I’m Jay Hinman, and I live in San Francisco, CA. I’ve had a lifelong fetish for 40s/50s/60s North American sign design – especially motels, diners, movie theaters, bars and other disappearing sign ephemera.
It’s always a joy to come upon a still-standing sign of this type, and be able to screech the brakes like a maniac and pull over for a photo. I do it all the time. And now, in my 50s, I’m finding I’ll actually build in an hour or two in a new town or city just to seek these out. Sometimes I’ll use Roadside Architecture‘s website to track them down; sometimes word of mouth; and sometimes it’s just serendipity.
I’ve collected so many photos over the years that it made sense to document them in a single place – a portfolio, perhaps. I made myself a couple of books on Shutterfly, but what good is that if you can’t get other people to yammer about them?
Every time I take a new one – a good one – I’ll upload it here. I’ve got a backlog to get through first.
I can be reached via email at thejayhinman@gmail.com. Would love to hear from you if this is one of your weird hobbies as well, or even if it isn’t. Here are some other websites I maintain:
The Postcard Motel
The Word Goes Flesh
Fanzine Hemorrhage
Agony Shorthand
The Sign Stalker 