If you have been reading articles here at The Gate With Brian Cohen, you know that I am fascinated by official signs for highways, roads, and streets — so you can imagine my surprise when I accidentally stumbled upon an official Internet web site where one can buy custom signs from New York City.
Buy Custom Signs From New York City
The cost of signs range from as low as $25.50 to as much as $140.00 — generally depending on the sign — from which you can choose from the following eight categories:
- Replica Street Signs
- Custom Street Signs
- Historical Signs
- Directional Signs
- Parking Signs
- Highway Signs
- Funny Signs
- Children’s Corner Signs
The historical signs were especially of interest to me because they show the colors of street signs that were assigned to each borough. Unfortunately, the federal government forced the city of New York to instead change all of the colors. As a result, white characters on a green background appeared on signs throughout all boroughs in the 1980s — with the exception of special districts in each borough.
Final Boarding Call
The real street signs that are officially used in New York are manufactured in a shop in Maspeth in Queens. The custom signs should nevertheless have the same characteristics, as they are manufactured in the same shop.
Watch a stop sign being created in the shop in Maspeth in this video.
All photographs ©2007 and ©2011 by Brian Cohen.
