RIP NYC signage

[Mergingtraffic]

On I-95 SB and noticed the last full gantry with non-reflective button copy is now gone.  These beauties are now gone.
These were put up in 1960 something to 2014.





This has got me thinking, the one of reasons I love NYC was all the old signage. It harkens back to the golden age of expressway building and the grittier times of the 60s, 70s and 80s. I just remember it always being there.  Back when AM radio ruled, roll down windows, graffiti everywhere. 

As I drive around, there isn't much left except for the Harlem River and FDR Drive.  Check out my Flickr,

https://www.flickr.com/photos/98731835@N05/

I think I have 90% of all the old signage still standing in 2014.

[roadman65]

Very sad.  Yeah NYC was great for that.  I wonder if the old black on white signs are still at the BQE entrance from Northern Boulevard in Queens?

[route17fan]

Thankfully preserved in pixels but will be intensely missed indeed 

[cl94]

They got rid of that much? Jeesh. I remember seeing mostly button copy no earlier than 5-10 years ago.

[connroadgeek]

NYC in general does a great job with its signage. It's really quite nice.

[Mergingtraffic]

The summer of 2014 also claimed these:



and



Is there a secret place left in the 5 boroughs where non-reflective button copy or state-named shields still reign supreme?

[Alps]

Very sad.  Yeah NYC was great for that.  I wonder if the old black on white signs are still at the BQE entrance from Northern Boulevard in Queens?

What? There haven't been white guide signs in well over a decade.

[Duke87]

Very sad.  Yeah NYC was great for that.  I wonder if the old black on white signs are still at the BQE entrance from Northern Boulevard in Queens?

What? There haven't been white guide signs in well over a decade.

Not to mention that interchange was reconstructed into a SPUI about 10 years ago. No old signs of any sort there at all on account of that project.

They got rid of that much? Jeesh. I remember seeing mostly button copy no earlier than 5-10 years ago.

Yes, that much. I remember when I was in college NYC was an orgy of button copy. But NYSDOT region 11 has been doing some very aggressive sign replacement in the last bunch of years, so most of what was still hanging around in the late 2000s has since met its demise.

[ixnay]

Good to see others on AARoads have nostalgia for button copy.

As for roll-down windows - my 2005 Chevy Cavalier (bought nearly new) had rolldown windows.  I traded it in for a new 2014 Corolla last winter.

ixnay

[roadman65]

Very sad.  Yeah NYC was great for that.  I wonder if the old black on white signs are still at the BQE entrance from Northern Boulevard in Queens?

What? There haven't been white guide signs in well over a decade.

Well that is a shame too.  As that was a great part of history occasionally seeing those really old expressway signs around in various places.  I have seen them in many parts of Brooklyn as well.

I will bet that there still may be some around if you look hard enough in places or  even spot some other old relic still erected.

[J Route Z]

It's about time they replace these. They also need to replace the street signs that are all faded. 

[Roadrunner75]

Where does it all go, when finally taken down?  I assume for awhile in a DOT yard, but ultimately recycled? trash? pickup truck of DOT employee to later sell on ebay?  All of the above?

[cl94]

Where does it all go, when finally taken down?  I assume for awhile in a DOT yard, but ultimately recycled? trash? pickup truck of DOT employee to later sell on ebay?  All of the above?

Good question. Would they let me take them and put them in my apartment or lab space?

[J Route Z]

Where does it all go, when finally taken down?  I assume for awhile in a DOT yard, but ultimately recycled? trash? pickup truck of DOT employee to later sell on ebay?  All of the above?

Good question. Would they let me take them and put them in my apartment or lab space?

Whatever you do, I trust you since you are a civil engineering student! 

[cl94]

Where does it all go, when finally taken down?  I assume for awhile in a DOT yard, but ultimately recycled? trash? pickup truck of DOT employee to later sell on ebay?  All of the above?

Good question. Would they let me take them and put them in my apartment or lab space?

Whatever you do, I trust you since you are a civil engineering student! 

The UB Transport Lab could use a couple NYCDOT signs on the walls while I'm doing research related to NYC highways. Adds a certain ambiance that would otherwise be absent.

[Duke87]

I'd imagine like anything else metal, they get melted down for scrap. The buttons might also be recycled depending on the material.

[Mergingtraffic]

I'd say in 2 years there will be no button copy left.  The "155 St Left Exit 3/4 Mile" sign on the Harlem River Drive NB was replaced this past week. 

Enjoy it while you can.  And for those down the NJ Turnpike around the I-287/NJ-440 monster, those are also going away.  New gantry foundations are now built.

[cl94]

I'd say in 2 years there will be no button copy left.  The "155 St Left Exit 3/4 Mile" sign on the Harlem River Drive NB was replaced this past week. 

Enjoy it while you can.  And for those down the NJ Turnpike around the I-287/NJ-440 monster, those are also going away.  New gantry foundations are now built.

The big question is if the new Turnpike signage will actually follow the MUTCD

[Zeffy]

The big question is if the new Turnpike signage will actually follow the MUTCD

A lot of the new Turnpike signage does follow the MUTCD so far from what I remember seeing of the new signs.

[cl94]

The big question is if the new Turnpike signage will actually follow the MUTCD

A lot of the new Turnpike signage does follow the MUTCD so far from what I remember seeing of the new signs.

What a concept. Are they actually using exit tabs like they're supposed to?

[cu2010]

Yes. The NJTA has largely adopted the MUTCD, largely abandoning their trademark signage that's made the Turnpike so unique for so many years.

[J N Winkler]

Regarding the old black-on-white signs:  looking through a stack of old as-builts associated with currently advertised NYSDOT contract D262631 (bridge rehabilitation on a number of freeways in the Bronx), I see that the signs are sketched in the summary sheets with a note saying (I paraphase) "Full-size drawings will be furnished after award of the Contract."  At some point I want like to see if these full-size drawings have been saved.

The sample of as-builts associated with D262631 leads me to believe that the black-on-white, all-uppercase signing continued to be erected through 1958.

[D-Dey65]

Does anyone remember the big blue "Car Parking" signs at the Port Authority Bus Terminal?

[Duke87]

Is there a secret place left in the 5 boroughs where non-reflective button copy or state-named shields still reign supreme?

Fortunately there's so much stuff out there that some nice things do still survive.

Still there as of today, on Astoria Blvd:



Still there as of last Sunday, at Westchester Ave and Bruckner Blvd:

[Alps]

Is there a secret place left in the 5 boroughs where non-reflective button copy or state-named shields still reign supreme?

Fortunately there's so much stuff out there that some nice things do still survive.

Still there as of today, on Astoria Blvd:

EB one is easy enough to find, but can't locate the WB one. PM if you don't want to reveal to all.