Hello from Tampa, Florida

[andycal90]

After visiting here for the past few years, I finally decided to join and I look forward to sharing some of my pictures.

My name is Andy and I'm a pretty regular guy in his mid-twenties. I've lived in Tampa, Florida my whole life. My main hobby is taking pictures of cities, towns, buildings, and street scenes, especially midcentury stuff. Oh yeah, I take quite a few road-related pictures, too. These little outings and day trips have taken me to all of Florida's sixty-seven counties and all over the Southeast, too.

I guess I've always kind of been into roads. They're just full of details and nuances and I've always been a pretty observant guy. I look forward to contributing and sharing my pictures of highways and highway signs (I've been lucky enough to find a few of those old colored shields Florida used to use).

Well, I guess I've rambled a little too much here. I just wanted to introduce myself. 

[jwolfer]

Welcome, from Jacksonville here. I miss the colored shields.

[Alex]

Glad to have you on board. You will find many with similar interests here.

Florida is not one for many old signs, especially on anything that is a state road. The Panhandle counties and some of the older towns are peppered with some remnants though, such as Florida Keys shields and older mileage signs. Still some to be found I imagine, as I was just to Northwest Florida and found one new shield while verifying that some previous Keys shield finds are still there.

Not much left in Tampa. I know of one "yellow" US 301 shield in Palmetto and that's about it as far as colored shields remaining in the field. The only area Keys shields are on Anna Maria Island. State-named shields are newer installs, the last originals went away in the mid-2000s.

[andycal90]

jwolfer

I really like Jacksonville. I haven't been up there in about three or four years. I'd taken the train up there to visit some friends and we went out driving around so that I could take some pictures. Jax has a pretty interesting layout. What struck me the most was that my friends had seen so little of their own city outside of the Arlington and Beaches areas. I had to tell them where to go when it came to Downtown and Riverside and down Phillips Highway when it felt like it should be the other way around, hah.

Alex

The backroads around Tallahassee in Gadsden, Wakulla, Liberty, and Franklin counties have been pretty good when it comes to finding old signs. I even found a few in the middle of Tallahassee, which was a nice surprise. I've also had some good luck in Lake and Polk.

You're right about Tampa being fairly dry. I've found a couple in Pinellas, but that was about five years ago. When it comes to Tampa, I've been interested in tracking some of the county roads to see which are signed or not. I live about a mile north of Downtown Tampa and Ive been out walking around to see how well FL 585 and FL 45 (the non-US 41 part) are signed. It just gives me an excuse to go out and take more pictures.

[hotdogPi]

Welcome from Massachusetts!

[formulanone]

Welcome aboard!

Tampa has some of these, which are my favorite named-highway shields. Lived there for a while, and it used to have some really neat stuff poking around.

[andycal90]

formulanone

My all-time favorite shield! I'm thinking about making it my avatar. I intentionally tried to get as many pictures of these as I could once they started putting up shields with a new design. I got quite a few of them, but most of them weren't in the best of shape. They've since replaced the "new" shield with an even newer one and also changed the name of the expressway. I don't remember the last time I've even seen a Jose Gaspar shield on the road. 

But yeah, there have been a lot of sign updates within the past ten years or so. I'm hoping to poke around on some of the back roads in East and South County and maybe find some holdouts. I'll definitely find a place to post my Jose Gaspar shield pictures.

[formulanone]

I don't remember the last time I've even seen a Jose Gaspar shield on the road. 

Been about four years, but there were a few in Downtown Tampa on Ashley Drive, but a quick spin on Google Streetview shows it's gone. Well, it's saved to Wikimedia Commons for posterity...At least the "old-ish" (1980s?) FL 60 sign is still up.

[Alex]

You're right about Tampa being fairly dry. I've found a couple in Pinellas, but that was about five years ago. When it comes to Tampa, I've been interested in tracking some of the county roads to see which are signed or not. I live about a mile north of Downtown Tampa and Ive been out walking around to see how well FL 585 and FL 45 (the non-US 41 part) are signed. It just gives me an excuse to go out and take more pictures.

