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June 25, 2026

The Signs of the Time

Black-and-white historical directional signpost listing Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Stockton, Acampo, Lockeford, and San Andreas.

The U.S. road network has evolved over the past one hundred and thirty years, beginning with the invention of the automobile. The signs that guide us on the highways are the legacy of a long conversation between engineers, psychologists, politicians, and everyday drivers to create a system of information that helps people get where they are going safely. The highway system had to grow to meet the business, recreational, and national defense requirements of a developing nation. The ever increasing volume of vehicles on the new high speed roads needed an effective signage system to guide travelers.

Map showing interstate routes approved for marking as United States highways in California.
Interstate highways in California in 1926.

A New Way to Travel

These new roads form an integrated network of highways and byways that are used for countless of trips across the country. Road signs in this country originate in the development of the first roads for automobiles and bicycle in the 1880s when a need for coherent signage was identified first by the automobile clubs that sprang up around the country. Since that time there has been a continued and concerted effort to make signs that are readable and accurate, to make the roads safer for travel and fun.

Hollywood Freeway (US 101 North / US 66 West)
In 1953, US-66, US-99, and US-101 met at the Four-Level Interchange. Of these, only the 101 remains an active highway route. Courtesy of the Automobile Club of Southern California Archives. Link to article.
Automobile Club highway marker sign pointing toward Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Hoover Ferry, and Kingman.
An Automobile Club highway marker near Boulder City lists distances to Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, and Kingman.
Historical Boulevard Stop sign with a woman standing beside the signpost.
This iconic 1925 image depicts an experimental stop sign installed by the Automobile Club of Southern California.
Early automobile stuck in mud on an unpaved road near a rural building.
In the early 1900s the majority of roads were unpaved and their quality varied considerably.

This presentation is an attempt to tell that story of the typeface that was developed to serve the United States — a typeface called the FHWA Series Standard Alphabets.