The PopCulteer
August 29, 2025

For the PopCulteer that starts to wind up our 20th anniversary week, we are going to bring you a photo essay of a place that’s also celebrating an anniversary or two.  I’m talking a really cool place that opened to the public twenty years ago, The American Sign Museum in Cinncinnati.

You might have noticed that this is our third photo essay devoted to a museum in Cinncinnati in the last week. That’s because we actually went to them all on the same day.

I’d decided that, for my birthday this year, I wanted to take a fun trip to a place we really hadn’t visited before. Now, we’d gone to Cinncinnati for a Queen City Beautiful Dolls Club show a few years ago, but we didn’t venture into the city proper.

And for years, I’ve wanted to visit The American Sign Museum, and Mel really wanted to see The Lucky Cat Museum…and since we were in the area and we both always wanted to see the historic Cinncinnati Union Terminal, we decided to go the weekend before my birthday, and hit all three attractions on the same day.

That was on a Friday, and then Saturday we went randomly shopping and found places that definitely merit a return visit.

Jungle Jim’s, I’m talking about you.

Actually, all the museums merit return visits, and the next time we go, we might do so fully as civilians. I’m trying to break the habit of habitually taking way too many photos for the blog and not basking in the full experience of these cool places. As it was, this was one of the most fun trips we’ve taken…and we specialize in taking fun trips, so that’s saying something.

But share pictures with you I will. Our first stop was The American Sign Museum, and it’s an overwhelming immersive experience of nostalgia, art, craftsmanship, advertising history, and everything popular culture has to offer.

Much of the museum is a neon wonderland, but they also have lots of land-marking statuary, print poster art, folk art and clever sleight-of-sign.

The phrase “sensory overload” is appropriate here. It is a mind-blowing experience. The museum offers a guided tour that takes almost two hours, but we chose to just wander aimlessly for our first visit, and the effect was not unlike that of being a hyperactive kid in a candy store.

You can find full details about how you can plan your visit at their website, and get directions all all the other useful information you need so you can go take in this incredible museum. You really need to see this in person. These photos barely scratch the surface.

Now, let’s have the photos do the talking…

As you drive down Monmouth Avenue, you can tell you’re getting close when you see some…signs.

Most of the signage is indoors, but some of it is so huge it has to live in the parking lot, or on the side of the building.

When you walk in, the glow of the neon permeates your world.

We really got a kick out of the clever signs. Sadly these icons of an earlier time have been legislated out of existence by short-sighted city councils and petty bureaucrats.

Every corner you turn down is a wonderful assault on your senses.

There is a method to the seemingly random juxtaposition of signs, but it’s just as much fun to ignore that and just soak it all in.

It’s not all neon, chrome and plastic. There’s a large collection of poster art and hand-painted signs.

This museum is also ground zero for amazing restoration work. They have their own neon lab and the restored and recreated billboards are stunning.

Plus, many of the signs will just crack you up for no reason.

This is the Main Street mid-century America that people miss so much.

Expect this photo to get altered and used for a STUFF TO DO or RFC header image.

We leave you with this massive 12 or 15 foot tall Big Boy (one of two they have on display) as we bid farewll to The American Sign Museum. We will be back.

And that is the PopCulteer for our twentieth anniversary week. We are not yet done today. In a bit, you can read the notes for today’s new episodes of MIRRORBALL and Sydney’s Big Electric Cat on our internet radio station, The AIR. I also expect to bring you two additional posts later today, but one of them might get bumped to next week.

Regardless, check PopCult for fresh content every day, and all our regular features. I plan to keep doing this, so when my fortieth anniversary week rolls around expect all the latest news on catheters and walkers, and reviews of the tastiest mush.