Under neon glow, this local hidden gem celebrates the art of commercial signs

From overlooked roadside attractions to offbeat museums and obscure natural wonders, Local Hidden Gems will showcase some of the unique and unexpected treasures that make America extraordinary. We will emphasize charm, surprise and delight.

Local hidden gem: American Sign Museum, Cincinnati

The building might be a bit difficult to find, hidden in an industrial area of Cincinnati's Camp Washington neighborhood. However, the American Sign Museum is a real gem dedicated to the art and history of commercial signs and sign-making.

“We’re the largest public sign museum in the country,” said Executive Director David Dupee in a recent telephone interview. “Our mission is to celebrate America’s sign history through education and preservation.”

Enter under the giant statue holding a welcome sign into a sea of neon lights. The museum – which saw 60,000 visitors in 2023 – covers more than 100 years of American sign history in an expanded 40,000-square-foot space.

New wing doubles sign museum, extends its 'Main Street'

As of July 13, the museum opened a new wing, doubling its size and utilizing the full space of the building.

Dupee said the expansion features an extension of the museum's Main Street, the main museum exhibit that recreates a nostalgic slice of Americana.

“It really gives a main street, trip-down-memory-lane vibe,” he said.

Along with the new signs along the Main Street extension, the new space will feature a 300-person event space, a classroom and a theater. Dupee said the theater is a recreation of an old-time movie theater that utilizes a marquee from New Hampshire. It can be used as an educational space as well as for private events.

Local hidden gems: A spotlight on the American treasures in our backyards

The history of the American Sign Museum

The museum was founded in 1999 by Tod Swormstedt, a former editor of Signs of the Times magazine, as the National Signs of the Times Museum. According to the museum's website, it was a self-proclaimed “midlife crisis project” for Swormstedt, who spent 26 years at the magazine.

As support grew, the museum was renamed the American Sign Museum in 2005 and reopened in an arts center. But space was tight, so the museum found a new location the century-old Oesterlein Machine Company-Fashion Frocks, Inc. Complex in Camp Washington. The new site opened its doors in 2012.

On the job since April, David Dupee brings entrepreneurial, small business experience

Dupee joined the museum as its executive director in late April, and his focus since then has been to get the new wing up and running.

When he joined, he said he was surprised how close to the finish line the new wing was. The museum's $5.4 million capital campaign was complete, and construction was nearly finished.

“That’s a credit to the team that’s been here," Dupee said, including Swormstedt.

According to an article in Sign Builder Illustrated, Dupee, a lawyer and Cincinnati native, has spent the past 10 years "helping launch and scale mission-driven organizations." Dupee co-founded Good City Brewing in Milwaukee and advised the Wisconsin legislature on a bill creating the first intrastate crowdfunding exemption, which allows businesses to raise up to $1 million from state investors through crowdfunding portals without complying with state registration requirements.

Those experiences as an entrepreneur have allowed Dupee to see the challenges accompanying growth, which he plans to apply to the museum's expansion. Growth is exciting, he said, but it needs to be growth that's mission-based, and his plan is to help cast a vision around the new wing.

What's ahead for the American Sign Museum?

Dupee's focus during his first few months on the job had been getting the new wing ready to launch. With its opening, Dupee is turning his attention to the future.

His focus is on creating a new strategic plan for the museum, he said. But he's giving it a few months at first, to see how guests interact with the new collections in the new space.

Dupee also wants Cincinnati to be more prominent in the museum's brand, to help solidify the city as the hub for signs and branding.

"We want to lean into our Cincinnati roots," he said.

How does the museum acquire its pieces?

The museum both seeks out signs to add to its 4,000-piece collection and has them donated, Dupee said.

However, the vast majority – about 95% Dupee estimates – has come from its founder, Swormstedt.

“He’s really the visionary with our collection and how we’re going to approach displaying and acquiring new pieces,” Dupee said.

What are the best signs in the collection?

Everyone has a different take on the best sign at the museum, Dupee said. It's often something that resonates with their past or has historical interest.

For Dupee, it's the Howard Johnson's sign in the original wing. The sign is near and dear to him, he said, because of the summers he spent in Connecticut, staying at a HoJo's.

Another sign – this one in the new wing – that has a personal connection to Dupee is Johnny's Big Red Grill sign from Ithaca, New York. Standing 21 feet tall, the sign dates to the mid-1950s, when Dupee's grandfather was studying at Cornell University in that city.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: American Sign Museum in Cincinnati celebrates the commercial sign