City entrances

[stroskey]

I really like how Minnesota put's the town's population on the sign. It is informative and I haven't seen ti anywhere else.

Sometimes I'll ask people in towns i visit how big their town is and they'll look at me and shrug. I have never gotten that response in Minnesota.

[FueledByRamen]

I really like how Minnesota put's the town's population on the sign. It is informative and I haven't seen ti anywhere else.

I thought this was standard practice....all cities in Texas have population on the city limit signs. They also typically have a sign proudly announcing their "Superior Water System." Practically every town has this sign...so wouldn't that make them average, not superior?

[Richmond Jake]

I really like how Minnesota put's the town's population on the sign. It is informative and I haven't seen ti anywhere else. ....

The incorporated cities of California place the population and elevation on their signs.

[kw5280]

I really like how Minnesota put's the town's population on the sign...

I thought populations on signs was just a gag for TV shows.

[Masswich]

I thought populations on signs was just a gag for TV shows.

For some reason that makes me think of the beginning of Welcome Back Kotter:

"Welcome to Brooklyn, Fourth Largest City in America."

and its not even a city anymore!

I also like the population on the sign. I loved driving between Minneapolis and St. Paul and seeing that every day in grad school.

[Seabishop]

I never thought about why we include the elevation out here, the 5280 in my user name is a common reference to Denver being a mile high. I guess the signs are to remind visitors that they are at higher altitudes. Whenever we take visiting family into some of these mountain towns they always comment about the posted elevation with a sense of awe. But it's not limited to the signs. T-shirts, hats, magnets~all the souvenirs have the town name and elevation printed on them.

Is the elevation the highest point or some other measurement?

[Rygor]

I really like how Minnesota put's the town's population on the sign. It is informative and I haven't seen ti anywhere else.

Sometimes I'll ask people in towns i visit how big their town is and they'll look at me and shrug. I have never gotten that response in Minnesota.

All Illinois cities and towns have population on their sign, as well.

[EMDKSU]

I am a landscape architect and ex-plan commissioner. My experience, on both ends is that most cities hire the sign company to design build entry signs. These contracts generally go tot he lowest bidder.

Many cities have an identity crisis and need to take advantage of these opportunities to create an entry that can create civic pride and identity.

Also, as a LA, it fun to design these elements and can lead to exciting civic conversations.

[jmello]

* Is there a state law in Massachusetts that forces cities and towns to use a standard welcome sign? I've never seen a boundary or "Welcome to" sign in Massachusetts that didn't look like this.

I believe that MassHighway installs these signs. I am pretty sure that you will only see these signs on state-maintained roadways, hence the signs for Somerville shown later in the thread. I personally love them!

What you can't see from the photo is that all of these signs are two-sided, with a different municipality on each side. In Massachusetts, and most of New England, there are no unincorporated areas and the municipal boundaries are permanently fixed.

[kw5280]

Is the elevation the highest point or some other measurement?

I'm not sure. Obviously some cities will have different elevations throughout their limits. It might just be where the city center. Most of these mountain towns are small and centralized.

[cmbisi]

i would love waking up one morning to find a grand entrance artwork of a railway line and some maasai warriors welcoming visitors into nairobi at her entry points.would rightly pay tribute to nairobi's history as a railway town together with her original habitants at the turn of the century.my point is,city entrances are actually a powerful tool for expressing a city's identity.

[John P.]

I can tell you what NOT to do. Many small towns around here have a welcome sign with logos of all the services or groups in town. Here is one but I have seen some here in Iowa that have literally 20 logos on them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22516573@N07/2807441162

I couldn't agree with you more.

[Streck]

Thanks! Great responses with photos!

It looks like colleges and universities do a better job than cities.

Any good photos of educational campus entrances that would inspire better town/city entrance monuments?

[rcgplanner]

Thanks! Great responses with photos!

It looks like colleges and universities do a better job than cities.

Any good photos of educational campus entrances that would inspire better town/city entrance monuments?

Here are a few gateways from places I have lived.

Rock Hill, SC has a really unique gateway/public art. It may not classify as a gateway since it is closer to the center of town. The civitas, latin for civic pride, are 4 statues at an intersection. A fifth one can be found at City Hall. http://www.flickr.com/photos/12756378@N05/3583674852/

The main gateway from my undergraduate alma mater, Winthrop University.
http://www.winthrop.edu/virtualtour/...r.aspx?id=3134

A pedestrian "gateway" to one of the on-campus apartment complexes.
http://www.winthrop.edu/virtualtour/...r.aspx?id=3136

Mankato, MN has a nice gateway entering the northeast side of the city near the municipal airport. http://mankato-mn.gov/styles/images/...eToMankato.jpg

Here are a few university gateways I used in my visual perference survey for my studio project in grad school.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40367634@N05/3717224324/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40367634@N05/3717224402/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40367634@N05/3716412745/, my graduate alma mater.

Sorry for all the links, I couldn't get the IMG tag to work.


Hope some of these help!

[luckless pedestrian]

Here's the one from Sprawlville (where I am 9 to 5).



No one walks here; sidewalks are an afterthought. The dusty trail carved beneath the sign must be fall-out from the adjacent state highway.

Turn around, travel a couple blocks. No sidewalks here, either.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,308.32,,0,5.7

I love the desire path under the sign - that is hilarious!

I am working with a sign designer on a "cohesive wayfinding system" to "brand" our town...

[Warwick]

My favourite is the entry "feature" for Withers, an old estate in Bunbury, Western Australia. Google Street View picture attached...

[Suburban Hell]

Nothing unique coming into Nashville, Davidson County. You would think we would have something. I guess the 617 foot ATT Tower is welcome enough!

[DetroitPlanner]

Nothing unique coming into Nashville, Davidson County. You would think we would have something. I guess the 617 foot ATT Tower is welcome enough!

You don't need anything else. You got Batman! (or at least thats what the building reminds me of.. Gotham City!).

[Pragmatic Idealist]

I've always liked this parterre. It's among the more effective civic identifiers I've seen.

[Pragmatic Idealist]

[Pragmatic Idealist]

[Pragmatic Idealist]

[Pragmatic Idealist]

[Pragmatic Idealist]

Generally-speaking, a sense of permanence is usually desirable.

[Pragmatic Idealist]