"Street Signs Past into the Present"
WITH PARTICULAR THANKS TO MR. HAIM BRUMER

A Little History:  Once upon a time, when one was in search of a particular street, they did not stumble across the now familiar White Letters-Green Background Signs in use throughout the city today.  Instead, depending on the era, they were greeted with any number of variations of street signs, the overwhelming majority of which have vanished.  Here is a recap of styles seen within the 20th Century:
METAL PLATE SIGNS:

These signs, seen most commonly in photos of the Downtown Area, give a tough and rugged impression.  It appears that they were simply White Letters on a Blue backgound, placed into a thick metal frame.  It is not certain whether the letters were stamped in, stuck on, or simply painted on.  Many of these signs lasted until about the 1950's when they were replaced with the newer style.

These signs, in use since 1921, were reasonably durable, but were disliked by some as they were difficult to make out in night time hours.  This would inevitably lead to their replacement.


TRANSLUCENT SIGNS:

Introduced in 1938, these signs originally consisted of White (or clear) letters on a Black background, and were intended to make sign reading far easier in night time hours.  The setup was quickly changed to black letters on a frosty white background.  These signs, originally costing the city $15 a piece were slow to replace earlier styles, largely as a result of World War II.  In the postwar period, financial burdens continued to make their acquisition and installation slow, but by the 1950's, they became increasingly prevalent on corners across the city.  They were a versatile sign which could be mounted a number of different ways:
 


1. Surrounding a Gas Light,

2. Hung from an extension bracket on a taller light pole (or Utility Pole), or

3. Mounted on a Bracket and hung to illuminate from a "Novalux" style lamp post.

These signs, while certainly useful at night when illuminated, had the tendency to be fragile, and many could be spotted in broken condition with cracked or missing plastic inserts.  As a result, they were costly for the city to maintain, and many times were useless to travellers depending upon them.


Dozens of broken Frosted Translucent signs sit awaiting the preparation of replacement panels in the early 1950's.  Even in their state, this photo is a street sign collector's dream come true!

ALUMINUM "SCOTCHLITE" SIGNS

Beginning in 1959, the city began to replace the Frosted Glass and few remaining frame based Metal signs with a more modern looking extruded aluminum base sign.  On these signs was stuck a reflective "Scotchlite" decal of a light cream color background with the street name listed in narrow green lettering.  These signs slowly took hold, but were still quite visible in only a couple years.  The material that they were printed on was designed to be many times brighter when reflected from automobile headlights.  In addition, their metal constuction made them many times more durable.

The Color Scheme was the second one tried in testing, the first of which consisted of White Letters on a Green Background, installed on a "Babe Ruth Plaza" sign outside Memorial Stadium.  This was deemed to be too "fuzzy" to be redily read, thus the Green on Cream scheme was adopted instead.



STEEL SIGNS

Beginning in the late 1960's, the standards once again changed.  Experiments occurred across Cross Country Boulevard where signs of varying colors and type styles adorned the route.  Soon after, a new standard was decided upon.  The gray aluminum signs were phased out, being replaced with a reflective green sign of similar dimensions, bearing a conventional "Road Sign D" typeface.  This standard has persisted, generally unchanged since its inception to become the nearly universal sign style seen on light poles and mounts across the city, thanks to aggresive replacement initiatives from 1967 until 1985.  The result, nearly total coverage, note the word "NEARLY":

SURVIVORS:
CLICK ON ANY OUTLINED PHOTO FOR A LARGER, HIGH QUALITY VIEW
ENAMELS

Is it or isn't it?!?  Both sides of this liquor store on the Southwest Corner of North and Fulton Avenues contain a blue sign denoting the street name that looks remarkably like those that once graced the area.  The thought of these signs surviving intact is daunting, but anything is possible!

TRANSLUCENTS

As of this writing, intensive searching of seemingly fertile areas for a frosted glass ghost has not yet netted success.  Not even has the frame for a pole-mounted version been spotted yet.  If anyone knows where one can be located in some state of originality on location, please contact us!  Two known signs persisted until circa 1990, one at the North end of Boxhill Lane at Friends School (which may have read Embla Avenue), the other at Fairdel Avenue at a small pathlike extension of Ina Avenue.  Both have since been displaced...........

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN - WE HAVE A WINNER.........

