American Sign Museum

What’s in a (new) name?

As is probably obvious, the National Signs of the Times Museum has a new name and new logo. American Sign Museum was recommended by the Museum’s Identification Committee and unanimously approved by the Board on January 12, 2001. The name change became official on March 1, 2001.

The question of “why a name change?” can be answered on a couple of levels. One is the association with the long-standing magazine, Signs of the Times. While it’s true that the publisher of the magazine, ST Publications, is the founder of the Museum, the two entities are legally separate and distinct. The Museum is a not-for-profit 501©(3) charitable organization, while ST Publications is a closely-held, for-profit corporation. Whereas the Museum gratefully acknowledges the founding role ST Publications has played, we must remain independent to reach our full potential and accomplish our mission.

Secondly, the Identification Committee felt that the original name did not fully communicate the Museum’s purpose to the general public. One of the goals of the Museum is to project and celebrate the rich tradition of signs as American icons to those outside the sign industry. The original name carried a somewhat academic flavor, while American Sign Museum broadens the appeal, and is more easily understood by the general public.

Aside from the name and logo, nothing else has changed. Our mission remains the same. We trust you will agree that our new name will help the Museum become quickly recognized as a popular destination for Americans when they visit what we like to think of as “Sign City,“ Las Vegas.