American Sign Museum

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After lunch, we headed to the American Sign Museum.  I had never been and I had heard good things.  The museum is over on the west side in the industrial area of town.  We have not been over there much.  

 We used our ArtsWave pass to get a "buy one, get one" tickets.  The museum is rather expensive.  It was $15 per ticket, which is more expensive than the Art Museum and just about as expensive as the Zoo.  It doesn't necessarily have the legacy of either of those institutions.

 We arrived around 2:30 and caught the last 30 minutes of the tour.  I do recommend trying to catch a tour.  Ironically the museum does not have great signage -- or at least, it has a lot of it.  That being said, it has a lot of individually labeling, but I liked the tour highlighted the key elements of the museum and tied it together.  The tour highlighted the macro trends in signage (who knew such a thing existed).  And given my reaction of "who knew such a thing existed" highlights the importance of the larger tour.  Other than an exhibit a while ago about signage in Paris at the turn of the century by Toulouse at the Milwaukee Art Museum, I have not seen learned much about signage.  
McDonald's sign over 30 feet tall -- you can see that the edits on prices in the top corner

Original GE refrigerator sign

A mold for Coca-Cola bottle that is about five feet tall.  The signs went on the top of buildings.  The wood form is made of mahogany since it can withstand high temperatures and high pressures 

This museum is very focused on American signage and has a little bit of Americana going on.  The gift shop has retro signs and some old styled "soda pops."

 I see why the museum is considered a hot spot in Cincinnati for after-hours events.  It has a really great vibe with the signage and lights.

 Times visited: 1
Time in museum: 1.5 hr
Overall: A-
Location: 1330 Monmouth Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45225, USA

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