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{{Infobox Museum
{{Infobox Museum
|name = American Sign Museum
|name = American Sign Museum
|image =
|image = American Sign Museum (8669465949).jpg
|image_upright =
|imagesize = 200
|map_type = Ohio
|map_type = Ohio
|map_caption =
|map_caption = Location within Ohio
|coordinates = {{coord|39.1435|-84.5399|display=inline}}
|latitude = 39.127
|longitude = -84.499
|established = 1999
|established = 1999
|dissolved =
|dissolved =
|location = 2515 Essex Place<br />[[Cincinnati, Ohio]]
|location = 1330 Monmouth Street <br />[[Cincinnati, Ohio]]
|type = [[Collection (museum)|Collection museum]]
|type = [[Collection (museum)|Collection museum]]
|visitors =
|visitors =
Line 15: Line 14:
|curator =
|curator =
|publictransit =
|publictransit =
|website = [http://www.signmuseum.com/ www.signmuseum.com]
|website = {{url|http://www.americansignmuseum.org/}}
}}
}}
The '''American Sign Museum''' in [[Walnut Hills, Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]], preserves, archives, and displays a collection of [[sign]]s. The museum also displays the equipment utilized in the design and manufacture of signs.<ref>Edward Rothstein. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/arts/design/22private.html?pagewanted=1 Bright Lights, Wide Eyes: Nostalgic Collections That Speak Volumes]". ''New York Times''. June 21, 2009. Retrieved on February 5, 2010.</ref> Tod Swormstedt began working on the museum in 1999. It opened to the public in 2005.<ref name=USA>Lisa Cornwell. "[http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-02-23-signs_N.htm Museum showcases 'sign garden']". ''USA Today''. February 25, 2008. Retrieved on February 5, 2010.</ref>
The '''American Sign Museum''' in [[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]], preserves, archives, and displays a collection of [[Signage|signs]]. The museum also displays the equipment utilized in the design and manufacture of signs.<ref>Edward Rothstein. "[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/arts/design/22private.html?pagewanted=1 Bright Lights, Wide Eyes: Nostalgic Collections That Speak Volumes]". ''New York Times''. June 21, 2009. Retrieved on February 5, 2010.</ref> Tod Swormstedt began working on the museum in 1999. It opened to the public in 2005.<ref name=USA>Lisa Cornwell. "[https://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-02-23-signs_N.htm Museum showcases 'sign garden']". ''USA Today''. February 25, 2008. Retrieved on February 5, 2010.</ref>


==Background==
==Background==
Swormstedt's family owns the signage industry trade journal ''Signs of the Times'', which has been published since 1906.<ref name=denver>Steven Rosen. "Cincy museum salutes signs of the times". ''Denver Post''. March 13, 2005. T10.</ref> Swormsedt's grandfather, H.C. Menefee, was the first editor of the publication, and purchased it for himself in 1911.<ref name=chicago>Dave Hoekstra. "Signs stand up, say it loud". ''Chicago Sun-Times''. April 16, 2006. Travel, C1.</ref> Swormsedt had been working at the journal for over twenty years before becoming inspired to start a sign museum in 1999.<ref name=USA/> His family provided $1 million for the project, and figures from the signage industry gave donations of their own. The museum was founded as a [[nonprofit corporation]].<ref name=denver/> Swormsedt considered building the museum in [[Los Angeles]], [[St. Louis]], [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], and other sites, but eventually settled on Cincinnati, the base of operations for ''Signs of the Times''.<ref name=chicago/>
Swormstedt's family owns the signage industry trade journal ''Signs of the Times'', which has been published since 1906.<ref name=denver>Steven Rosen. "Cincy museum salutes signs of the times". ''Denver Post''. March 13, 2005. T10.</ref> Swormstedt's grandfather, H.C. Menefee, was the first editor of the publication, and purchased it for himself in 1911.<ref name=chicago>Dave Hoekstra. "Signs stand up, say it loud". ''Chicago Sun-Times''. April 16, 2006. Travel, C1.</ref> Swormstedt had been working at the journal for over twenty years before becoming inspired to start a sign museum in 1999.<ref name=USA /> His family provided $1 million for the project, and figures from the signage industry gave donations of their own. The museum was founded as a [[nonprofit corporation]].<ref name=denver /> Swormstedt considered building the museum in [[Los Angeles]], [[St. Louis]], [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], and other sites, but eventually settled on Cincinnati, the base of operations for ''Signs of the Times''.<ref name=chicago />


