Perth Voice Interactive

ONE of the most iconically cringeworthy landmarks of Perth will be covered up, with the old Hahn Ice mural on the side of the Murray Lodge to be covered by a $200,000 LED billboard.

The Murray Street building is a famous eyesore, with even the owners admitting it’s “ugly outside, beautiful within”.

Perth city councillors were split over whether to allow the new board, but most gave it the thumbs up.

The PCC’s usual rules allow these lit signs in the CBD but they’re a no go in the West Perth precinct, where signs should be “of a high quality and conservative and restrained in character, scale and form”.

Cr James Limnios told anti-sign councillors the council was progressive in other areas but “when it comes to signs, we’re like Nazis, we’re old-fashioned”.

Cr Rob Butler reckoned the lit-up sign would go a ways towards making the dingy carpark outside the tired motel more “vibrant”.

“It is lifeless,” he said of the locale. “Why wouldn’t we try to add some vibrancy and a bit of colour, because quite frankly the only colour around the area at the moment is the Shell garage.”

Cr Reece Harley said an LED billboard (that would most likely be advertising McDonald’s) was “not my idea of vibrancy”. Cr Judy McEvoy and Jim Adamos agreed.

Lodge owners won approval for a 10-level addition in February 2013, but nothing eventuated. That runs out next February.

by DAVID BELL