After largely giving up hope on locating a ghost of a translucent sign, I received an email from Site visitor Haim Brumer on November 7, 2001, letting me know that in fact, a translucent DOES survive.  I rushed to the site the next day only to be overjoyed with the sight of the survivor, standing remarkably sturdy, intact, and clean, despite over 40 years of exposure to the elements.  Interestingly, in my futile searches, I had canvassed this area, observing every intersection within a half mile of here, EXCEPT this one.  Mr. Brumer informed me that there were actually two translucent sets at this intersection until recently, when one was "removed."  It is both of our wishes that this monument will survive in location here without being stolen, as the observance of its survival is a remarkable sight for a street sign enthusiast.  If any of you out there should even THINK of trying to secure this sign for yourselves.......please, I beg you.......DON'T!!!!


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Until Mr Brumer gave us the most remarkable lead, the closest thing found to a translucent was a neat item prominently visible from a back alley in Mount Vernon.  The frame and gas light frame appear completely original, although the lettering and message, as well as the incandescent fixture within the gas light frame are redone.  It would be interesting to wonder where this light and sign originally stood.

ALUMINUM "SCOTCHLITE"

While no frosted glass ghosts have yet to be spotted, extensive exploration has uncovered a small handful of the silver aluminum type signs still mounted and in use.  Most are more on the scope of division and direction, but are still interesting nonetheless - a recap:


This sign is interesting in that it points the way to three different streets, with designation of block numbers included in the main body of the sign.  A very interesting discovery indeed, and probably the best condition sign of them all.  I'll leave you to figure where it is located.


An odd combination sign can be found on McClean Blvd just below Perring Parkway, at the entrance to Dutch Village Apartments.


Inside the Dutch Village property, this sign rests at the split of the driveway to direct visitors.  Likely a survivor due to it's presence on private property.


One of only two full height letter signs yet to be found is this one, sitting just a hair inside the city line at Greenspring Avenue and Willow Glen Drive.  Although somewhat faded, the sign still looks better than it's neighboring "modern" Willow Glen sign.


Another view of the Larryvale sign, which has befriended a protective Pine tree.


The other full height old Scotchlite is this one that sits on Pimlico Road just above its split from Greenspring Avenue in Cheswolde.  It's definitely seen better days, but it's still soldiering on nonetheless!


While most of the surviving Scotchlites are at the edge of the city, this oddity survives very close to Downtown.  At Eden Street just above Baltimore Street lies this sign for Tenpin Alley, though of a slightly differing typeface than the others.



Baltimore County is not without its rare vintage street signs as well, such as these capsule style signs that date from the 1950's.  These signs, still very familiar in the early 1980's, are now increasingly rare.  This survivor stands guard in Lutherville. GONE!!  As of a later passing in 3/02, the sign shown above has been replaced.  However, a few other capsule signs do still persist in Baltimore County:


Armistead Gardens appears to have its own vintage standards regarding street signs.  While not used elsewhere in the city, the typical embossed street signs seen in other parts of the country were standard in the Armistead Gardens area, and were attached directly to the buildings in the development.  A handful of these remain easily visible today, and should hopefully survive for some time.


Careful inspection of this painted over sign reveals a "FEDERAL AVE" designation on what has been known for years now (if not always) as Federal Street.


Different than the others, this Hoffman Street sign may not be official, but instead a private purchase of the property owner.


Another two Scotchlite signs were reported to have existed at the now non-existent "intersection" of Russell and Kent Streets from a very reliable source, as recently as June 1, 2001.  Inspection of the area reveals that these signs have since been recently removed, as well as others near Patapsco Avenue and the Baltimore County Border.

VARIATIONS OF A STANDARD
While the current Cream on Green may seem like a standard, there is a decent variety of other color schemes that decorate the city.  The majority of these are supplemental or commemorative signs, although there are other primary styles to be found as well, such as:

For some unknown reason, all the major streetsigns in the Coldspring-Newtown community have always consisted of White letters on a Red Background.


In the historic Dickeyville community, the standard look consists of serifed black letters on a cream background.


Immediately surrounding the Washington Monument at five main intersections are yellow street signs carrying fancier type serifed lettering and block indicators.


Signs on Park properties are typically blue with white letters, such as this one off of Windsor Mill Road just East of Forest Park Avenue.



Commemorative and special street signs also exist at many points throughout the city, such as this "Gentry Drive" sign on East West Street.


Western High School has two pairs of city street signs in the school colors, red letters on a white background.


Blue on White and White on Blue exist at Druid Park Drive and Malden Avenue for these commemorative signs for WJZ's late newscasting legends Al Sanders and Jerry Turner.


Black lettering on a Yellow background is used to commemorate Political leaders, as seen here at Belvedere Square.  The overall look of these signs strongly resembles those once seen in New York City.


GOT SOME NEAT STREET SIGN INFO?!?  CONTACT US!!!