Last Passive Aggressive "Welcome to Oregon" sign removed

Started by KLR, March 20, 2019, 01:05:57 AM

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KLR

These used to be how the Beaver State embraced visitors:



In the early 70s a campaign started to soften our posture towards tourists and their welcome influx of ca$h, and the last one on the CA border was taken down in July 1982.  I've never seen one myself, but while searching for images years ago I happened across this blog showing a pic of one that was still standing:



It took an evening of zipping around on Google Street View to find that this is on US-730, the OR/WA border on the Columbia.

Sad to say someone recently took umbrage and tore it down - Street view still shows the crane: 



:-/

As a lifelong Oregonian I've always found this bemused standoffishness hilarious, eg the hijinks of the James G. Blaine Society, or Stewart Holbrook's calls for projects like building a tunnel around I-5 and closing all the exits.   :poke:  Oh well, can't fight progress.


ClassicHasClass

I remember that sign! When I was going through in 2015-ish, there were two leaving Oregon signs, which seemed kinda ... clingy.

https://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/395/u23/

But the worst state line "sign" in the world is still this one, on the road from Amargosa Jct, CA to Pahrump, NV:

https://www.floodgap.com/iv/1168

Last time through about a year ago, I think they had something barely proper up. It's not a state highway but it gets a lot of traffic between CA 127/CA 190 and NV 160.

KLR

Lol, Nye County didn't have the budget for a sign, so they sent some county workers out with a bucket of paint!   :-D 

I grew up in Morrow County, due SE of Hermiston/Stanfield/Echo on 395, and I'll bet you dollars to donuts the locals on 730 loved that sign, not least for how horrified those taxaholic nimrods in the Willamette Valley would be about it.   :popcorn: 

MNHighwayMan

How is "we hope you will enjoy your visit" supposed to be passive-aggressive?

paulthemapguy

Quote from: MNHighwayMan on March 21, 2019, 09:42:49 AM
How is "we hope you will enjoy your visit" supposed to be passive-aggressive?

I say this about a lot of your posts and I'll say it again:

Thank you.
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oscar

Quote from: MNHighwayMan on March 21, 2019, 09:42:49 AM
How is "we hope you will enjoy your visit" supposed to be passive-aggressive?

Only in the context of Oregon's reputation for wanting people to visit, but not move there (especially from California).

Even there, the sign isn't effective in welcoming only tourists, while putting out the unwelcome mat for new residents. I think there are bumper stickers, making that message more explicit.
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Paulinator66

Quote from: oscar on March 21, 2019, 09:55:48 AM
Only in the context of Oregon's reputation for wanting people to visit, but not move there (especially from California).

Even there, the sign isn't effective in welcoming only tourists, while putting out the unwelcome mat for new residents. I think there are bumper stickers, making that message more explicit.

Oh, I took that a different way; with the emphasis on the word hope.  I thought they meant, "We hope you enjoy your stay."  "You probably won't enjoy it but we HOPE you do anyway."

vdeane

Quote from: ClassicHasClass on March 20, 2019, 09:34:15 PM
I remember that sign! When I was going through in 2015-ish, there were two leaving Oregon signs, which seemed kinda ... clingy.

https://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/395/u23/

But the worst state line "sign" in the world is still this one, on the road from Amargosa Jct, CA to Pahrump, NV:

https://www.floodgap.com/iv/1168

Last time through about a year ago, I think they had something barely proper up. It's not a state highway but it gets a lot of traffic between CA 127/CA 190 and NV 160.
FYI, people aren't going to want to read through an entire page worth of images to find whichever one you want to direct them to.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

ClassicHasClass

Quote from: vdeane on March 21, 2019, 08:24:32 PM
Quote from: ClassicHasClass on March 20, 2019, 09:34:15 PM
I remember that sign! When I was going through in 2015-ish, there were two leaving Oregon signs, which seemed kinda ... clingy.

https://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/395/u23/

But the worst state line "sign" in the world is still this one, on the road from Amargosa Jct, CA to Pahrump, NV:

https://www.floodgap.com/iv/1168

Last time through about a year ago, I think they had something barely proper up. It's not a state highway but it gets a lot of traffic between CA 127/CA 190 and NV 160.
FYI, people aren't going to want to read through an entire page worth of images to find whichever one you want to direct them to.

https://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/395/u23/#img_31

Beltway

Quote from: oscar on March 21, 2019, 09:55:48 AM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on March 21, 2019, 09:42:49 AM
How is "we hope you will enjoy your visit" supposed to be passive-aggressive?
Only in the context of Oregon's reputation for wanting people to visit, but not move there (especially from California).
Even there, the sign isn't effective in welcoming only tourists, while putting out the unwelcome mat for new residents. I think there are bumper stickers, making that message more explicit.

It still could be taken as an innocuous statement.

After all, the sign "welcomes" every vehicle that crosses the state line.  Doesn't discriminate about whether the occupants are visitors from some other state, new Oregon residents, long time Oregon residents, or native Oregon residents.
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