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Various kinds of street signs were in use throughout New York City in the 20th century, and a majority were made of porcelain. I enjoy to collect vintage street signs that saw service in the five boroughs, and have over 20 pieces in my private collection. Below, are some pictures of some vintage street signs that I own.
You might remember that early large vinyl aluminum street signs throughout New York City appeared in several pairs of colors. With the exception of Staten Island and Manhattan, each borough had its own pair of colors for its streets. Staten Isl. and Manhattan had street signs that had yellow backgrounds with either black letters or numbers, while Brooklyn street signs had black backgrounds with either white letters or numbers. Queens' street signs had white backgrounds with either blue letters or numbers, while the Bronx's street signs were the total opposite of Queens' street signs. These unique street signs were in use from around 1964 until the 1980s, which was at the time that New York City converted to a universal color scheme (for all boroughs), in which it is still in use today.
Vintage Queens porcelain street signs. 1930s to 1950s.
1950s "ONE WAY" arrow signs from New York City. These were in use for a short period of time. It was not until the 1960s, though, that these were eventually replaced by the current version that is in use.
Manhattan porcelain street signs. Late 1940s to early 1950s.
Brooklyn was black on white lettering
Queens was white on blue lettering
Manhattan and S.I. was yellow on black lettering
Bronx was blue on white lettering
I remember them from the 80s as a young kid.
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Below, are some additional pictures of other vintage street signs that I have acquired over the years.
From the late 1910s until the 1940s or so, New York City manufactured and installed porcelain "humpback" street signs in four of the five boroughs, in which they are Staten Island, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. This sign had it own sign case that protected it from vandalism and damage, and it showed both the main and cross streets of the intersection it was located at it. From top to bottom, "WYTHE AV." and "N. 15 ST." is from Brooklyn, while "SICKLES ST." and "NAGLE AVE." is from Manhattan, while "CROES AVE." and "BANYER PL." is from the Bronx.
An original "ONE WAY" sign from New York. This version, in which the city continues to use nearly 50 years, was introduced in the 1960s, and, unlike its predecessors, the actual arrow is encased within a black rectangle. This one in particular that I have may date back to the 1960s. It double-sided, of course.
Vintage bus stop sign of the 1960s. Definitely a blast from the past.
I still miss the blue/white street signs we used to have here in the BX. We still have a few stragglers still around (there's one near the Dyre Avenue station).
I'm still trying getting used to the lower-cased ones popping up all around the city.
what i always found to be bizarre was street ID signs mounted underneath highway overpasses. I don't know if it's still there but for the longest time there was a street sign under the Major Deegan that identified both Major Deegan Expressway and Van Cortlandt Park South. like who can really read them when you're moving along at 60 mph and what purpose does it serve?
These are great!!! Where do you get them? I would love to have a few!
Most of what I currently own were purchased from EBay, while others were found at local salvage yards.
In my opinion, EBay is a good website to find vintage street signs from the city of New York auctioned every now and then. Craigslist is another good website, too, but they're not sold as often on there as on EBay.
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