AARoads shield gallery updates

[agentsteel53]

Just a personal opinion, but shouldn't this get fixed before new ones are added?

no.

well, I'm about to make a modification to the PHP that sets the "b0rked" flag in the database every time a page is loaded with no photos to display.  So that'll help us zero in on the problematic entries quicker.

[rickmastfan67]

It should, but it requires clicking 9,000 or so links in conjunction with going manually through the database. We have been fixing them slowly, but can only take so much of that in one setting...

I hear ya on the "so much of that in one setting".

[agentsteel53]

I'm about to make a modification to the PHP that sets the "b0rked" flag in the database every time a page is loaded with no photos to display.

done.  Only took me two days to work through a bug in our SQL interface.  so now I could probably be smart about things and run a php script to test *every* thumbnail... except I'm lazy.   

[agentsteel53]

yesterday I added about 100 Texas sign photos.  Lots of pre-1969 ones of course, as 1969 is when Texas gave up all of their sign innovations and apparently, ever since, has obeyed the feds unquestionably, yielding some very boring signage. 

[agentsteel53]

added some great Jim Lindsay photos from the 1970s, from a variety of states.

in the next few days I'll be adding the last of Michael Summa's major sweep through his archives - the W states - and then it'll be time for the next phase of the shield gallery, where I use all the accumulated knowledge from the last year and half or so of doing research, and come up with signing history pages for all states.  

It'll be an ambitious project - maybe another year and half to get through everything! - but by the end I hope to have a page for every state that depicts the evolution of their signage practices.  

did I mention that in parallel to this, I'll be going through a backlog of 5000+ photos, including all my travels and contributions from generous souls left and right, so the gallery stands to expand another 50% despite it being declared "complete"?  And there'll even be a few miscellaneous articles, like a page devoted to all those changes in California freeway guide sign specifications between 1955 and 1959.

that's right, we are not satisfied with being the most comprehensive source of highway sign information on the internet - we're constantly improving and expanding!

want to get your favorite sign added to the shield generator?  buy one!  that's how easy it is 

[rickmastfan67]

want to get your favorite sign added to the shield generator?  buy one!  that's how easy it is 

Or you provided a svg for him to add that you happened to make yourself (like how he has the current version of South Carolina's shield).

[agentsteel53]

Or you provided a svg for him to add that you happened to make yourself (like how he has the current version of South Carolina's shield).

actually, someone bought one!  that's the real reason I was spurred to move forward on that. 

[rickmastfan67]

[agentsteel53]

[rickmastfan67]

heh.

[CL]

in the next few days I'll be adding the last of Michael Summa's major sweep through his archives - the W states - and then it'll be time for the next phase of the shield gallery, where I use all the accumulated knowledge from the last year and half or so of doing research, and come up with signing history pages for all states. 

It'll be an ambitious project - maybe another year and half to get through everything! - but by the end I hope to have a page for every state that depicts the evolution of their signage practices. 

did I mention that in parallel to this, I'll be going through a backlog of 5000+ photos, including all my travels and contributions from generous souls left and right, so the gallery stands to expand another 50% despite it being declared "complete"?  And there'll even be a few miscellaneous articles, like a page devoted to all those changes in California freeway guide sign specifications between 1955 and 1959.

that's right, we are not satisfied with being the most comprehensive source of highway sign information on the internet - we're constantly improving and expanding!

This is great! I can hardly wait.

[agentsteel53]

okay, I finally got to the last four states (WA, WI, WV, WY)!

[agentsteel53]

I'm starting up the series of articles focusing on historical signage.  The first one is dedicated to the signs of the Midland Trail, 1915 to 1923.  



the Midland Trail was the first federal route to connect southern California to the rest of the US - branching off the Lincoln Highway in Ely, Nevada and heading to Los Angeles.  The route was added to the US highway system in 1937 as US 6.  

read more here!

https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/07/25/the-midland-trail/

[hbelkins]

http://tinyurl.com/2udpc9n

Snag this one quickly. This is the old toll booth on the south end of what is now known as the Clark Memorial Bridge in Louisville. Now carrying US 31, it used to carry US 31E (and later US 460) as evidenced by the huge cutout US 31E shield above the toll booth.

[agentsteel53]

http://tinyurl.com/2udpc9n

Snag this one quickly. This is the old toll booth on the south end of what is now known as the Clark Memorial Bridge in Louisville. Now carrying US 31, it used to carry US 31E (and later US 460) as evidenced by the huge cutout US 31E shield above the toll booth.

that is huge!  is that a 36 incher?  and also, is that a style that was used elsewhere?  I've seen what must be a 36" cutout used in Kentucky but with different fonts:



the reassurance sign in the background appears to be 24"

[agentsteel53]

the Laws Railroad Museum, in Bishop, CA: highway signs from 1913-1957 or so.

https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/20/the-laws-railroad-museum/

enjoy!

[Alps]

that is huge!  is that a 36 incher?

[agentsteel53]

that is huge!  is that a 36 incher?

I suddenly feel violated.  What's this sticking up out of my throat?

[Roadsign199qc]

I have photos:



EDIT: Credit it Odie Labave.

[Quillz]

When did the Shield Gallery pages get organized by state, and then type of road? It used to be each state had all the shields on one page, now it's been changed where I have to further click for Interstate, state highway, etc. It's okay, but seems to just introduce one extra step that's unnecessary.

[agentsteel53]

When did the Shield Gallery pages get organized by state, and then type of road? It used to be each state had all the shields on one page, now it's been changed where I have to further click for Interstate, state highway, etc. It's okay, but seems to just introduce one extra step that's unnecessary.

both ways of looking at things have been around for a while.  from the main page, click "browse the gallery" and then choose your favorite state.

[Quillz]

Hmm... Maybe my default setting changed or something, because I never knew it was organized that way until earlier today.

[Duke87]

Here's another "snag it while you can".

Old Queens Midtown Tunnel shield.

[deathtopumpkins]

Found this gem while sitting in traffic in Portsmouth recently:



The shield gallery only has its Norfolk counterpart, and I don't think I've ever seen even a recent photo of this type of sign at all. Use away, credit to Connor Lauzon.

On the other side of the road, by the way, is a state-named I-264 shield, but its picture did not come out good enough to really tell.

[agentsteel53]

very cool find!