Showcase Of Beautiful Vintage and Retro Signage
Many designers and artists have a true love for vintage and retro design and share their passion when the opportunity arises. One could probably find several hundred showcases of retro designs on display today in the 21st century, but not many of actual vintage ones that were used in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s and are still in use today.
To celebrate the beauty of vintage and retro typography, we have compiled a showcase of vintage and retro signage to inspire you: a great excuse to take five minutes out to admire the styles, whether simple or complex, and the love that went into creating these gorgeous vintage signs.
Showcase of Vintage Signage
hampton inn. green bay, wi. 2006
deangelis (delightfully different) donuts
Rochester, PA
bakersfield
Drive-up green burger/pastrami joint
Simmons and Clark Jeweler in Downtown Detroit
liquor. santa monica, ca. 2006
Seoul rock
Rock & roll joint somewhere in the upmarket Apgujeong.
Mel’s Drive In
Great retro neon and bub signage for Mel’s in Hollywood.
they go together like a horse and carriage
Johnny Rockets on Woodward in Downtown Detroit
A cool sign for a 50′s style diner, this chain of restaurant was originally launched out of California in 1986. Located in Foxtown, this diner is right near The Fillmore, Fox Theater, and Comerica Park.
Urban Script
As seen in downtown Buffalo, New York.
Casa de cadillac, Sherman oaks
The Palms Motor Hotel
Portland, Oregon.
Parkside
Parkside Candies in Amherst, NY.
Krispy Kreme in Kolor
Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, TN.
Carling Black Label Beer
Albany, GA; Oglethorpe Lounge.
Last Click
route 66. hackberry, az. 2007.
Uncle Jer’s
Great side wall signage for Uncle Jer’s on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles doing business since 1978.
R.I.P. Zipperhead
A South Street icon bites the dust. At least the new shop left the giant creepy ants on the facade. And there is Crash, Bang, Boom — a very respectable spin-off shop, around the corner. Philadelphia, PA.
Flickr Groups
Flickr is a superb place to search for inspiration of all kinds, no matter what your project. Check out some of these great sign-related groups, and contribute to them if you have your own great photos of vintage signs!
- Faded Signage
Dedicated to faded signs, and has over 13,500 photos to date! - San Jose Vintage Signage
Unique and vintage signage (in their original form) from San Jose, California. - Signage & Typography
Typography in signs, including advertising, neon and even simple instructional text. - Vintage Neon Signage & More
Old signage from motels, shops, bowling alleys, car lots and cafes. - I Love Old Signs!
Working and broken neon signs, steel signs, plastic signs and ghost ads. - Motel & Hotel Signs
This group is dedicated to motel and hotel signs, both new and old. - Vintage Texaco
Vintage Texaco goods, from old oil cans to postcards to toys… and of course vintage signs. - Plastic Signage
Plastic signs: new, vintage and everything in between. - Liquor Stores
Photos of liquor stores. And what do liquor stores have in common other than liquor? Signs! - Vacuum Formed Signs
Vacuum formed signs from all eras.
Further Resources
- Making Vintage-Style Signs
A great walkthrough on how to make your very own vintage-style signs for your own home. - How Neon Signs Are Made
A great article on the history of neon signs and how they are made. - 50 Examples of Vintage Typography
A collection of 50 vintage posters advertisements that make great use of typography. - 20 Insane Vintage and Grungy Typography Poster Designs
A magnificent collection of modern typographic posters that use vintage and grungy effects. - Vintage and Retro Typography Showcase
A beautiful and elegant collection of vintage and retro typography used in advertisement and brand design. - 60 Rare and Unusual Vintage Signs
A huge and stunning collection of vintage signs of all kinds, including labels and packaging and street signs. - Retro and Vintage in Modern Web Design
Same topic, different media. A great showcase of vintage and retro styles from modern Web design! - 35 Beautiful Vintage and Retro Photoshop Tutorials
A huge collection of the very best vintage and retro Photoshop tutorials!
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Floris Fiedeldij Dop
January 8th, 2010 5:21 amGreat shots! It’s amazing how photography can help make an every day or even retro and worn out signs look amazing. It’s clear where the typography and actual design and branding etc has gone into. Great engineering and development.
Ryan Lascano
January 8th, 2010 6:21 amThanks for sharing! Beautiful craftsmanship that is missing from a lot of what you see today. When a lot of these were made they were somewhat more difficult to produce, yet still hold up well and are better designed than many of the signs you see today.
seiji
January 8th, 2010 7:56 amBeautiful !
Yes, same in Tokyo what happened in design world .
Main problem is ,they are changing before they get old. Too many Designers.
Too bad I don’t see rusty sign anymore in Tokyo .
Tina Bell Vance
January 8th, 2010 6:42 amIf you’re ever in Las Vegas, Nevada and want to see some fabulous vintage neon and hear some history, book a visit to the Neon Museum’s Boneyard, an outdoor museum for old Vegas signage. Took a trip there last autumn and it was incredible!
Callum Chapman
January 8th, 2010 8:09 amI’ll be going to Las Vegas one day in my lifetime, I’ll be sure to check out the museum :D
Lee
January 8th, 2010 6:48 amVery cool!