==Collection==
==Collection==
Over 200 signs and other objects are on display at the museum,<ref name=USA/> and over 3,800 items cataloged.<ref name=FOX19>Meghan Mongillo (reporter). " [http://www.fox19.com/global/Category.asp?C=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=15048&topVideoCatNoB=109491&topVideoCatNoC=104760&topVideoCatNoD=141804&topVideoCatNoE=142722&autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=4511419&flvUri American Sign Museum Moving]". FOX 19 News. Cincinnati, Ohio. January 21, 2010. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref> The collection ranges from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s. Highlights of the collection include samples of [[gold leaf]] lettering on glass, a [[Sputnik]]-like plastic orb from an [[Anaheim]] shopping center, a rotating neon windmill from a [[Denver]] donut shop,<ref name=USA/> [[Las Vegas metropolitan area|Las Vegas]] showcards, and a fiberglass [[Frisch's Big Boy]] statue with a slingshot in his pocket. (The slingshot was omitted from later models of the Big Boy statue.) One can also find signs from businesses such as [[Big Bear Stores]], [[Dog n' Suds]], [[Howard Johnson's]], and [[Earl Scheib]].<ref name=chicago/> Outside near the museum's entrance, visitors are greeted by a {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} fiberglass genie from a [[Los Angeles]] carpet cleaning company.<ref name=USA/>
Over 200 signs and other objects are on display at the museum,<ref name=USA /> and over 3,800 items are cataloged.<ref name=FOX19>Meghan Mongillo (reporter). " [http://www.fox19.com/global/Category.asp?C=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=15048&topVideoCatNoB=109491&topVideoCatNoC=104760&topVideoCatNoD=141804&topVideoCatNoE=142722&autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=4511419&flvUri American Sign Museum Moving] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225053605/http://www.fox19.com/global/Category.asp?C=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=15048&topVideoCatNoB=109491&topVideoCatNoC=104760&topVideoCatNoD=141804&topVideoCatNoE=142722&autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=4511419&flvUri |date=2012-02-25 }}". FOX 19 News. Cincinnati, Ohio. January 21, 2010. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref> The collection ranges from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s. Highlights of the collection include samples of [[gold leaf]] lettering on glass, a [[Sputnik]]-like plastic orb from an [[Anaheim]] shopping center, a rotating neon windmill from a [[Denver]] donut shop,<ref name=USA/> [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] showcards, and a fiberglass [[Frisch's Big Boy]] statue with a slingshot in his pocket. (The slingshot was omitted from later models of the Big Boy statue.) One can also find signs from businesses such as [[Big Bear Stores]], [[Howard Johnson's]], and [[Earl Scheib]].<ref name=chicago /> Over the museum's entrance, visitors are greeted by a {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} fiberglass genie from a [[Los Angeles]] carpet company.<ref name=USA />


