The history behind the iconic Sheboygan logo
The contemporary logo was adopted by the Common Council in November 1987
SHEBOYGAN — While not immediately obvious, the City of Sheboygan logo has slowly been disappearing from sight.
The iconic contemporary city logo was adopted by the Common Council in November 1987 after a selection committee of local graphic artists reviewed several submissions.
The stylized S for Sheboygan actually denotes sky, water and upward movement according to Chris Hameister who worked for DuFour & Associates, the local firm that designed the logo. But there are were three other slightly modified logos for the Riverfront, Lakefront and the proposed City Centre, a never built $60 million rebuild of Downtown Sheboygan. Only one of those three logos are in use but just like the main city logo, it too has been disappearing.
The Riverfront logo can be found along Riverfront Drive as well as at the corner of South 8th Street and Virginia Avenue. Just three of these signs exist today. That’s because when the logos were designed in 1987, the Riverfront was under construction and the signage was installed before the Harbor Centre branding and logo was developed. As part of the Riverfront Revival Project and the city’s branding efforts, the city logo appears on nearly every building along Riverfront Drive including the newest addition of Parker John’s, built in 2017.
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Mayor Richard Schneider said the logos represent the city's new "spirit and positive image.” At the time, City Development Director Robert Peterson said officials had recognized the need to strengthen the city’s graphic image to the public. In 1988, DuFour & Associates won an ADDY Award for the four City of Sheboygan logos they designed. Underneath the logo is the city’s slogan, Spirit on the Lake.
The logo was such a hit that in 1991, it was found on anything from coffee cups, water towers and all city vehicles including police cars, fire engines, transit buses and trucks assigned to the Department of Public Works, and the Sheboygan Water Utility. The city had planned to install replicas of the city's logo but it was dropped because they could not get a federal loan to cover the $60,000 cost.
In 2003, the City of Sheboygan celebrated its 150th anniversary and DuFour designed the city's sesquicentennial logo. The red, white and blue logo incorporated many of the elements of the main city logo. The sesquicentennial logo was printed on t-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, pint glasses and even plates. The following year, another version of the city logo was designed with included a golf ball on a tee to welcome visitors attending the 2004 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
The city logo was featured on a 135-foot water tower in the Sheboygan Industrial Park on Paine Avenue. The water tower was built in 1972 when Industrial Park No. 1 was constructed. It was dismantled in April 2010 because it did not have the capacity needed to continue serving that side of the city according to Superintendent Joe Trueblood of the Sheboygan Water Utility.
A disappearing act
In recent years, the City of Sheboygan logo has slowly faded away.
The logo became part of city police cars in 1997 until the Sheboygan Police Department switched to all black Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors in 1999. Two years later, squad cars became black and white. In 2010, the Sheboygan Transit System underwent a rebranding and the name was changed to Shoreline Metro. As a result, the city logo was removed from the side of all buses.
The city logo was also prominently displayed on temporary stop signs at traffic signals. As of today, there are just four remaining.
Up until 2018, the logo was on the City Hall sign at North 9th Street and Center Avenue as well as on the doors. There were two large logos painted on the walls of the Common Council Chamber. After a renovation, the logo was removed.
In 2020, the logo started disappearing from the city’s Department of Public Works vehicles. Starting with the new fleet of garbage trucks, the department’s logo is now a simple and unoriginal DPW text with three scribbles going through the letters. The department’s logo was stamped into the all trash and recycling carts. The city logo remains on just a handful of vehicles and equipment assigned to DPW.
The city logo is incorporated into the Sheboygan Fire Department’s shoulder patch and was prominently displayed on the sides of fire engines and ambulances. In 2022, the department placed into service a new fire engine at Station 4 which did not include the department’s logo or the city logo. Since then, the city has placed several pieces of new apparatus into service without the logos.
The City of Sheboygan fails to explain the history and significance behind its own logo. There is no reference to it on the city’s website or at City Hall.
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