Choose a symbol for each Interstate

[SSOWorld]

I-675 (OH) - Airplane

Surely you forgot the exclamation point at the end of the word.

I think he did, and don't call me Shirley.

[hbelkins]

I-675 (OH) - Airplane

Surely you forgot the exclamation point at the end of the word.

I think he did, and don't call me Shirley.

And here's the pitch. It's a hanging curve, and Onson knocks it out of the park.

[empirestate]

I-90: Safeco Field and Fenway Park
I

Interestingly enough, there are 2 other Major League Baseball stadiums right next to I-90....Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians) and US Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox).  Not too far off of I-90 is the Baseball Hall of Fame (Cooperstown NY) and Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs).  Maybe there should be a ball & bat symbol for I-90.

Interesting; a baseball them for I-90 had not occurred to me. Is it unusual among Interstates this way?

In any case, a generic symbol like a baseball diamond would be most appropriate here, rather than choosing one particular stadium (let alone two).

[Chris19001]

ha-ha-ha  There are some great ones on here..
I'd have a big old dirty keystone for I-76 (eastern), and the liberty bell for I-676.  How about a nice orange for I-95?  It would be great advertising in points north for taking a trip to FL in the colder months?

[Jim]

This idea of I-90 passing by a few MLB ballparks captured my interest.  So here's an attempt at a list.

Fenway Park: Directly visible from I-90
Yankee Stadium: Directly visible from I-87, within a mile of I-95, 2 miles of I-278, I-895
Citi Field (NY): Directly visible from I-678, within about a mile of I-495
Citizens Bank Ballpark (Philadelphia): Directly visible from I-95 and I-76
Camden Yards (Baltimore): Directly visible from I-395, I think visible from I-95, within about a mile of I-83
Nationals Park (DC): Close to I-695 (I think visible) and I-295, (I don't think visible)
PNC Park (Pittsburgh): Directly visible from I-279, within about a mile of I-376, I-579
Turner Field (Atlanta): Directly visible from I-85, within a mile of I-20
Marlins Park (Miami): About a mile from I-95
Tropicana Field (St. Pete): Directly visible from I-175, I-275 and (maybe) I-375
Great American (Cincinnati): Directly visible from I-71, within about a mile of I-75 and I-471
Progressive Field (Cleveland): Directly visible from I-90, I-77
Rogers Center (Toronto): none, obviously
Comerica Park (Detroit): Directly visible from I-75, I-375
US Cellular (Chicago): Directly visible from I-90/I-94, about a mile from I-55
Wrigley Field (Chicago): A couple miles from I-90/94
Miller Park (Milwaukee): Directly visible from I-94
Target Field (Minneapolis): Directly visible from I-394, I-94
Busch Stadium (St. Louis): Directly visible from I-44, I-64, I-55, was also I-70 before reroute
Kaufmann Stadium (KC): Directly visible from I-70, I-435
Minute Maid (Houston): About a mile from I-10 (can see, I believe) and I-45
The Ballpark in Arlington: Directly visible from I-30
Coors Field (Denver): A little over a mile from I-70, unsure if it's visible
Chase Field (Phoenix): In the middle of the I-10/I-17 "box"
Petco Park (SD): Directly visible from I-5
Angel Stadium: Directly visible from I-5
Dodger Stadium: Close to I-5, but can it be seen?
AT&T Park (SF): Directly visible from I-80
O.co Coliseum (Oakland): Directly visible from I-880
Safeco Field (Seattle): Directly visible from I-5 and I-90

[Greybear]

I-10 (TX) Cactus
I-20 (TX) Oil derricks
I-30 (TX) Dallas skyline
I-35 (TX) Texas state capitol
I-40 (TX) Cadillacs half buried

[hotdogPi]

I-10 (TX) Cactus
I-20 (TX) Oil derricks
I-30 (TX) Dallas skyline
I-35 (TX) Texas state capitol
I-40 (TX) Cadillacs half buried

Cactus would probably fit better for I-8.

You can't just use 10, 20, 35, or 40 in Texas without considering the other parts of the Interstate. (30 is fine.)

[texaskdog]

I-10 (TX) Cactus
I-20 (TX) Oil derricks
I-30 (TX) Dallas skyline
I-35 (TX) Texas state capitol
I-40 (TX) Cadillacs half buried

Cactus would probably fit better for I-8.

You can't just use 10, 20, 35, or 40 in Texas without considering the other parts of the Interstate. (30 is fine.)

