The outdoor painted signs mural at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
ByJohn P. Posted on

American Sign Museum

I have a NEW FAVORITE Museum!!! If you love colors, and art, and design, this place is mecca! And it’s absolute sensory overload because there are signs everywhere! In fact, there are over 800 signs on display, and over 2500 objects in total. 

The American Sign Museum is a 40,000 square foot shrine to commercial signage, from hand carved wooden letters to early lightbulb signs to full blown mid-century neon. It sits in a former factory building in the Camp Washington neighborhood of Cincinnati at 1330 Monmouth Ave, and it bills itself as the largest public museum in the U.S. dedicated entirely to signs and sign making.

A whole block of storefronts under one roof, every sign still lit.

The whole project started with Tod Swormstedt, whose family has run the trade journal Signs of the Times since 1906. After spending more than 20 years at the magazine, he decided the industry needed a place to preserve its history in three dimensions, not just on paper. He began building the collection in 1999, opened to the public in 2005, and eventually moved everything into the current 42,000 square foot building in 2012 so the biggest pieces would finally fit.

It’s a ridiculous amount of visual information in one place, and your inner 8-year-old will want to point at everything. Everywhere you look there’s something recognizable:

Fiberglass characters like a Frisch’s Big Boy with a slingshot in his pocket and a 20 foot genie looming over the entrance.

A giant single-arch 1963 McDonald’s sign from Huntsville, Alabama, complete with Speedee, the pre-Ronald mascot.

A Sputnik-inspired “Satellite Shopland” orb from an Anaheim shopping center, straight out of the Space Age.

And WAY, WAY more! Check out the photo gallery, but keep in mind this is a very small number of the signs you’ll see if you visit. So wear your sunscreen, and donate some money to help pay their electric bills. Because they gotta be crazy!

Photo Gallery

Fox's Clothing and Cincinnati sign cluster at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
The American Sign Museum hours sign in Cincinnati.
A bright display of vintage neon and lettered signs at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
A wall of vintage gas station signs, including a Phillips 66 shield, at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
Johnson's lounge and food neon signs at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
The Tot Teen gallery sign area at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
A Pops coffee bar neon sign at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
Gas station repair and Emmanuel Baptist Church signs at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
The indoor main street gallery at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati with full-size storefronts.
The Sky Vu motel neon sign and others at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
A cluster of caterers, restaurant, and motel neon signs at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
Another large neon Chevrolet sign at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
A large neon Chevrolet sign at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
A cluster of neon and illuminated signs including Provident Bank at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
The Cincinnati Garden neon sign at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
Grote Bakery and drug store signs at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
The Inbaru Garden sign at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
The large cowboy figure American Sign Museum exterior sign in Cincinnati.
Colorful Cincinnati murals about fashion, baseball, and radio history on a wall, with a silver SUV parked in front.
The outdoor painted signs mural at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
The Plaza Motel and Gulf neon signs at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
Neon deli and Clover brand signs at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
The indoor Main Street of the American Sign Museum lined with glowing neon storefront signs and a Big Boy figure
The indoor Main Street of neon storefront signs, including a Big Red Grill sign, at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati
A Sunshine Beer sign and other vintage signs at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
The See Beautiful Rock City Lookout Mountain painted wall advertisement at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
Suder's and Chevrolet signs in the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
The McDonald's Over One Billion Sold Hamburgers sign at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
Diners and various lit signs in a gallery at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
A row of illuminated signs at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
A gallery view inside the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.

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