Just Visiting? Take a Quick Pic!

Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Monticello is a hub for tourists, being just a short turn off of Interstate 10, and around 20 miles from larger cities like Tallahassee, Fla. and Thomasville, Ga. It is a town filled with friendly locals and small-town staples in both dining and shopping options that make it a sought after destination for people sight seeing around North Florida as well as those who are just passing through.
This Monday, Monticello got a new addition to add to the list of tourist-friendly things to do, as the Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting on a Photo Op sign by the courthouse, organized by the Tourist Development Council (TDC.)
A photo op, short for photo opportunity, is just what it sounds like; an arranged opportunity to take a photograph of a notable event or place. This sign encourages people to take photos of themselves in the frame and advertise through social media where they are. Photo ops are perfect things to collect as souvenirs whilst on a road trip or visiting a new place for the day.
This sign, placed on the northeast end of the courthouse roundabout, is positioned so that visitors can take a memorable photo of their visit to Monticello with the stately courthouse in the background, framed by our historical crepe myrtles, which are in full bloom right now.
The installation of the photo op sign has been a long process. A volunteer, who wished to forgo credit, built the frame over a year ago. When COVID hit, the sign completion was halted. Even when things began to slowly open back up, roadwork that was being done in the center of town stopped the completion of the sign even further. When the sign lettering was finally finished and the sign was done being painted, it was discovered that a construction machine- a large machine with a front end bucket- had damaged it, scraping one of the posts. After waiting a significant amount of time for promised repairs to be made, the Chamber members decided to repaint it themselves to complete the sign sufficiently so that it could finally, at long last, be used.
On your next stroll around town, be sure to stop by and take your picture at the new photo op sign around the courthouse circle and help put Monticello on the social media map, one photograph at a time!