WARREN - Your future visit to downtown Warren could have a soundtrack.
Though neither members of Warren GROWS nor Trumbull 100 had a completion date handy, two workers Wednesday afternoon were wiring speakers attached to the lamp posts along Market Street by Courthouse Square. Using a laptop computer, they were testing the speaker's ability to play music.
The entire square could have music once everything is installed.
"This was originally started with the ice skating rink ... It (music) would be more pleasant for downtown merchants and more pleasant for people who work downtown," said Mike Craig, president of Trumbull 100, which has funded projects such as the Courthouse Square ice skating rink last winter and the more recent repairs to the square's fountain.
Jim Dalessandro, of Warren GROWS, said the merchants initially took up the charge to get background music.
They wanted to "beautify the sound atmosphere downtown and make it a pleasant experience to shop," he said.
Funding for the $15,000 to $20,000 project is coming from the Skip Cole fund, Craig said. The system will be dedicated to his memory at a later date. Cole was a member of Trumbull 100.
The setup will work like the music system in a department store, the two men said.
They said the Muzak company will provide the sounds. Muzak's Web site lists more than 80 different themes, including atmosphere, pop, rock, holiday music, classical and hip hop.
Dalessandro said more equipment would be installed Monday. A receiver will be placed on top of a downtown building, and the music will reach the speakers through the city's wireless access hub, he said.
