Signs of the Time

A collection of commercial signage in and around San Francisco

This is my attempt to preserve some of the classic commercial signage of San Francisco and the Bay Area. These are reminders of a time when businesses took pride in themselves, and strove to present an outward appearance as pleasing and as individual as a young lady at a USO dance.

The time periods vary, but all stand in sharp contrast to today's mass-produced, efficient, uncaring storefronts. They all share a history of owners, founders, and entreprenuers who chose to enhance their environment rather than intrude upon it, even if it meant a few less dollars in the till.

(Of course, it simply could be that in previous eras, the technology to make cheap, mass produced signs was not available, so businessmen had no choice but to pay for a fancy, handmade sign. But, I prefer to think it was the former that created the signage we see so little of today.)

Unfortunately, today's business model doesn't leave much room for historical preservation, and I've yet to see anyone protesting their destruction, so I felt the need to preserve them for future generations, as images, if not as real artifacts.

So, without further ado, here they are, arranged by location.

[Joe's]

West Portal


[Pet Hospital]

Sunset


Downtown


Richmond

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