american sign museum

I would definitely call ahead and reserve a spot on the guided tour. I mean, the signs are cool on their own, but the tour guide puts them in context by telling their history in the order that the various genres were used. It's a great way to spend an afternoon when you just have to get out of the house, but the weather's not cooperating. There's a party room as well and I could definitely see a really kitschy, funky, mid-century themed reception there.

Even if you have no links to signpainting (or 'signmaking' as it is referred to now, as few people actually paint!) you will be delighted by the variety of signs located in and around this establishment. For a very reasonable fee you get a history of signmaking, an education about sign-making techniques and materials, and an adorable recreation of a 'main street, USA' display which recreates signs, ads, window displays, etc. You can feel a lot of love and talent went into gathering, restoring and preserving these gems of a bygone era.

My wife and I went with another couple to the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati. Not knowing what to expect, we were very pleasantly surprised by this wonderful place. They must have traveled the entire country to acquire these amazing signs, many of which gave us overwhelming feelings of nostalgia. Our group represented ages 38-41, and we all really enjoyed it. I wish I would have invited our parents to come too - as they would have really liked it as well.I highly recommend the guided tour. It may seem strange to need a tour guide to show signs to you, but you would miss a lot about the history and stories behind each sign if you don't take the free guided tour. Our guide was very nice and very knowledgeable. You can tell he really loves his job!

A special friend visited this museum. His goal in life was to make people smile. His memorial celebration was held here - he would have loved the party!

We visited and were educated and entertained by the depth of the displays and the color and excitement and warmth. Anyone would have a great time. They have a live working for real neon shop on premises and we went in as part of the 2:00 tour and it was ILLUMINATING! I recommend to take the tour. Thanks to all.

Neat to see. Tour was great, and a must do if you go. Wish we would have gone on day when neon shop was open. Our 12yr old enjoyed it, but young kids would probably be bored.

The American Sign Museum has a bit of something for everyone, whether young or old, local to Cincinnati or a visitor. The collection is interesting and the display is impactful, while it is easily viewed in a couple of hours. Being an Baby Boomer, it was fun to see some of the forgotten commercial icons of my childhood, and it was also fun to see some signs from across the Midwest (including my home region near Indianapolis). Attending during a tour time gave the collection a lot more meaning through the interpretation of the guide and talking with others who were visiting; we gained a lot of knowledge by attending the tour and would highly recommend making your reservation online for it. Tons of fun, lots of neon and lights, one of those off the beaten trail places that you should not miss.

Excellent museum but not very big. Displays are well laid-out and a lot of fun to see. The admission is $15 for adults and with the tour guide it was worth it; he explained the history of lighted signs and how signs changed over the years; also they demoed how neon signs are made. If you just walk around without the guide then it is rather pricey (therefore 4/5 rating). If you are older (40+) then you probably will remember many of the signs

My group of 14 adults came here for the tour at 2pm on Superbowl Sunday. It was busy even so, but plenty of room here for all. Our tour guide John did a great job of giving us lots of interesting information on our 50 minute tour; it is the way to go - can't imagine why you'd want to go around on your own and miss it (it's included in the entry fee). It is very well curated and clean. We all really enjoyed seeing the signs and learning the history of neon and signs.It was an amazing site, and a good place to take friends & family from out of town and those living in Cincinnati. Children are welcome.

This is a small museum with very big memories to share of neon signs of another era to include McDonald's, Holiday Inn, Howard Johnson's, etc. and many other nostalgic trips down memory lane.This is a fun stop to reminisce about days gone by and gives you a good feeling when you leave.A small gift shop of mementos rounds out the experience.Definitely recommend this museum.

My daughter Janine, who is a graduate student at U.C., and I thoroughly enjoyed the tour today. Jonathan Swiger, Visitor Services Manager, was the tour guide for the 2pm tour. We were the only Canadians in the tour group of about 20 persons. Jonathan pointed out that we will never look at signs the same way again. He was correct! Jonathan gave us a very detailed and entertaining presentation describing the history and evolution of signs. Without his presentation, we would have missed so much. We also enjoyed attending the neon light lab where we observed how neon lights are made and repaired. Bottom line - go for the tour!

My daughter and I did the 2pm tour on Saturday. Reviews suggested that we attend the tour, which was a very good choice. The tour leader added a lot of interesting history and information that was not readily available on the plaques accompanying the signs. We had a very large tour group - probably due to the fact that it was a holiday weekend (approx. 90 people). I thoroughly enjoyed our time in the neon production lab and discussions with the owners/creators of neon lights. Very interesting - artistic and scientific.TIP - I would avoid bringing young children - especially under the age of 9 or 10. Some families had children in our tour (who were well behaved), but clearly bored with the history provided by our tour leader.

Plan to see during one of the guided tour times. In fact, you may want to call ahead to book a tour. It is best seen while on a tour. You will also see craftsmen demonstrate how to make neon signs. It is very cool and quite a surprise. With the tour and demonstration, give yourself about 2 hours to see this. You have to take a close look to find the entrance for the museum, but there is ample parking in their parking lot.

I've lived in Cincinnati for forty years, and didn't know this museum existed until very recently. Our daughter took me and my wife there as a Christmas gift. To be perfectly honest about it, I wasn't all that excited about visiting a sign museum. I'm really glad that I went along. This experience was more than a trip down memory lane. It was truly a 'blast from the past'. It went back even farther than I do. There are some real 'one of a kind' pieces to be seen here, as well as older versions of signs that have become iconic in American culture. The guided tour was excellent. Our guide was extremely informed and entertaining. The evolutionary process of the signage industry was very interesting, and some of the stories related to the more unusual pieces was absolutely fascinating! But, we were far from ready to leave after the tour was completed. We wandered around for a considerable length of time reliving our childhoods and younger days, recounting stories from our past.

All you need is about an hour to check out some really cool vintage signs from all over the country. Our tour guide, who I believe was also the founder of the museum, was extremely knowledgeable on the history of sign making and of the specific signs themselves. I highly recommend going during the times when tours are offered.