Let's talk about OLD street signs

I did an excavation job in a small town and out of a 6" deep ditch that I had to make a 3' deep ditch I dug up a stop sign that was yellow and black with a black stripe on top and bottom of the lettering. What years did they use this and what other defunct signs have you seen?

 

I recall when I was young, about 7-8 there was a stop sign that was yellow with hemisphere glass every 1'2 inch or so between them spelling out, STOP. The Stop was in black with these clear "globes" and the background was yellow. That was in 1957/58

 

Here is the first match on a google image search for "antique stop sign".

From a museum, so call them up

 

In my job of thirty years ... as the sigh shop foreman for a large county government ... I can tell you that there was no set standards for STOP signs for years. Different sign companies made their own styles, colors and sizes. In the 60's ... the federal government got involved and a standard was developed. 30 X 30 ... Red with a white border and white letters. To be series " C " and a set height. Over the years ... a reflective standard has been set ... and improved.

But unless Federal money is involved ... you can basically do whatever you want and as a general rule ... the counties set their own standards or rules. Some allow special exceptions for a theme subdivsion. Same for the sign streets. The Feds have been pushing for a standard size street street on all US highways ( not state highways ). They propose that all the letters be in a 6 inch letter size ... instead of the now more commonly accepted 4 inch letter size

I have a yellow 30 X 30 steel Stop sign with raised black border and script that has a date of 1939 stenciled on the back I took it down in 1975 ... and hung it in my shop @ work. When I retired ... I took it with me.

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I worked for the state DOT. The group of guys who worked in the "signs & markings" dept brought old outdated signs home for making sheds, patching holes in the barn, whatever. The great places to look for old signs are... where an old time "signs and lines" guy lived.

 

Had several glass reflector signs. My old winding driveway was a half mile long and was on an abandoned county road. I put up my old signs to mark the cueves. Within a week, the county came out and put up all new signs and stole my old signs. They didnt know where they went, musta been taken directly to the scrap dealer even though there were a thousand damaged signs in a pile out back. Anyway I now just have the one for an S curve.

 

Not exactly signs, but anybody remember those firepots they used to use before they had the blinking lights?!? I used to think they were so neat when I was a kid riding in the back of the station wagon!

 

Yes, I remember those smudgepots. There's a old biker in this area that has a smudgepot turned into an oil tank for his old Harley. Very cool.

 

Here's a sign I'll stop for....lol

 

I have this one hanging in our kitchen, we also have a set of red reflectors for it, just too lazy to change them.



BB

 

Here's my sign..... I think it fits me and most of the guys I know!

 

i have a old state highway sign from arkansas that is shaped like the state itself, not sure how it was painted or logo design as a buddy dug it up on the parking lot of his shop when he was going to pave it. no paint left at all but it isn't pitted at all even after being under ground for who knows how long.

 

Growing up in georgia the thing to do when your bored is..well pretty much stealin street signs, or record is 204 in one night...thats enugh to go tho jail for 816 years! in one night!

 

I can't look at an old stamped stop sign without thinking about an old T hot rod that I saw. He used one to fabricate the engine recess in the firewall. It was in the very beginning of the nostalgia craze when these stop signs were still pretty cheap. It was painted the body color but the raised letters were unmistakable.

 

Not a street sign but a few years I was metal detecting at a guys house who lived in an old train station converted into a house. Under the lawn I found a turn of the century "Canada Atlantic Telegraph Co" sign! Much more information on the sign but you get the drift. Too bad its mostly faded from being buried but since I collect local historical memorabilia it was a great find.

 

Hey - I have one of those... from the 40s! My dad used to wait for the bus right next to it, and it's hanging in my stairwell now.

~Jason

 

I have one like the sign on the top row, center, except mine has red reflectors.

JH

 

I always liked this one. It means stop and do a burnout

 

Still got thatty freaky avatar..

 

Our signs mean don't do a burnout here cause you'll break an axle.

 

this sign means a yank has'nt figured out what side to drive on yet...right????

 

I got an old stop sign with a stencil of Alfred E Newman on it. it's the one they used to put in the magazine to promote graffitti.

 

That sign most exemplifies why punctuation is so important.
With a comma, it means "slow down, there's kids in the area."
Without the comma, it just means "retards on the grass."

I have a running joke with my son--we see one of those signs and I'll nudge him and say "they mean YOU."

Then two weeks ago, I found a big 30-inch square SLOW CHILDREN AT PLAY sign (no silhouette of the kid) at an antique shop and grabbed it for ten bucks. I was grinning so big my face hurt when I gave it to him!

-Brad

 

Remember, slow children at play grow up to be slow men at work!

 

Ca. never used yellow ones so are hard to find out here. Different sizes are found 18" and 24" are usual. Some with glass or plastic reflectors, embossed, some even cast iron or alum., porcelain or painted some with words in addition to STOP. Many types out there, some on ebay at times.