Heck, do it by state!  That would make it more unique and interesting!

[1995hoo]

....

Nationals Park (DC): Close to I-695 (I think visible) and I-295, (I don't think visible)
....

It depends on which way you're going on I-295. If you're going southbound, it's not very visible from the Interstate portion unless you're the passenger and can turn your neck really far (it is visible for both driver and passenger from DC-295, especially at night during a game). If you're going northbound, it's pretty visible for both driver and passenger as you come down the hill near Bolling Air Force Base (again, especially at night during a game). I think it's somewhat easier to see from northbound I-295 than it is from I-695 simply because of all the new development around the ballpark district. Of course in all cases it helps to know where to look.

[sandiaman]

 Here goes:  I- 25 =  red chile
                   I- 15 =  pair of dice
                   I-8    =  sombrero
                   I- 20 =  oil well derricks
                   I - 40 = cowboy boot
                   I-80 =  covered  wagon
                   I-5  = grape vines
                   I - 10 =  oranges

[hbelkins]

Heck, do it by state!  That would make it more unique and interesting!

OK, then. Here's Kentucky:

I-24 -- two lakes
I-64 -- horses
I-65 -- either a cave or a Corvette
I-71 -- cookie-cutter 1.5-mile speedway
I-75 -- a chicken (first KFC was located at Corbin)
I-264 -- twin spires of Churchill Downs
I-265 -- a river with a missing bridge (until they get the new bridge built)
I-275 -- an airplane (since it serves the greater Cincy airport)
I-471 -- beats me

[NE2]

I-471 -- beats me

It's funny because you're a man.

[SD Mapman]

Heck, do it by state!  That would make it more unique and interesting!

SD: I-90: Empty space
I-29: Cornfields
I-190: a cobbler
I-229: the Big Sewer

[adventurernumber1]

Heck, do it by state!  That would make it more unique and interesting!

Good idea!

Georgia:

I-75: Road that's 3 lanes each way 
I-85: Atlanta skyline (could work just as fine for I-75, but I think the 3 lanes thing works good for it)
I-20: Southern house in the piedmont
I-16: A road with nothing but trees alongside it
I-59: Lookout Mountain
I-24: A curvy Y-shaped symbol (symbolizing I-24's short dip into Georgia and how I-59 breaks off of it going southwest)
I-95: Beach/ocean
I-285: A road with a bunch of cars (traffic)
I-575: Suburbs
I-985: Lake Lanier
I-475: A straight road that's three lanes each way with a road that's two lanes each way going to the left (symbolizing that I-475 is a good shortcut past Macon)
I-520: Augusta skyline
I-516: View of Savannah, its port, & the ocean
I-185: Columbus skyline & Chattahoochee River

I-675: got 'nothin

[amroad17]

Heck, do it by state!  That would make it more unique and interesting!

OK, then. Here's Kentucky:

I-24 -- two lakes
I-64 -- horses
I-65 -- either a cave or a Corvette
I-71 -- cookie-cutter 1.5-mile speedway
I-75 -- a chicken (first KFC was located at Corbin)
I-264 -- twin spires of Churchill Downs
I-265 -- a river with a missing bridge (until they get the new bridge built)
I-275 -- an airplane (since it serves the greater Cincy airport)
I-471 -- beats me

I-471 -- either an outline of the Big Mac Bridge, a shark (since it goes near the aquarium), or a motarboard (since it goes near Northern Kentucky University)

[Eth]

I-675: got 'nothin

I-675: this thing.

[Jim]

Until it was taken down several years ago, this would have been a candidate for I-787's image:



(Image from https://www.flickr.com/photos/105487135@N05/10362603134/)

How many other interstates ever had a spectacular view of a winking oil tank?  This was just north of the NY 378 bridge into south Troy.

But really, the Albany skyline would be the obvious choice for I-787.

[empirestate]

I-10 (TX) Cactus
I-20 (TX) Oil derricks
I-30 (TX) Dallas skyline
I-35 (TX) Texas state capitol
I-40 (TX) Cadillacs half buried

Cactus would probably fit better for I-8.

You can't just use 10, 20, 35, or 40 in Texas without considering the other parts of the Interstate. (30 is fine.)

I gave permission for this, if the route's nationwide extent proved too daunting for some contributors. Ideally, state-segment symbols would then be considered together to decide on a national one, but that suggests more organization than this exercise currently has. :-)

I-285: A road with a bunch of cars (traffic)
I-575: Suburbs

OK, but as a reminder: what exactly is the symbol for suburbs? If you were designing a flag for I-575, and it was to consist of a solid field with a single symbol in the center, what would that picture be?

