Start Packing, Big Boy
(9.12.2011) –– Some rare American signage icons will have a new home soon thanks to an anonymous $900,000 donation to the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati. The museum will move to its long-anticipated permanent home in early 2012.
The 19,300-sq.-ft.-facility-a former tool factory--is about 450% larger than the museum's current home, which is bursting at the seams with the museum's historically significant collection of signs and sign-related materials.
With its 28-ft.-high ceilings, the new space will allow the museum to display more of its collection of larger signs, which include some great American icons such as a 1963 Speedee McDonald's sign, a 1958 Howard Johnson's sign, and a 19-ft-tall genie from a Carpeteria store in Southern California. The expanded museum will also include a working neon shop where visitors can watch neon production first-hand, says Tod Swormstedt, museum director. An events space is also planned.
The museum's collection also includes a photo archive of nearly 1,200 vintage black-and-white prints and transparencies, as well as a library of more than 800 sign-related books and catalogs. A "Main Street" exhibit features life-size period storefronts as backdrop for a range of historic signs, with storefront windows showcasing smaller signs and sign-making tools.
To complete the expansion, the museum needs to raise an additional $200,000 for designing, fabricating, and installing new exhibits; restoring signs that have been in storage; moving from the current location; and adding the needed technology and furnishings to complete the museum. You can be a part of the expansion program by:
- Purchasing a paver or painting a panel that will line the museum's entrance floor and lobby wall
- Sponsoring the restoration of a specific sign through the museum's Adopt a Sign program or restoring a sign in your own shop
- Becoming a member
For more information, visit the website at www.signmuseum.org or contact Tod Swormstedt, tod@signmuseum.org or 513-258-4020.