"Chicago Theatre District" bronze markers disappearing, thieves suspected

(CBS) CHICAGO - Bronze street markers proclaiming the "Chicago Theatre District" on Randolph Street - there are nearly a dozen of them - are rapidly disappearing, CBS Chicago reports.

Authorities believe the inlaid signs are being laid waste by thieves.

Gabe Klein is Chicago's commissioner of transportation, who will be surveying the Chicago Theatre District markers, installed in 1999, according to CBS Chicago. They are now missing huge hunks of stars, letters, and even the centerpiece word "Theatre."

"We're going to talk to some of the stakeholders in the community, including the folks that own all the theaters, and try to figure out a plan going forward," Klein says.

Options include repairing and replacing.

Charlotte Searles of Chicago noticed the uneven surface of the marker at Randolph and Dearborn.

"It looks like a hazard. And I just recently fell downtown. But I definitely would fix these and preserve them," she says.