State shapes on highway signs

[J N Winkler]

Jake--have you considered setting up the shield generator for the five widths of outline guide-sign US shield as used in California?  Also, have you seen any photos of an outline version of the Kansas state route marker?  I can't imagine the "outline shield" schema working very well for that.

[agentsteel53]

Jake--have you considered setting up the shield generator for the five widths of outline guide-sign US shield as used in California? 

hmm, not with too much seriousness - I threw on the two widths of 1961 guide-sign US shield, and that's as far as I've gone with that.

Also, have you seen any photos of an outline version of the Kansas state route marker?  I can't imagine the "outline shield" schema working very well for that.

I have not.  I have, however, seen this sign, which leads me to believe that a) Kansas used colored route markers, and b) in the case of needing an outline shield, they may have gone with something simpler.

[Scott5114]

What I mean about 1961 is not the CA-style cutout shield (which is part of an AASHTO document, not the MUTCD), but the shield as we know it today–black square and numbers with white shield. 1961 is when the cutout with state name was deleted and the 1948 "oversize" white square US route marker was colored black and became the sole "official" US route shield (the CA-style cutout notwithstanding). Why would there be this big controversy about "US" being on the marker in the early 1950s, and then in 1961 the MUTCD people do a 180 and introduce this spec with no US?

[Quillz]

California's is pretty neat... A cutout of a miner's spade. The fact that it's the last remaining cutout state route highway, and isn't stock black and white makes it very distinctive, I think.

I also like Minnesota's. They have a colorful square shield that at least has a silhouette of the state on it somewhere.

[Quillz]

People have said that New York's state route shield is based on its "colonial seal," but I'm not seeing it.



Can someone post the colonial seal? I've looked at the state flag and the symbol on the flag looks nothing like the shape used for the shields.

[Quillz]

Also, is Idaho the only state to have white numerals against a black background? I always thought white-on-black shields looked cool, especially since black-on-white is so overused and generic.

[agentsteel53]

for modern signs, I can't think of any other than Idaho, but historically - offhand, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Florida, and Arizona come to mind - and I'm sure I could think of more if I considered it for a longer period of time.

[Quillz]

Yeah, I was specifically asking about modern signs. I've not seen any outside of Idaho, either. I've certainly seen various road signs with black backgrounds before, but they always intended to be read while at a stop, not while in motion.

[TheStranger]

Arizona did use white-on-black for Loop 303 for a few years, but haven't the color shields for the Phoenix loops been reverted to the regular state shield?

[Alps]

This thread is crying out for a link: http://www.routemarkers.com/states/

Maine and Louisiana shields need updating...

California - white on green, cutout
Minnesota - white on blue
South Carolina - blue numerals
Vermont - green numerals

[Revive 755]

Fluke, or did Kansas once sign its junctions similar to how Nebraska still does?

According to Transportation in Iowa: A Historical Summary by William H. Thompson (or possibly some other book I'm confusing it with), the very first state highway shields (those used before the US routes came along) used a number inside the outline of the state on a square or rectangular background.

[agentsteel53]

Fluke, or did Kansas once sign its junctions similar to how Nebraska still does?

they did, kinda.  The sign is more analogous to this one.



the white guide sign with colored shields seems to be some kind of an experiment.  don't ask me why the state route shield is a square. 

[US71]

According to Transportation in Iowa: A Historical Summary by William H. Thompson (or possibly some other book I'm confusing it with), the very first state highway shields (those used before the US routes came along) used a number inside the outline of the state on a square or rectangular background.

Missouri used an oval, originally.

Arkansas used an outline and the roads were numbered A-1, A-2, B-1, etc.

[DRMan]

Fluke, or did Kansas once sign its junctions similar to how Nebraska still does?

they did, kinda.  The sign is more analogous to this one.



the white guide sign with colored shields seems to be some kind of an experiment.  don't ask me why the state route shield is a square. 

Why did they use a green shield for US 56?  Or is that a business route?

[agentsteel53]

the green was used to mark the Santa Fe Trail.  The route was marked in green from its inception in 1957 to about the mid-1970s.

[US71]

the green was used to mark the Santa Fe Trail.  The route was marked in green from its inception in 1957 to about the mid-1970s.

That I didn't know. I thought it was simply an experiment.

Learn something new everyday, I guess.

[SidS1045]

People have said that New York's state route shield is based on its "colonial seal," but I'm not seeing it.



Can someone post the colonial seal? I've looked at the state flag and the symbol on the flag looks nothing like the shape used for the shields.

Last I heard, it was what you got if you draw an approximate outline around the illustration inside the state seal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seal_of_New_York.svg

VERY approximate.

And for whoever said they had never seen MASS-US, it's on this page:  http://www.maroads.com  The one shown on the page is gone now.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

This thread is crying out for a link: http://www.routemarkers.com/states/

Maine and Louisiana shields need updating...

When's the last time anyone spoke to James Lin? That webpage hasn't been updated in 3 years.

[agentsteel53]

And for whoever said they had never seen MASS-US, it's on this page:  http://www.maroads.com  The one shown on the page is gone now.

that page has few images, and about 75 links - most of them hardcore devotees of the Cult of 404.  Having clicked through some, I do not feel much desire to click through the rest.

Can you please give me an exact direct link to the MASS-US shield you refer to?  thanks!

[Alps]

This thread is crying out for a link: http://www.routemarkers.com/states/

Maine and Louisiana shields need updating...

When's the last time anyone spoke to James Lin? That webpage hasn't been updated in 3 years.

But it has the new South Carolina shield.  Gotta wonder.

[agentsteel53]

But it has the new South Carolina shield.  Gotta wonder.

that shield is a 2007 creation, no?  so the dates line up.

[Alps]

Oh crap, that means... I'm getting old!!! 

[Quillz]

Does anyone know if the states that don't have a custom state route shield but rather use the default (I think there are only four or so) once had a unique state shield, or have they always used the bog standard?

[Scott5114]

I am pretty sure only Kentucky and New Jersey have always used the circle.

[Brandon]

I am pretty sure only Kentucky and New Jersey have always used the circle.

IIRC, Iowa has as well.