Yellow Traffic Signals with Black Backplates History

[traffic light guy]

I wish I could see some photo of Roosevelt Blvd in the 1970's

I found an old picture somewhere, I just gotta dig it up

Roosevelt is such a wide street, I wonder how they managed before mast arms to make the signal visible (unless the mast arms pre-date thte extra-wide Roosevelt.)

In Montgomeryville, PA at the intersection of PA 309, PA 463, and former US 202 had side mount pedestal signals before the current overhead gantry was installed in 1983.  It had no overheads at all, and it managed even with 5 different ways of traffic and a wide PA 309.

Most likely the same was as present day Benjamin Franklin Parkway has all side mounts due to the view that the parkway is supposed to have.  Seeing the art museum at one end and City Hall at the other.  The part NW of Logan Square is a wide street with the same set up as Roosevelt in NE Philly.

You mean this, these signals date to 1983:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.2472177,-75.243637,3a,75y,330.26h,92.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sxeEWW6Xnvm4ubv9Pn3UyRg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en