Hang Your Shingle, Please

Not so long ago, architects tried to make a building's signage match its design. More recently, gaudy, impractical and "leech-like" signs have sprung up instead, new kinds of "architectural parasites." "The solution isn't signage controls, which deaden rather than enliven, as the tasteful signage on many suburban strip malls shows...Rather, this is an appeal for creativity and imagination...a plea for careful thinking about what works, functionally and aesthetically, to enhance the street." The author examines the state of signage in Philadelphia, calling for variations on the shingle theme as a way to enliven street life there.

Thanks to David Gest