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The New York City Sign Museum, now open for tours [1]

['Ruben Bolling']

Date: 2024-12-06

Noble Signs, a fantastic sign making company in New York City has been rescuing old and classic signs destined for the junkyard for years, and is now making their Sign Museum collection accessible to the public. Starting last month, Noble Signs has been conducting weekly guided tours of their facility and the beautiful signs they've saved from destruction. You can "sign" up for a tour at this link.

I'm a big fan of classic signage, and I had the privilege of visiting Noble Signs. I met with Noble Signs co-owner Mac Pohanka (left) and New York Sign Museum Collections Manager Seamus Seery (right), seen here with a gorgeous vertical neon sign the company was preparing for a client.

Photo credit: Ruben Bolling

Mac's passion for the design and manufacture of signs is evident. Here are some examples of Noble Signs' work in the wild:

Posted with the permission of Noble Signs

As NYC tenement-style buildings are being torn down in favor of high-rises, and mom-and-pop stores are crowded out by national chains, ground level storefronts are losing their classic, beautiful, eccentric signage in favor of glossy cookie-cutter shopfronts bearing corporate logos. Noble Signs is nobly dedicated to creating signs that honor the traditional look and manufacturing methods of New York City signs.

But in addition to this commercial enterprise, whenever they hear of an iconic sign, often a landmark of a neighborhood, being torn down because of a business disappearing, they try to negotiate with the owners to give the sign a new home in their museum.

David Barnett, co-owner of Noble Signs, writes:

"With the sign museum, we hope to build an archive and reference library for designers and nostalgia-seekers who want to tap into the history and style of NYC. With Noble, our creative studio, we are trying to apply the logic of NYC signage to both contemporary signage projects, and broader design challenges. We want New York City to continue to have a unique visual identity and by preserving old signs and also designing new signs and storefronts in the same vernacular style of the work we are saving, we can create a positive effect in the place that we live. We hope to continue to grow the projects independently here in our studio space until we can find a permanent home for the museum collection."

Photo credit: Ruben Bolling

Here is a link to sign up for the Sign Museum's email list, to get updates on future events and developments.

Here are some of the signs they've amassed.

Photo credit: Ruben Bolling

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Photo credit: Ruben Bolling

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Photo credit: Ruben Bolling

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Photo credit: Ruben Bolling

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Photo credit: Ruben Bolling

I'm hoping the New York Sign Museum can save this gorgeous, iconic 1937 sign for Subway Inn, which just announced is closing down on December 28.

Manhattan's legendary Subway Inn announces it's closing on Dec. 28, not long after moving to its third location in almost 90 years. rolandopujol.substack.com/p/manhattans… — Rolando Pujol (The Retrologist) (@rolandopujol.bsky.social) 2024-12-03T01:31:35.394Z

Not to mention the amazing sign for the recently closed Smith's Bar in Hell's Kitchen.

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