Signage for the Lincoln Hotel seen at 410 Eddie Robinson Sr. Drive, Thursday, September 26, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save In a cultural landscape desperate for authenticity, Baton Rouge's vintage signs, though few and far between, add depth to the region's sense of place.
Like the iconic signs along Route 66, the local signs recall the heyday of highways and strip development — a part of Americana. "These freestanding street signs that have a sculptural quality have basically disappeared because of zoning laws," said Darius Spieth, an LSU professor with a doctorate in art history. "Many of the manufacturers who made these things went out of business about that time, so the knowing how to do these things disappeared a little bit, which is why we look at these things from a nostalgic perspective.
" Though the original signage may not last, a trend in current sign design works to emulate the retro style with neon-like elements that are "more maintenance friendly, less expensive, much more durable and are still beautiful in their own right," said Gene Bagot, owner of Thunderbolt Signs in Baton Rouge. Spieth says the signs from the second half of the 20th century represent the golden age of street signs. As automobiles became widely available after the Second World War, strip development featured large signs "because this is all stuff that needs to be seen at a split second when people drive by," said Spieth.
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