Florida 585 will be turned over to the city whenever they finish that utility work on 21st Street through YBor City. The route is still fairly well signed despite being removed from overheads on I-4 for Exit 1.

Welcome aboard!

Tampa has some of these, which are my favorite named-highway shields. Lived there for a while, and it used to have some really neat stuff poking around.

When they announced the renaming of the Crosstown to simply the LeRoy Selmon Expressway in 2008, they coupled that with a project to remove/replace all existing shields (four older designs in all) posted throughout the area. I have not seen one of the old Jose Gaspar shields in quite some time, so its safe to assume they got them all. 

I don't remember the last time I've even seen a Jose Gaspar shield on the road. 

Been about four years, but there were a few in Downtown Tampa on Ashley Drive, but a quick spin on Google Streetview shows it's gone. Well, it's saved to Wikimedia Commons for posterity...At least the "old-ish" (1980s?) FL 60 sign is still up.

There is still a faded set of overheads on the Ashley Drive northbound on-ramps to I-275. As far as old shields, not much left, but this set, complete with ugly font, stands along with another on Livingston Avenue northbound ahead of County Line Road:

[andycal90]

Here are those faded shields for I-4, I-75, and I-275 on the Ashley Drive onramp. I took this on 03/12/2015. This ramp is in horrible condition. I took a picture a few years ago showing how a portion of the ramp over Laurel Street was actually crumbling.

[andycal90]

Alex

I didn't realize that FDOT was going to eliminate 585. It just means that Il have to go up to Hillsborougb and 22nd to get some pictures of the 585 shields up there.

I've seen a few county shields with that same font up in Sumter and maybe Hernando counties. I guess Pasco doesn't care about little details like that. Reminds me of how a few of the BGSes on the Crosstown use a different font, too.

[freebrickproductions]

Welcome from Huntsville, AL! I once went down to Tampa for a wedding a few years back. I kinda want to go back just to see the street-running tracks in downtown.

[FLRoads]

Hey, welcome to the boards from one original Floridian to another! Its good to see another road enthusiast from the Tampa area on here!

I even found a few in the middle of Tallahassee, which was a nice surprise.

I bet I know the ones you are talking about. If it was two colored shields, they, alas, are gone (but I did photograph them back in 2013).

If you are ever interested in having any of your road sign photography (like shield shots) posted, send me a message on here and I can get them on the AARoads shield Gallery.

[andycal90]

flaroads

It's hard to find original Floridians, even in Florida! They finally found those two ratty ones on Adams Street? That's a shame. I noticed that whenever Tallahassee Police have to detour traffic for stuff like FSU games, they still use old colored shields attached to road barricades.

I'd be glad to submit any of my highway shield pictures. I haven't updated it in awhile, but I do have a separate street sign gallery on Flickr. My username on there is ferret111 and I think the folder is simply called "Street Signs."

[FLRoads]

It's hard to find original Floridians, even in Florida!

Yeah, though I suspect there are more true Floridians out there than we realize. Its still nice to talk with someone that was actually born and raised here rather than someone who's only lived here a part of their life. Originally I'm from the Fort Myers area (grew up there) but have lived in Gainesville, the Orlando area, and most recently in the panhandle near Pensacola. So I've gotten to experience living in all the different regions of Florida, sans the southeast coast.

They finally found those two ratty ones on Adams Street?

I think they were gone by early 2014, IIRC. I seen the photo you have on your Flickr page and your capture is a lot better than mine. I didn't have a regular camera the day I seen them and it was cloudy with sprinkles of rain.

By the way, nice Flickr page! I've already enjoyed viewing some of the old shopping center signs and abandoned buildings (like the old style Publix you photographed on Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando). I liked when Publix used that design for their store fronts for some reason. I also like the random road signs mixed in with the commercial building and sign photos. I'm going to have to take some time and look at what you photographed in all the counties!

[formulanone]

I'd be glad to submit any of my highway shield pictures. I haven't updated it in awhile, but I do have a separate street sign gallery on Flickr. My username on there is ferret111 and I think the folder is simply called "Street Signs."

