon.
No cost to city
The Tallmans and Rotarians covered the $80,000 cost of the welcome sign, flagpole and other amenities. Helping keep the cost down were the many businesses that made in-kind donations, including Rosedale Gardens, Peninsula Light and others.
The only cost to the city of Gig Harbor was work by public works crews to prepare the site.
“It is so representative of all of us and everyone who makes our community great,” Mayor Mary Barber said at the dedication ceremony.
The sign also honors the 50th anniversary of the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor. A Rotary time capsule at the site will be dug up when the club marks its 100th anniversary, Callahan said.
The display is nearly complete. Along with the flagpole, some lighting remains to be installed and a little landscaping work.
Rotarians, Gig Harbor Public Works employees and city officials gathered Oct. 3 to mark installation of a new welcome sign on Pioneer Way. Photo by Vince Dice