Some admittedly not-so-great shots (all I had was my point-and-shoot) of signs around Washington DC:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leefur/3584845770/in/set-72157619082408636/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leefur/3584040853/in/set-72157619082408636/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leefur/3584043171/in/set-72157619082408636/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leefur/3584844410/in/set-72157619082408636/
Bim
January 8th, 2010 6:50 amSuperb.. the Walthamstow Stadium is not too far from me :D
Callum Chapman
January 8th, 2010 8:09 amAbout a hour or so away from me.. Went there a few years ago – I believe it’s shut now?
Nas
March 8th, 2010 10:45 amThe stadium is shut and in hands of property developers. Except for the front facade – what you see in the picture – everything else behind it will become houses and apartments.
Willem
January 8th, 2010 6:50 amGreat photos. Love the vintage signs and photo editing to make them pop better.
mohd
January 8th, 2010 7:09 amnice article
Kervie
January 8th, 2010 7:16 amThose are great. Love the angles on the shots.
tonehal
January 8th, 2010 7:51 amthat was nice!
Callum Chapman
January 8th, 2010 8:12 amHope you all like my latest post, be sure to Promote It! :)
Deborah
January 8th, 2010 8:13 amI see that you included the cool Blues City Cafe sign, but not the even cooler Joe’s Liquor Store sign, both in blues city – Memphis, Tennessee. As a longtime Memphian who now lives in rural Virginia, I miss these (and other) funky signs. To see the sign, search joes liquor store, midtown Memphis
Nikhil
January 8th, 2010 8:24 amAwesome collection!
Steve Hosmer
January 8th, 2010 9:09 amhttp://www.signmuseum.net/
http://www.neonmuseum.org/
http://www.theletterheads.com/
everybody needs a sign
caridad
January 8th, 2010 12:02 pmgreat photos. love the vintage signs!!!
Melissa
January 8th, 2010 12:56 pmThese are great photos of vintage signs. I especially like the Hampton Inn, the rusty Shell sign, and the Zipperhead ants. Actually, I really like them all!
Thanks for sharing.
Bruce Ng
January 8th, 2010 2:00 pmgreat round up, thanks Callum!
love the “Drive In Liquor Store” lol! i remember an old stand up bit .. those stores are just the thing for those drunk drivers that are on the go!
thanks again
Bruce (@transcendwebs)
Dan
January 8th, 2010 5:29 pmVernors Vintage sing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goda/210020273/
rustyshackleford
January 9th, 2010 12:42 amThe first Krispy Kreme store that opened in 1937 in my hometown of Winston-Salem, NC, is sadly no longer open, but there are still two stores in the city. All of the KK signs still bear the classic lettering.
Rafie
January 9th, 2010 5:20 amLegend!
Jon
January 9th, 2010 10:19 amNo Coca-Cola signs? Missed a good opportunity…
Mike
January 11th, 2010 7:39 amBest part of this list is the Coca-cola sign is left out.
Greg
January 9th, 2010 7:51 pmVery inspiring … I love the old sign scripts. Thanks for sharing!
Michael
January 10th, 2010 7:04 amFunny to see Andre’s burgers signage. I live in Bakersfield and we have a couple of those still around. I wish there was some shots of our museum’s growing collection of neon signs still up and running in the back. Found a few here : http://www.dcgibs.com/Bakersfield-Community-Events/Pioneer-Village-Neon-Lights-II/8829259_kTHRT#590299533_bvcgW but the collection has grown quite a bit more than what they put up.
Milan Bandić
January 10th, 2010 3:06 pmIvo Josipovic is new president of Croatia, congratulations…
Heil Red Croatia!
Bart Heird
January 10th, 2010 3:35 pmThanks so much for these! I am obsessed with this stuff and even have some nice examples of my own on Flickr. (username: Chicagobart)
:)
kojshia
January 10th, 2010 5:54 pmThis one is pretty cool too. Too bad it didn’t make the list: http://www.flickr.com/photos/xhengis/4141990233/
Lam Nguyen
January 10th, 2010 9:46 pmGreat roundup! Love the R.I.P. Zipperhead, that’s a creative one!
Taniya
January 11th, 2010 1:04 amAwesome collection! I love the ants!
Ingo
January 11th, 2010 4:01 amGreat photos.
I also suffer from a sign fetish…;-)
Quakeulf :3
January 11th, 2010 4:12 amOh, this is so nicely nice. :’3
Eric
January 11th, 2010 9:12 amThank you. And thanks for the resource links. Not only am I inspired to move on my designs, I’m inspired to work on rebranding my business. Thanks a million for the inspiration!! Love that retro Googie signage!
Jess Bruels
January 11th, 2010 9:51 pmAlbuquerque has an amazing collection of vintage signs. It seems that every business has one out front. It is quite wonderful eye candy driving through downtown at night. My favorite was the Dog House Drive-in with a dachshund wagging its tail in neon lights. Oh I miss seeing well made signs.
Kieran
January 13th, 2010 3:25 pmPerhaps a little US centric, it would be great to see more examples outside of the states.
Jeff Klein
September 1st, 2010 10:17 amHere is an original 40′s painted Pepsi sign that was just revealed after decades of being covered by a wood facade. Located in Winston-Salem, NC Burke Street.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Winston-Salem-NC/One-Hero-Creative/71116821252#!/photo.php?pid=6833129&fbid=457593201252&id=71116821252