Some of the examples of signs sold during the online auction are pictured. The vintage Williams Street sign raised the most individually, surpassing $400.

By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(July 17, 2025) The Town of Berlin’s street sign auction, launched earlier this month, has drawn to a close, securing over $10,000 in revenue for the municipality’s community center project.

To raise funds for a community center in Berlin, the town’s leaders auctioned off retired street signs, including stop signs, road name posts, and speed limit banners, via the ClickBid system. The program kicked off on July 1 and officially concluded at noon on Tuesday, July 15.

According to Sara Gorfinkel, executive assistant to Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall, upon the closure of the bidding war Tuesday afternoon, 140 of the 158 available signs were auctioned off, and more than 200 people had logged into the system, placing a total of 1,116 bids.

At the Berlin Mayor and Council’s meeting on Monday, July 14, Gorfinkel noted that the auction had secured the town $7,690 at that point. By noon the next day, that figure rose to a little over $10,000, surpassing the executive assistant’s goal of $8,000.

The money will be used for a historical display inside the town’s planned community center. The exhibit will likely incorporate plaques, archive materials and display boxes.

“We want to highlight the history of Berlin and the families that have made Berlin what it is,” Gorfinkel said last month. “We know that the archives and the history are significant to the Town of Berlin, so we are specifically raising money to put aside for that. We have the Taylor House Museum, so that it won’t be anything on that level. Still, we want it to be people-focused and an excellent resource, so people feel their history is reflected in the community center.”

The auction’s profit will help town leaders reach this goal. Gorfinkel noted that some of the more desirable signs included Baker Street, which, as of Monday night, had garnered 30 separate bids at $370; Graham Avenue, with 25 bids at $300; and two vintage North Main Street signs, one reaching $260 and the other $270.

The vintage Quillin Drive home raised the most amount of money, auctioning for $430.

Officials maintained that the street sign auction wasn’t just for locals. Most bidders were registered in the Town of Berlin, but several were outside the municipality’s limits, some even as far as Colorado, Arizona, and California.

Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall acknowledged the program’s success, adding that it was shared earlier this month with a member of Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s team.

“They loved it so much, they said, ‘Can we share this with the rest of the state?’ We’ve taken something here that would otherwise be thrown in the garbage and made $10,000 on it for the community center,” Tyndall said.

The mayor added that the town has access to the software ClickBid for a year. The municipality is likely to utilize the website again, possibly around the holiday season, for additional fundraising efforts.

“It helps when we’re looking for funding to be able to show local support,” he said.

The community center is an ongoing project for Berlin, now $10,000 closer to fruition. The endeavor has been on the town’s docket for decades, but has started to make headway over the past few years. The future building will provide meeting space, recreational activities, services, and amenities, and will be located at 130 Flower Street.

Progress towards the planned facility has been made possible through a partnership between the Town of Berlin, the Berlin Community Improvement Association (BCIA), SHOREUP! Inc., and the Worcester County Commissioners, who worked to combine four parcels of property on Flower Street, formerly adjacent to the Flower Street School.

Successful bidders can pick their signs up from Town Hall any day next week between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.