Wissahickon Sign Crushed on Ridge Avenue

The Wissahickon sign along Ridge Avenue that alerts drivers to "the gateway to Roxborough" got crushed overnight Thursday due to unknown circumstances.

Installed earlier this year, the Wissahickon sign—located at Ridge and Rochelle streets—arrived with the . 

Roxborough residents discovered the sign dismantled Thursday. Just hours earlier, at the Wissahickon Interested Citizens Association meeting Wednesday, residents hailed the sign as a beautiful entrance to the 19128 zip code and as a thoroughfare to Ridge Avenue.

The destruction's cause appears to be a mystery, leaving the neighborhood to pick up the pieces.

So what happens next?

First, the debris will be cleared from Ridge Avenue.

In the interim, the will mask the damage until a replacement occurs, if at all. Organizers plan for shrubs to accomplish at least an aesthetic island as a substitute for the "Wissahickon" sign. Residents will work to either rally for a new sign or determine an alternative, according to emails shared with Patch.

Funding for the sign came from the $2.2 million allocated for Ridge Avenue from federal, state and city projects. It's currently unknown if the sign—which has a "Roxborough" signage counterpart at Ridge and Hermit—will be replaced.