In 2008, the museum acquired a single-arch 1963 [[McDonald's]] sign from [[Huntsville, Alabama]]. The sign features McDonald's Speedee character, who was phased out in favor of [[Ronald McDonald]] in the 1960s.<ref>Steve Doyle. "[http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1208942190161530.xml&coll=1 McDonald's sign moving to Ohio]". ''Huntsville Times''. April 23, 2008. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref> In 2009, the museum added a neon sign from Johnny’s Big Red Grill, once a popular restaurant among [[Cornell University]] students.<ref>Elisabeth Rosen. "[http://www.cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2009/11/06/big-red-sign-finds-home-ohio-museum Big Red Sign Finds Home in Ohio Museum]". ''The Cornell Daily Sun''. November 6, 2009. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref>
In 2008, the museum acquired a single-arch 1963 [[McDonald's]] sign from [[Huntsville, Alabama]]. The sign features McDonald's Speedee character, who was phased out in favor of [[Ronald McDonald]] in the 1960s.<ref name=doyle>Steve Doyle. "[http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1208942190161530.xml&coll=1 McDonald's sign moving to Ohio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222220741/http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fnews%2F1208942190161530.xml&coll=1 |date=2009-12-22 }}". ''Huntsville Times''. April 23, 2008. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref> In 2009, the museum added a neon sign from Johnny’s Big Red Grill, once a popular restaurant among [[Cornell University]] students.<ref>Elisabeth Rosen. "[http://www.cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2009/11/06/big-red-sign-finds-home-ohio-museum Big Red Sign Finds Home in Ohio Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607052445/http://www.cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2009/11/06/big-red-sign-finds-home-ohio-museum |date=2011-06-07 }}". ''The Cornell Daily Sun''. November 6, 2009. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref>
[[File:Kona Lanes ASM 2014.JPG|thumb|200px|A sample of the display within the American Sign Museum in 2014 includes signs for [[Gulf Oil]] and [[Kona Lanes]].]]
==2007–2012: Growth==
⚫
Many signs owned by the museum were too large to fit the original exhibit space.<ref name=USA /> To better accommodate the collection, the museum began purchasing a {{convert|42000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} property in [[Camp Washington, Cincinnati]], in 2007.<ref name=about /> The new location is part of the [[Oesterlein Machine Company-Fashion Frocks, Inc. Complex]], a [[National Register of Historic Places]] building.<ref name=radel>Cliff Radel. [http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1552 Sign Museum plans bigger home in Camp Washington] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717025841/http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1552 |date=2011-07-17 }}. ''Cincinnati Enquirer''. January 30, 2007. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref> The museum opened in its new home in June 2012,<ref name=about>[http://www.americansignmuseum.org/about/ About the Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701140854/http://www.americansignmuseum.org/about/ |date=2014-07-01 }}. American Sign Museum. 2010. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref> and the building displays about 500 signs and artifacts,<ref>Mike Harden. "[http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/02/22/MIKE22.ART_ART_02-22-09_B1_63D0BU2.html Sign museum proffers nostalgia in neon]". ''Columbus Dispatch''. February 22, 2009. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref> many of which are on a faux streetscape in a town called "Signville".<ref name=FOX19 />


⚫
Neonworks of Cincinnati moved its business into the museum's new location and features a live exhibit showing visitors how they restore neon signs.<ref name=FOX19 />
==Future plans==
⚫
Many signs owned by the museum are too large to fit the current exhibit space.<ref name=USA/> To better accommodate the collection, the museum began purchasing a 42,000 square foot property in [[Camp Washington, Cincinnati]] in 2007.<ref name=about/> The new location is part of the [[Oesterlein Machine Company-Fashion Frocks, Inc. Complex]], a [[National Register of Historic Places]] building.<ref>Cliff Radel. [http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1552 Sign Museum plans bigger home in Camp Washington]. ''Cincinnati Enquirer''. January 30, 2007. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref> The museum expects to open its new home in 2010,<ref name=about>[http://www.signmuseum.net/about.asp About the Museum]. American Sign Museum. 2010. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref> and Tod Swormstedt has said that the new building will display about 500 signs<ref>Mike Harden. "[http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/02/22/MIKE22.ART_ART_02-22-09_B1_63D0BU2.html Sign museum proffers nostalgia in neon]". ''Columbus Dispatch''. February 22, 2009. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.</ref> on a faux streetscape in a town called "Signville".<ref name=FOX19/>


⚫
==See also==
⚫
Neonworks of Cincinnati moved its business into the museum's new location and will have a live exhibit showing visitors how they restore neon signs.<ref name=FOX19/>
⚫
* [[Neon Museum at the Fremont Street Experience]] in [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|35em}}

⚫
==See also==
⚫
* [[Neon Museum at the Fremont Street Experience]] in [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]]


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.signmuseum.com/ American Sign Museum] Official site
*[http://www.americansignmuseum.org/ American Sign Museum] Official site


[[Category:Museums in Cincinnati, Ohio]]
[[Category:Museums in Cincinnati]]
[[Category:Media museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Mass media museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Design museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Design museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Signage]]
[[Category:Signage]]
[[Category:Industry museums in Ohio]]
[[Category:Industry museums in Ohio]]
[[Category:Americana]]
[[Category:Neon lighting]]
[[Category:Neon_lighting]]
[[Category:Museums established in 1999]]
[[Category:1999 establishments in Ohio]]

Latest revision as of 12:49, 10 February 2023

American Sign Museum
American Sign Museum is located in Ohio
American Sign Museum
Location within Ohio
Established1999
Location1330 Monmouth Street
Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates39°08′37″N 84°32′24″W / 39.1435°N 84.5399°W / 39.1435; -84.5399
TypeCollection museum
Websitewww.americansignmuseum.org