I was wondering when you'd join AARoads! Been following you work on Flickr for about four years now, and your commentary is great.

I lived in Florida for 31 years, but I wasn't a native. My kids are, though.

[Zeffy]

Nice photos! I'm originally from Orlando, having being born there and lived there for the first 4 1/2 years of my life. As an adult, I still wish to revisit my home city, and the rest of Florida as well.

[andycal90]

flaroads

I think the 2010 Census showed that only like 30% of the population was born here.    I lived in Tampa my whole life, save for two years in Tallahassee. I'm very flattered you like my photos. I focus on small-town Florida, midcentury architecture, street scenes, and neon. My interest in Florida roads developed on my frequent photography day trips. Feel free to poke through it all. It's organized by counties and also by subject (neon, transportation, street signs, et cetera. Feedback/questions/comments are cool, too. 

formulanone

Wow, four years? I'm flattered. It means a lot. I know I would get a lot of links to my photos from aaroads, especially one of a colored JCT US 90 on some secondary highway in Gadsden County. AARoads has a great Florida shield guide, but I do have some that they don't and I'd like to add mine. Btw, thanks for liking my commentary. Some say it's a little snarky, but that's just my personality. So many photographers get so uppity and that's just not me!

zeffy

I enjoy Orlando. It's got some pretty interesting things for road enthusiasts, hah.

[slorydn1]

Welcome from eastern NC.

As someone who has visited FL many times in my life, I too miss the colored US shields in FL. I wish instead of banning them that the Feds would have made them mandatory nationwide.

[noelbotevera]

After visiting here for the past few years, I finally decided to join and I look forward to sharing some of my pictures.

My name is Andy and I'm a pretty regular guy in his mid-twenties. I've lived in Tampa, Florida my whole life. My main hobby is taking pictures of cities, towns, buildings, and street scenes, especially midcentury stuff. Oh yeah, I take quite a few road-related pictures, too. These little outings and day trips have taken me to all of Florida's sixty-seven counties and all over the Southeast, too.

I guess I've always kind of been into roads. They're just full of details and nuances and I've always been a pretty observant guy. I look forward to contributing and sharing my pictures of highways and highway signs (I've been lucky enough to find a few of those old colored shields Florida used to use).

Well, I guess I've rambled a little too much here. I just wanted to introduce myself. 

Welcome from southern PA - if you read the thread below, you'll see that I'm an 11 year old sign AND roadgeek living with cool parents. 

[andycal90]

noelbotevera

Haha, that's cool. I'm twenty-four and just assumed that I would be one of the youngest on here!

[formulanone]

Welcome from eastern NC.

As someone who has visited FL many times in my life, I too miss the colored US shields in FL. I wish instead of banning them that the Feds would have made them mandatory nationwide.

Having grown up in Florida, I imagined all states did it (wasn't until the late-1980s I noticed other states didn't do it).

[FLRoads]

Welcome from eastern NC.

As someone who has visited FL many times in my life, I too miss the colored US shields in FL. I wish instead of banning them that the Feds would have made them mandatory nationwide.

Having grown up in Florida, I imagined all states did it (wasn't until the late-1980s I noticed other states didn't do it).

I was the same way growing up here. I was under the assumption that all U.S. highway shields were colored until late 1983, when I noticed that other states used black and white shields. There are times though I wish that FDOT had told the Feds where to stick their policy on using the standard color scheme on shields and just kept doing (and funding) the colored shields anyway, even if some had to be replaced more often than others.

[roadman65]

To me it was the opposite.  I grew up in New Jersey and knew that the US 1 in Florida and the US 1 in New Jersey were indeed the same road, but when I saw the red colored US 1 shield, I assumed for a short while that it was not.

Yes, I miss those red US 1 shields and the green US 27 shields.  I was disappointed, though, in 1992, my first time in the Panhandle that no colors other than brown, red,blue, yellow, orange, black, and green were used for the US highways there.  Also the fact that US 41 is the only orange colored road in the field as US 98 was understandable as black exclusively as it intersected with all of FL's US routes except US 23.

[cjk374]

Did the colors on Florida's US shields have any meaning? Or was it just random?