The graffiti, spelling out ‘I Love You, Will U Marry Me’, became an iconic image on the Park Hill Flats in Sheffield, due to its romantic intentions and daring placement on a bridge between two blocks of high rise flats.
Award winning regeneration company Urban Splash began a refurbishment of the almost derelict flats in 2010. and decided to mark their progress with the switch-on of the striking neon sign.
Using a T27T truck mount, the installation crew took two days to mount and fix the individual letters. The truck mount has an extendable basket to allow a wider working space of 6.47 metres,
meaning the machine did not have to be moved as much, enabling the installers to carry out the work quickly and efficiently.
Peter Luczka, Business Sector Manager for EPL Skylift, said the machine was ideal for the application: “The T37R Ruthmann truck mount has a 37m working height and a good work platform area with a safe working load of 500kg – ideal for when signage materials need to be carried up in the platform.”
Simon Stokes of Sign Specialists, who supplied and installed the sign, said the truck mount was used to provide access to drill and secure the neon glass to the fixtures, and to run the electrical cabling from the sign to the ground – distance of over 25 metres.
EPL Skylift provided an operator on each day of the installation and Simon Stokes said the operators demonstrated real skill by lowering the cradle into the confines of the bridge so that plant machinery could be offloaded.
He added: “Both guys were extremely helpful and enabled our installation crew to complete the project on schedule.”
Tom Bloxham, Chairman at Urban Splash, said: “As Park Hill turns fifty, a new chapter is beginning and it is fitting to mark this point with the unveiling of the neon sign – the latest modern twist at Park Hill.
“The declaration ‘I Love You Will U Marry Me’ is not only an iconic piece of graffiti but is also our invitation to the city. We want people to love Park Hill once again and it is exciting to see the development taking shape.”
A BBC Radio 4 documentary aiming to get to the bottom of who wrote the message has been produced by local freelance journalist Frances Brynes and is expected to air later this summer. The message was famously worn on a t-shirt by Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys.