The sign doesn’t say you’ve got to have a membership card to get inside, but if you have a hankering for all things Americana, the American Sign Museum is just the ticket.
Located in Cincinnati, Ohio the American Sign Museum has a collection of over 3000 signs and billboards from all over the last century. Hand-painted, gold leaf signs from before the advent of electricity all the way to the neon flashing a variety of the last fifty years.
President Calvin Coolidge said “The business of America is Business” and to survive in the competitive capitalistic world, a business needed a way to stand out. Signs when they were well made, caught a person’s eyes and got their attention. The became especially important once the automobile came into prominence. Now a business had to lure a customer off the highway. A creative, humorous or uniquely presented sign became invaluable. This museum celebrates some of the best in this class.
Many of the signs belong to businesses that are now defunct. But I remembered many of them from my younger days. Like Howard Johnson. The McDonalds in Topeka, Kansas had this old sign with “Mr. Speedee” (Ronald McDonald’s predecessor) up until about 20 years ago.
The tickets are $15.00 so it really depends on how much you want to see a collection of old advertisements. But I do find it entertaining. It’s definitely a one of a kind experience. So if this sounds like something you want to check out, consider this post a sign.
