Hand-painted and hand-made signs are the artistic glory of America’s roadside, albeit a diminishing one. It is too easy and too cheap to order printed signs, whether mass-produced or customized.
There are still original creations to find, however, and one of the most fruitful sources is the automotive industry. Auto parts stores, repair shops and even some car lots still proudly promote themselves with creative, original and hand-crafted signage, constituting a virtual automotive art gallery.
Of course, one of the core attributes of business signs is their short lives, Whether it’s the weather or change of fortune at the business itself, their lifespan is usually short. For that reason, many of the signs in this gallery, photographed starting in the late 1980s, are gone. Still, many fine ones remain, and there are undoubtedly many more to be found.
