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old Vancouver signs Tag

07 Jun

Posted at 17:46h in Old Vancouver Signs

As a Vancouver sign company that lives and breathes signage, we've taken a few trips down Vancouver signage memory lane on our blog, but you can't write about old Vancouver, BC signage without looking at neon. Although we don't create neon signs, these vibrant signs were a salient feature of Vancouver street scenes of yesteryear and neglecting to mention them would be sign history sacrilege. Neon sign making is a dying art, for a variety of reasons: it's expensive and it's being replaced by new modes of lighting and signage. In the heyday of neon (the 1940s and 50s) Vancouver was aglow with neon signs, making the downtown streets of the then smallish coastal city seem metropolitan, especially at night. Neon became synonymous with “downtowns” worldwide — an icon of the hustling, bustling urban nighttime landscape. This beautiful sign included some fantastical creative touches including lit steam rising from a cup and...

30 Aug

Posted at 19:10h in Old Vancouver Signs, Vehicle Wraps and Graphics

Vehicle graphics are not new. From the first days of company owned vehicles, vehicle signage was an obvious way to advertise your business. Of course, things were much simpler and often the hand-painted lettering simply displayed the company name upon a van or truck. Now we have vehicle wraps and vibrant full-color, large scale graphics, but, the intent was the same then as now: be seen. The photo below shows the simple beauty of hand-crafted vehicle signs on Vancouver delivery trucks of yesteryear. There is something elegant in the obviously hand-painted lines and lettering. Vehicle signage doesn't get much simpler than this. The goal? Same as today, really. Brand the vehicle with at least your company's name, address, and phone number. It's likely that this delivery truck has the company name and address on its right side just as we see upon its sister vehicle on the right of the photo (below)....

26 Feb

Posted at 16:30h in Old Vancouver Signs

We were searching online  recently and came upon an amazing collection of old Vancouver photos. We were struck by how the photos not only document the history of the city, but also provide a visual history of Vancouver signage. This vast and stunning collection of photos contains more Vancouver signs than we've ever seen assembled in one place. We're not positive about the source of the photos. Many may be culled from the Vancouver Public Library public domain photo collection, which is a great source that would peak the interest of any Vancouver sign makers or signage geeks. [caption id="attachment_1291" align="alignnone" width="512"] North east corner of Granville and Hastings in circa 1900-1905. The competing signs of several Vancouver businesses.[/caption]   Old signs are beautiful, and it makes us wonder whether 50 or 100 years from now people will look back at the signs adorning buildings in today's Vancouver and have the same feeling...