Which state was the first to experiment with colored US route shields?

[usends]

Florida's colored US route shields were probably the most well-known, and perhaps for that reason I had assumed that FDoT was the first to come up with the idea (implemented in 1956).  However, someone recently posted this page from a 1947 issue of Better Roads magazine, indicating that Mississippi was experimenting with colored shields ten years prior to the time they were implemented in Florida.  Anyone have more info about the history of the colored route shield concept?

[X99]

I think South Dakota used them at one point.

[dlsterner]

My memory may be faulty on this, but didn't Arizona experiment with using color shields where the color denoted the direction of the highway?

[Avalanchez71]

Yes Arizona did that.  I remember seeing a discussion on that.

[Max Rockatansky]

My memory may be faulty on this, but didn't Arizona experiment with using color shields where the color denoted the direction of the highway?

Yes, I have a couple in my signage collection.  The colors were; brown, blue, orange and green. 

[usends]

There is lots of information here about which states used colored shields.  But again, I'm looking for information on where this idea originated, or which state was the pioneer.  As I said, I was surprised to learn that Mississippi had done it as early as 1947.

[ClassicHasClass]

There is lots of information here about which states used colored shields.  But again, I'm looking for information on where this idea originated, or which state was the pioneer.  As I said, I was surprised to learn that Mississippi had done it as early as 1947.

Unrelated to your question, but related to the page: I can confirm the US 195 | US 395 signage was definitely on the Latah Creek Bridge; the span is unmistakable. http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/395/u27/#img_36

[PHLBOS]

There is lots of information here about which states used colored shields.  But again, I'm looking for information on where this idea originated, or which state was the pioneer.  As I said, I was surprised to learn that Mississippi had done it as early as 1947.

I looked through your above-page and noticed there was nothing mentioned regarding RI using colored US route shields.  There certainly were some, on trailblazer or reassurance assemblies, in the Providence area during the 1970s and maybe early-to-mid 1980s at the latest.  IIRC, the US 1 shields (like Florida's) were red and the US 44 shields were blue.  I'm not too sure what color the US 6 shields in RI were.

[usends]

I looked through your above-page and noticed there was nothing mentioned regarding RI using colored US route shields.  There certainly were some, on trailblazer or reassurance assemblies, in the Providence area during the 1970s and maybe early-to-mid 1980s at the latest.  IIRC, the US 1 shields (like Florida's) were red and the US 44 shields were blue.  I'm not too sure what color the US 6 shields in RI were.

Thanks for the info.  Are you aware of anything online that shows colored shields in RI?

[NE2]

I looked through your above-page and noticed there was nothing mentioned regarding RI using colored US route shields.  There certainly were some, on trailblazer or reassurance assemblies, in the Providence area during the 1970s and maybe early-to-mid 1980s at the latest.  IIRC, the US 1 shields (like Florida's) were red and the US 44 shields were blue.  I'm not too sure what color the US 6 shields in RI were.

Thanks for the info.  Are you aware of anything online that shows colored shields in RI?

It's not color, but: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_US_1_Providence.jpg

[roadman65]

Didn't Kansas use them for US 56?  I remember Richie Kennedy on his website featured them as it was Kansas own special route being it was the longest signed route in the state.  It was a green shield if I remember correctly and was even abandoned in the early 90's just as Florida abandoned their own scheme.

[usends]

...anything online that shows colored shields in RI?

It's not color, but: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_US_1_Providence.jpg

Thanks!

...regarding RI using colored US route shields.  There certainly were some, on trailblazer or reassurance assemblies, in the Providence area during the 1970s and maybe early-to-mid 1980s at the latest.  IIRC, the US 1 shields (like Florida's) were red and the US 44 shields were blue.  I'm not too sure what color the US 6 shields in RI were.

Yes, the wiki page (where the above photo came from) states that US 1 was red, US 6 was yellow, and US 44 was blue.  And according to this page, those were the same colors used by Connecticut, so maybe the New England states coordinated.  That page also states that CT began using colored shields in 1948, which is the second-earliest I've heard of (after Mississippi).

[Avalanchez71]

I recall seeing a US 11 blue colored shield in Hattiesburg around 2004.  I had a heck of a time getting to Petal via reassurance signing.  I recall one in Iuka, MS around 1985 for US 72.  Haven't seen any others.

[usends]

Update: I took some of the info in this thread, as well as what little information I could find elsewhere on the web, and used it to update this page. 

One of the key realizations was that not many states implemented colored route shields on a statewide basis.  Rather, several states that used colored route shields did so only within cities, to help motorists navigate the turns along the old surface-level routings.  Those experiments started in the 1940s, and it wasn't until the 1950s that states like Florida and Arizona deployed their statewide systems (after intra-city experiments elsewhere were deemed to be successful).

I suspect that South Dakota's colored shields were used statewide, but the information I've found so far is inconclusive.  Anyway: other relevant photos or info would be appreciated.

[Konza]

Definitely Kansas and Arizona.

The US 56 shields in Kansas were green, and Arizona used four different colors depending on the direction of the route.

[midwesternroadguy]

I saw a red colored US shield for sale on eBay a few years ago for US 44.  I was intrigued as I was looking for Florida shields.  Subsequent research indicated that these colored shields may have been posted within or by the City of Providence.   

[kphoger]

Definitely Kansas and Arizona.

The US 56 shields in Kansas were green, and Arizona used four different colors depending on the direction of the route.

US-56 didn't even exist in Kansas until after Florida had already begun posting colored US Route shields.

When did Arizona begin using colored shields?