Two Signs Reported Missing From Fogg, Carpenter Center

Two signs worth a combined value of $500 were reported stoles from in front of the Fogg Art Museum and the Computer Center last weekend, police said yesterday.

The hand-painted sign swiped from the Fogg displayed the name of the museum and hours of operation. The Computer Center sign had advertised an exhibition of Life magazine photographs there, officers said.

"It's a painful loss to us," Phillip Persons, assistant director for operations at the Fogg, said yesterday. "The sign was actually a real piece of artistry."

Parsons said the sign had been designed by freelance signmaker Richard Lipton of Cambridge, adding, "sign-writing of that quality is rare."

"It's most annoying to us," Cynthia von Thuna, assistant to the director of the Carpenter Center said of the theft.

Von Thuna and Parsons said the signs would be replaced, but could not estimate when they would be installed.

David Priestly, the security manager for the Fogg, said yesterday that the new sign there would be secured by special screws that could not be removed without a special screwdriver.

The sign at the Fogg, valued at $250, was reported taken between last Saturday night around 5 p.m. and Sunday around 12:30 p.m., police said.

The sign at the Carpenter Center was reported taken between last Thursday at 5 p.m. and Friday at 1 p.m., police said.

Other incidents reported to Harvard University police during the period from March 2 to 9 included:

Tires Taken: A victim told police that someone took two rear tires from his car in the Business School parking lot between Feb. 29 and March 2. The car was left on blocks, the victim told police. The estimated cost of replacing the tires was $150, police said.

Wallets Filched: Freshmen were warned in this week's issue of the Yard Bulletin, the Freshman Dean's Office publication, not to leave wallets in backpacks because of the "rash" of wallet thefts.

Freshmen were also advised to call porters who guard the Union if they see any suspicious persons in the Union.

Several thefts have occurred in the Union in recent weeks. At least five wallets were reported taken in the last month, as well as coats and knapsacks.

A female victim told police that someone took her red fold-over wallet from a pocket-book on the counter at Au Bon Pain restaurant at about 4:40 Monday afternoon. The wallet contained $150 in cash and credit cards, the victim told police.

Unlen Thefts: Two wallets were reported taken from the Freshmen Union this week, police said.

One wallet was reported taken from a backpack left near the coatroom in the Union at dinnertime last Friday. The victim told police the wallet contained $15 each, credit cards and I.D.'s.

Another wallet was reported taken from a jacket left unattended on a chair at the Union during dinnertime March 2. That wallet contained some identifications cards.

In addition, a victim told police her wallet was taken from a backpack in the coatroom area of Quincy House at dinnertime Friday. The wallet contained a Baybank card, I.D.'s and personal papers valued at $80, the victim told police.

Laundry Lifted: Someone took a load of laundry valued at $200 from a washing machine in the Holworthy laundry room between 9:30 and 10:20 p.m. last Sunday, a victim told police.

The thefts were among nine of more that $100 and seven of less than $100 reported to Harvard University police during the week ending Thursday.

In addition, Harvard police warned five people off Harvard property.

Detector Damage: Police responding to a fire alarm at a Canaday E-entry room found that the smoke detector system had been ripped from the ceiling. A party attended by about 30 people was going on in the room when the incident occurred.

Canaday Senior Adviser Terry Shaller said yesterday that the detector was in operating condition again.