Wayfinding is a strategy that is set in place to connect people to places of interest by guiding them through their physical environment. Wayfinding can enhance the overall experience of a place, support a branding or identity of a place, and provide a sense of inclusion.

Englewood setout to create a comprehensive and effective urban wayfinding signage throughout the city of Englewood in 2020 and 2021. The resulting plan provides a framework for prioritization and implementation of new gateway signs, vehicular directional signs, pedestrian directional signs and interpretive signage. In addition to the wayfinding signage recommendations, the document also provides placemaking opportunities and ideas for implementation at an economically viable scale throughout the city. 

View the Wayfinding & Placemaking Master Plan Here

Phase 1

City Council allocated funding in 2021 for implementation of Phase 1 of the Wayfinding & Placemaking Masterplan which included two new primary gateways and 17 new secondary gateways. The primary gateways will be located near Belleview and Broadway and at University & Hampden. Secondary gateways can be found at almost all arterial corridors into the city. Both primary and secondary gateways will be installed by the end of 2023.

Phase 2

Phase 2 of implementation of the wayfinding elements of the Wayfinding and Placemaking Masterplan will include design and implementation of the final primary gateways and design and implementation of vehicular directionals. Vehicular directionals will help our residents find sites of interest within the community including our light rail stations, football stadium and high school, downtown area, Pirates Cove Water Park, Malley Senior Recreation Center and the Englewood Recreation Center to name a few. These signs will be designed and installed in 2024. 

Future Phases

Future phases of the plan include pedestrian directionals and additional interpretive signage

In 2021, the City of Englewood partnered with the Englewood Historic Preservation Society, now called Historic Englewood to produce 50 new interpretive signs to tell the history of Englewood. These signs have been placed at historic sites throughout the community and can be found in the corresponding historic walking/driving tour brochures. View the Walking Tour and Brochures Here

In 2020, the Englewood Cultural Arts Commission began an investigation of artistic crosswalks. With the support of the Englewood Traffic Advisory Committee and Public Works Department, a new program to help businesses and residents request and fund creative crosswalks was formed. For information, e-mail cac@englewoodco.gov. 

The Cultural Arts Commission, partnering with the Museum of Outdoor Arts and Public Works Department, created the Traffic Signal Box Art program in 2021. There are several available traffic signal boxes that are available for art, and the Cultural Arts Commission periodically does Call for Artists to design art for these boxes. For information, e-mail cac@englewoodco.gov. 

Englewood has a rich history of murals on private and public property. The Cultural Arts Commission reviews mural art proposals, and has limited grant funds to assist businesses and non-profit organizations with murals that face public roadways.

Englewood benefits from more public art per capita than most cities. Through a partnership with the Museum of Outdoor Arts, Englewood retains 34 works of public art. In addition, the Cultural Arts Commission launched the Swedish Horse project which features the works of 11 artists who each painted a fiberglass Swedish horse. Learn More About the Swedish Horses Here