Horizontal DONT WALK signal

[Mapmikey]

Never seen this in person or in a picture before.  A DONT WALK signal with the words next to each other instead of on top of one another...

This was in Portsmouth VA at the Court St/High St intersection...

https://www.cardcow.com/269410/downtown-portsmouth-virginia/

Mike

[traffic light guy]

Those were pretty common in NYC in the 1950s

[M3019C LPS20]

It is a Crouse-Hinds unit. There were two variations of that horizontal setup. The first setup showed "DONT WALK" and "WALK" both in red, like what is in that photograph. Below, is an original advertisement from Crouse-Hinds that shows its product, including others similar to it.



The second one used two colors, so "DONT WALK" illuminated as red and green respectively. "WALK" on its own appeared green.

New York City's first pedestrian signal to show both commands made its debut in February of 1952 in Times Sq. in Manhattan. About eleven units of the second kind from Crouse-Hinds were installed in the general vicinity. They also showed a flashing "DONT WALK" clearance, and, because "DONT WALK" served as both commands, the colors red and green flashed simultaneously. It confused a lot of pedestrians, and, due to this flaw, the Crouse-Hinds unit eventually proved to be a flop by the city's traffic commissioner, T.T. Wiley. By 1955, all units in Times Square were removed by the Department of Traffic.

Here's an example from Manhattan. Illuminated as "DONT WALK."