Yahoo! It's actually happening!

Why is Kahnie the pig so happy?

Thanks to a very generous anonymous gift to the museum’s Capital Fund, we now anticipate completing renovations of our permanent home in January 2012. 

The 19,300 sq. ft. facility is about 450% larger than the museum’s current home at Essex Studios in the Walnut Hills area of Cincinnati.  The historic building will allow us to consolidate all operations under one roof, bringing together our extensive collection of historically significant acquisitions. The collection includes a photo archive filled with nearly 1200 vintage black-and-white prints and transparencies, as well as a substantial library of more than 800 sign-related books and catalogs.

Signs are lining up in anticipation of moving into their forever home

Workers kick up the dust as
they begin the demo phase

The main area of the museum -- designated “Signs on Main Street”-- focuses on a street scene characterized by life-size storefronts stretching along and facing in towards a “town square.”  The three-dimensional, period storefronts serve as a backdrop for a range of historic signs, and the windows of the storefronts showcase smaller signs and sign-related objects.  

The 28-ft. high ceilings of the town square area of “Signs on Main Street” serve to display some of the museum’s larger signs.  Among these are some great American icons including a 1963 Speedee McDonald’s sign and a 1958 Howard Johnson’s sign.  Another especially exciting addition will be a working neon shop where museum visitors can watch neon production first-hand. 

We are also planning an events area that will enable the us to transform the museum into an entertainment venue with the latitude to play host to meetings, seminars, and receptions.  A full-scale (16 x 50-ft.) Mail Pouch barn wall sign, rescued from Lanesville, IN, will serve as the backdrop for such activities.

We are very excited about moving forward on this MAJOR step for the museum and can't wait to share the grand opening of your American Sign Museum. We hope you're excited too! 

But while the gift secures the completion of the general construction, we must raise an additional $200,000 for:

• designing, fabricating, and installing the new exhibits
• restoring many signs that have been waiting in the wings for their big debut
• moving EVERYTHING from our current location
• adding the needed technology and furnishings to complete the museum

If you have not supported the museum in the past, there has never been a better time to do so.  There are many ways to join in the excitement and support the museum:

• make your mark (literally) with your personal message that will be a part of the museum forever by purchasing a paver or painting a panel that will line the entrance floor and lobby wall, respectively. 
• restore a sign through our Adopt a Sign program: Sponsor the restoration of a specific sign or even restore a sign in your own shop.   
• become a member.

To all of you who have supported the museum to date, our sincere thanks.  You can be proud for the part you’ve played in making it all come together.  To those of you who are waiting for the chance, there’s still time.  Become a member online or contact me at 513-258-4020 or tod@signmuseum.org.

Sign Contest and Online Auction Highlight April Activities

Show Us a Sign!

Do you have a favorite sign or a favorite photo of a sign? Will you share it with us? The American Sign Museum is proud to sponsor the Show Us a Sign contest with Cincinnati Magazine. We're asking you to share a favorite sign on Cincinnati Magazine's website, and you could win a great prize in the process. Prizes include lifetime membership to the American Sign Museum and a $250 gift certificate to a Jeff Ruby restaurant.  Signs are not limited to the Cincinnati area, they can be from anywhere!  So Show Us a Sign! Contest ends May 14.

Online Auction Offers Deep Discounts for Sign Supplies, Services, Equipment, Show Booths, Magazine Ads...

Booth at 2012 Expo



If you work in the sign industry, there is something for you at our online auction now through April 30.  In years past, our major annual fundraiser was held at the International Sign Association Sign Expo.  This year, it will finish at the Expo, but EVERYONE who has access to the internet has access to the auction.  No need to be present at the Expo.



1 Shot



$500 Gift Certificate



The auction will run from April 1, 2011 to April 30, 2011, with proceeds going to the American Sign Museum's operating budget, and especially the acquisition and restoration of signs. Auction items include products and services, equipment and software that you use everyday. And for the product manufacturers, there are full-page ads in industry publications and booth space at sign shows. Now's the perfect time to view all the items, set up to watch items of special interest, or go ahead and bid!

Full Page 4-color ad space



This is your opportunity to get some great deals on things you use anyway, so why not join in the fun and support your American Sign Museum in the process?  Do it now!



HP H35500 flatbed/roll-to-roll printer



Old friends, new investors?

The Midwest Sign Association is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.  Congratulations!  Here's to the next 50 years! 

The recent International Sign Association / Midwest Sign Association event here in Cincinnati offered a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and make some new ones.  Those who came to the reception at the American Sign Museum's future site were treated to a look at our progress to date and our vision for the future... hopefully the near future!! 

We received some very encouraging comments about what we're doing.  I was a little disappointed, however, and a little frustrated when I asked for a show a hands of how many were members of the museum. 

I read an article recently about how we not-for-profits should see people not as 'donors' or 'supporters', but as investors.  This makes a lot of sense. The goal of the American Sign Museum is to not only share with the world the history of the sign industry, but also to help shape our future.  We tell a compelling story of how of signs reflect and influence design, technology, American culture, and -- most importantly -- their unique and vital importance to commerce.  And if that's not enough, they're just plain fun!

Help us tell the world about signs and the role they play in business, community planning, engineering, marketing, communications, and -- yes -- art.  If you are not a member, or have not renewed your membership, please 'sign' up now.  You can do it online on our website.  Or we're happy to accept your check by US Mail!  You can also find other ways to 'Get Involved' on the website.
Now is the time to invest in the American Sign Museum!

More Respect - Signs ARE Art

Several months ago the Cincinnati Art Museum and ArtWorks approached me about a potential partnership in their summer project called 'The American Road'.  ArtWorks is a Cincinnati organization whose vision is to "be the leader in employing student and emerging artists to create art that enlivens the Greater Cincinnati community." The American Sign Museum has worked with them on other projects. Now they were getting ready to partner with the Cincinnati Art Museum on this American Road project, and wouldn't signs from the American Sign Museum enhance the experience?  In fact they were envisioning some of our larger signs lining the park entrance and winding road leading up to the Art Museum.

Unfortunately, when I explained the time, money, and labor that would be involved in transporting and safely installing the signs - for a temporary exhibit - the idea had to be shelved.  But that didn't mean we couldn't provide some smaller signs for the open area where the students would be working.  According to the ArtWorks website, the plan is to have ArtWorks artists:

creating a painted homage to the American tradition of road trips and traveling West. Working on site at the Cincinnati Art Museum, this team will transform the second floor ambulatory into famed highway Route 66 with a mural of vistas and landscapes of Western America and classic neon signs on loan from the American Sign Museum. Artists will be painting during open museum hours for visitors to observe as part of the Art Museum's See America series. 

Well, the signs are now in place, with their neon lighting up the hallowed halls of this revered institution. 

 

Soon the students will begin painting their mural. I look forward to watching and maybe even influencing their progress.  If you're in the area, I suggest you drop in and give them some encouragement.