The American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio, preserves, archives, and displays a collection of signs. The museum also displays the equipment utilized in the design and manufacture of signs.[1] Tod Swormstedt began working on the museum in 1999. It opened to the public in 2005.[2]

Background

[edit]

Swormstedt's family owns the signage industry trade journal Signs of the Times, which has been published since 1906.[3] Swormstedt's grandfather, H.C. Menefee, was the first editor of the publication, and purchased it for himself in 1911.[4] Swormstedt had been working at the journal for over twenty years before becoming inspired to start a sign museum in 1999.[2] His family provided $1 million for the project, and figures from the signage industry gave donations of their own. The museum was founded as a nonprofit corporation.[3] Swormstedt considered building the museum in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Memphis, and other sites, but eventually settled on Cincinnati, the base of operations for Signs of the Times.[4]

Collection

[edit]

Over 200 signs and other objects are on display at the museum,[2] and over 3,800 items are cataloged.[5] The collection ranges from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s. Highlights of the collection include samples of gold leaf lettering on glass, a Sputnik-like plastic orb from an Anaheim shopping center, a rotating neon windmill from a Denver donut shop,[2] Las Vegas showcards, and a fiberglass Frisch's Big Boy statue with a slingshot in his pocket. (The slingshot was omitted from later models of the Big Boy statue.) One can also find signs from businesses such as Big Bear Stores, Howard Johnson's, and Earl Scheib.[4] Over the museum's entrance, visitors are greeted by a 20-foot-tall (6.1 m) fiberglass genie from a Los Angeles carpet company.[2]

In 2008, the museum acquired a single-arch 1963 McDonald's sign from Huntsville, Alabama. The sign features McDonald's Speedee character, who was phased out in favor of Ronald McDonald in the 1960s.[6] In 2009, the museum added a neon sign from Johnny’s Big Red Grill, once a popular restaurant among Cornell University students.[7]

A sample of the display within the American Sign Museum in 2014 includes signs for Gulf Oil and Kona Lanes.

2007–2012: Growth

[edit]

Many signs owned by the museum were too large to fit the original exhibit space.[2] To better accommodate the collection, the museum began purchasing a 42,000-square-foot (3,900 m2) property in Camp Washington, Cincinnati, in 2007.[8] The new location is part of the Oesterlein Machine Company-Fashion Frocks, Inc. Complex, a National Register of Historic Places building.[9] The museum opened in its new home in June 2012,[8] and the building displays about 500 signs and artifacts,[10] many of which are on a faux streetscape in a town called "Signville".[5]

Neonworks of Cincinnati moved its business into the museum's new location and features a live exhibit showing visitors how they restore neon signs.[5]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Edward Rothstein. "Bright Lights, Wide Eyes: Nostalgic Collections That Speak Volumes". New York Times. June 21, 2009. Retrieved on February 5, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Lisa Cornwell. "Museum showcases 'sign garden'". USA Today. February 25, 2008. Retrieved on February 5, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Steven Rosen. "Cincy museum salutes signs of the times". Denver Post. March 13, 2005. T10.
  4. ^ a b c Dave Hoekstra. "Signs stand up, say it loud". Chicago Sun-Times. April 16, 2006. Travel, C1.
  5. ^ a b c Meghan Mongillo (reporter). " American Sign Museum Moving Archived 2012-02-25 at the Wayback Machine". FOX 19 News. Cincinnati, Ohio. January 21, 2010. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.
  6. ^ Steve Doyle. "McDonald's sign moving to Ohio Archived 2009-12-22 at the Wayback Machine". Huntsville Times. April 23, 2008. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.
  7. ^ Elisabeth Rosen. "Big Red Sign Finds Home in Ohio Museum Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine". The Cornell Daily Sun. November 6, 2009. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.
  8. ^ a b About the Museum Archived 2014-07-01 at the Wayback Machine. American Sign Museum. 2010. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.
  9. ^ Cliff Radel. Sign Museum plans bigger home in Camp Washington Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine. Cincinnati Enquirer. January 30, 2007. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.
  10. ^ Mike Harden. "Sign museum proffers nostalgia in neon". Columbus Dispatch. February 22, 2009. Retrieved on February 6, 2010.
[edit]
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