Austin, City of Signs – The Emblems of a Dynamic Nostalgic Urban Landscape

Everywhere we look in Austin, there are signs. Some are vintage signs that remind us of the neon signs we saw illuminating motels and diners on a Route 66 road trip we did years ago – like the original, iconic Austin Motel sign installed when the motel was built in 1938.

Other Austin signs are modern and retro-inspired and are virtually works of art – or at the very least pay homage to 20th century American pop culture – like those created by urban archaeologist Todd Sanders of Roadhouse Relics, who travels the country’s highways looking for inspiration for his custom-made signs.

Austin, City of Signs – The Emblems of a Dynamic Nostalgic Urban Landscape

There is a wonderful quote on Todd’s website about this mid-century Americana, that it was “a time when Americans found adventure simply by following the glow of gas-filled tubes beckoning toward fanciful roadside attractions.”

The 1950s in particular was a time of optimism and positive energy and also the beginnings of technology playing a part in people’s lives, before paranoia about Russia took hold.

While many of the signs are rich with history and loaded with meaning for nostalgic locals – especially those on South Congress Avenue and South Lamar Boulevard, two streets that are emblematic of the dynamic social and cultural life of the city – other signs are just another cool feature of Austin’s colourful urban landscape.

At Roadhouse Relics, Sanders has his own ageing process for his signs to accelerate rusting, the same way that Fender sell guitars that are ‘aged’ at the factory – and it’s not a coincidence it’s for the classic guitar models of the 1950s either.

There is something about the innocence of the time and endearing old-fashioned-ness of the signs that makes us nostalgic for a period and place we didn’t even know – and it’s incredible that just looking at these signs can bring on that feeling.

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