And for roads whose symbol is traffic, is that representative of the road itself or of the area it serves? The latter is preferred; a road serving the auto-manufacturing areas of Michigan seems a better choice for this symbol that a road that just happens to be congested (especially since congestion is hardly going to be unique to any single Interstate).

[adventurernumber1]

@Empirestate, good point about the traffic symbol (also, when I did the I-285 symbol I meant traffic for the road itself). A different symbol for I-285 could be a Coca-Cola bottle (since it was invented/founded in Atlanta & the World of Coke is there; with that it could be possible for I-85 & I-285 to swap symbols but I think it'll work good either way).

As for the suburbs symbol for I-575, it could simply be an image of suburban neighborhoods & development with a skyline in the far distance.

[empirestate]

As for the suburbs symbol for I-575, it could simply be an image of suburban neighborhoods & development with a skyline in the far distance.

My feeling is that that's a lot of elements for a single symbol, when you compare it to things like an eagle, a star, a fleur-de-lis, the Eiffel Tower, a paddle wheel...

Some people have suggested factories for certain routes, so I thought of using a symbol for industry (a cogwheel, perhaps) rather than a landscape of industrial buildings. Similarly, you could use a sheaf of wheat to represent agriculture instead of a picture of a farm. So I wondered what could be similarly used to convey suburbs, without having to depict a whole suburban scene?

Although, as I've said, this exercise isn't about signage or navigation, it may help to think of an Interstate shield with the numerals deleted and your symbol depicted in their place. Although you probably wouldn't want to erect such signs in real life (and that's OK), it does demonstrate the graphical principle we're after.

And then, of course, you have to think what is it about I-575 that it conveys suburbia more than so many other Interstates? What about the specific communities it serves; is there anything that would evoke those particular places?

[hbelkins]

I-471 -- either an outline of the Big Mac Bridge, a shark (since it goes near the aquarium), or a motarboard (since it goes near Northern Kentucky University)

Or maybe a picture of Tim Brown. 

Another thought for I-65: A picture of Abraham Lincoln since the route outside Louisville has been named after him, and it passes closest of any interstate to his birthplace.

[hotdogPi]

About the Big Mac Bridge: Why not a picture of a Big Mac, from McDonald's?

[roadman]

About the Big Mac Bridge: Why not a picture of a Big Mac, from McDonald's?

Or a corncob pipe.

[sbeaver44]

Some Pennsylvania:

I-283: I like the TMI reference for I-283 mentioned earlier.  You can't see TMI from I-83 as easily.  Too short for anything else.
I-76 (PA), 276, or 476:  Dollar sign for how expensive the Turnpike has become.  Alternatively, I-76 or 476 could get a classic turnpike tunnel logo in there.
I-176:  The Pagoda in Reading atop Mt. Penn, since it is right near the terminus.  There's nothing really else going on with I-176 except that leftover spur.
I-70 (PA):  Speed Limit 55.  Lol.  Or a traffic light symbol.  Or if you want something legitimate, a wind turbine.  There's a lot of wind power out in Western PA now.
I-83 (PA): Harrisburg skyline or a Rutters logo, since there's one at almost every exit it seems.
I-81 (PA): Someone else mentioned tractor trailer...
I-180 (PA): Maybe a baseball since it goes to Williamsport, or the Hadany Arch.  (See http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/1118)
I-78 (PA):  Maybe a crayon since it passes by Easton and that's where Crayola is made?  I always think of Roadside America in Shartlesville but that would be too hard to symbolize.
I-99 (PA): The football referee gesture for "Incomplete [pass]" since it fails to connect with either intended interstate directly at its ends.

[Zeffy]

I'll try my hand at New Jersey:

I-95(NJ) - Really I think the Turnpike shield in itself is iconic enough, although south of exit 6...
I-295(NJ) - Can't think of anything here
I-195(NJ) - Either the Trenton skyline, a picture of a rollercoaster, or a boardwalk with the ocean under it
I-78(NJ) - Newark Airport outline
I-280(NJ) - Newark's skyline
I-80(NJ) - The Great Falls of Paterson?
I-278(NJ) - A silhouette of the Goethals Bridge
I-76(NJ) - Walt Whitman Bridge or Philadelphia skyline
I-676(NJ) - Camden Waterfront or the Ben Franklin Bridge