February 12, 2019

My friend Mike explained to me the history behind this sign. The original sign was one of those typical farewell letters that said something to the effect of the landlord jacking up the rent. It was swiftly replaced with this generic message about renovation. What is interesting is that I’ve seen the same renovation sign on many vacant storefronts, and it’s rarely ever true. The previous tenants went out of business; they are not renovating.

Mike pointed out that it’s the landlords who replace the original signs with this generic renovation notice. Now, here is the question: Why do they say it’s under renovation?

I thought about it for a while but I couldn’t think of a good reason. Firstly, why replace it? Why not simply rip the notice that speaks ill of the landlord? What’s wrong with no notice?

If you have to put something up, how about good ol’ “Space for Rent”? Wouldn’t that make a lot more sense?

What is the point of lying? Can anyone figure this out?

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