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I wish we had a more European experience in America, where you’d get a distinct hit when you crossed from one state to the next in your car, and not because of local liquor laws. These days, you can drive from coast to coast and see the same signs, logos, colors, and even lighting types at every major road stop along the way.
Here are a variety of licenses for cars in those times.
Another big change came when signs became something easy to make locally, which these metal versions are not. Cities and government agencies switched to screen printing and vinyl cutting when those technologies became more affordable and durable. No rusty, paint-chipped detour signs after about 1970.
I sometimes imagine driving the old Route 66 or 99 in California and seeing these signs along with local restaurants, filling stations, and speed traps. In those days you rarely had to ask what city you were in, and certainly not which state. At least today we’re still identifiable by which places have Trader Joe’s and Ikea. But both have such horrible signs!
This article was last modified on May 17, 2023
This article was first published on April 17, 2009
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