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U.S. Route shield AI simulator
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Hub AI
U.S. Route shield AI simulator
(@U.S. Route shield_simulator)
U.S. Route shield
The U.S. Route shield is the highway marker used for United States Numbered Highways. Since the first U.S. Route signs were installed in 1926, the general symbology has remained the same, but many changes have been made in the details. Originally, the shield included the name of the state in which the sign was erected and the letters "U S" on a shield-shaped sign. Over time, the shield has been simplified to consist of a white shield outline on a black square background, containing only a black route number. However, because each state is responsible for the production and maintenance of U.S. Route shields, several variants of the shield have existed over the years.
The U.S. Route shield was developed during the first meeting of the Joint Board on Interstate Highways, a panel appointed by Howard M. Gore, the Secretary of Agriculture, for the purposes of establishing a nationwide highway system. During the meeting, held at the Bureau of Public Roads offices in Washington, D.C., on April 20, 1925, board member Lou A. Boulay of Ohio was credited with suggesting the use of a shield, inspired by that on the Great Seal of the United States, with the letters "U.S.A." and the route number as a route marker. The board carried the motion to use a shield as the marker.
The Joint Board did not discuss the route shield further until the next day, April 21. At that time, E.W. James (Chief of the BPR's Division of Design and secretary of the Joint Board) and Frank F. Rogers of Michigan sketched a possible implementation of the shield. Rogers was also quoted as saying "Each state should have the right to insert the name of the state in the upper part of the shield to be adopted." James and Rogers presented their shield sketch to the board, and it was approved as a tentative design. Samples were sent for comment to all 48 states.
The shield was next discussed during the meeting of August 3. Upon motion by Cyrus Avery of Oklahoma, the board officially adopted the shield proposed at the April 21 meeting, having received general support from the states. A debate then ensued regarding the inclusion of the state name. W.O. Hotchkiss of Wisconsin, who was in favor of removing the state name, said "We want to emphasize the U.S., not the state. The shield and U.S. symbolized what we are marking." The Joint Board voted 10–9 to eliminate the state name.
Outside of the official meeting, members of the board discussed the state name issue further. Some members, particularly those from the South, felt it would be difficult to get local support for the U.S. Route System without it, because the states were required to pay for the signage. Some state legislatures had also legally bound state route numbers to certain corridors, and it was thought that including the state name might make the legislators more amenable to renumbering them to U.S. Route numbers. The following day, August 4, upon a motion of Robert M. Morton of California, the U.S. shield including the state name was approved without debate.
The original design of the shield was presented in the January 1927 edition of the Manual and Specifications for the Manufacture, Display, and Erection of U.S. Standard Road Markers and Signs, the precursor to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), published by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO). The background of the shield was specified as white while the text legend and borders were black. The shield was specified with a height of 16 inches (41 cm) and a width of 16.5 inches (42 cm). The surface of the shield was itself in the shape of the shield, that is, the metal was cut out in the shape of the shield. A border of 3⁄8 inch (0.95 cm) formed the outline of the shield, with a crossbar of the same width dividing the crown from the main body of the shield.
The name of the state erecting the shield was displayed 2 inches (5.1 cm) high in the crown, above the crossbar. Immediately below the crossbar were the letters "U S", also 2 inches (5.1 cm) high. Below this was the route number, 5 inches (13 cm) tall. A variant of the shield, intended for city use, measured slightly smaller at 11+23⁄32 by 11+11⁄32 inches (29.8 cm × 28.8 cm). This version of the shield featured a simplified legend, with "U S" moved to the crown of the shield and the state name omitted. The manual also allowed for the city variant of the shield to be stenciled on culverts and bridge posts.
A standardized block typeface was used to simplify the painting process, to allow illiterate signpainters to be employed.[citation needed] Much like the modern FHWA Series typefaces, several levels of condensation were available, from Series A (the narrowest) up to Series F (the widest). Because the standardized font was often made available to the states in die-punch form, shields were usually embossed.
U.S. Route shield
The U.S. Route shield is the highway marker used for United States Numbered Highways. Since the first U.S. Route signs were installed in 1926, the general symbology has remained the same, but many changes have been made in the details. Originally, the shield included the name of the state in which the sign was erected and the letters "U S" on a shield-shaped sign. Over time, the shield has been simplified to consist of a white shield outline on a black square background, containing only a black route number. However, because each state is responsible for the production and maintenance of U.S. Route shields, several variants of the shield have existed over the years.
The U.S. Route shield was developed during the first meeting of the Joint Board on Interstate Highways, a panel appointed by Howard M. Gore, the Secretary of Agriculture, for the purposes of establishing a nationwide highway system. During the meeting, held at the Bureau of Public Roads offices in Washington, D.C., on April 20, 1925, board member Lou A. Boulay of Ohio was credited with suggesting the use of a shield, inspired by that on the Great Seal of the United States, with the letters "U.S.A." and the route number as a route marker. The board carried the motion to use a shield as the marker.
The Joint Board did not discuss the route shield further until the next day, April 21. At that time, E.W. James (Chief of the BPR's Division of Design and secretary of the Joint Board) and Frank F. Rogers of Michigan sketched a possible implementation of the shield. Rogers was also quoted as saying "Each state should have the right to insert the name of the state in the upper part of the shield to be adopted." James and Rogers presented their shield sketch to the board, and it was approved as a tentative design. Samples were sent for comment to all 48 states.
The shield was next discussed during the meeting of August 3. Upon motion by Cyrus Avery of Oklahoma, the board officially adopted the shield proposed at the April 21 meeting, having received general support from the states. A debate then ensued regarding the inclusion of the state name. W.O. Hotchkiss of Wisconsin, who was in favor of removing the state name, said "We want to emphasize the U.S., not the state. The shield and U.S. symbolized what we are marking." The Joint Board voted 10–9 to eliminate the state name.
Outside of the official meeting, members of the board discussed the state name issue further. Some members, particularly those from the South, felt it would be difficult to get local support for the U.S. Route System without it, because the states were required to pay for the signage. Some state legislatures had also legally bound state route numbers to certain corridors, and it was thought that including the state name might make the legislators more amenable to renumbering them to U.S. Route numbers. The following day, August 4, upon a motion of Robert M. Morton of California, the U.S. shield including the state name was approved without debate.
The original design of the shield was presented in the January 1927 edition of the Manual and Specifications for the Manufacture, Display, and Erection of U.S. Standard Road Markers and Signs, the precursor to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), published by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO). The background of the shield was specified as white while the text legend and borders were black. The shield was specified with a height of 16 inches (41 cm) and a width of 16.5 inches (42 cm). The surface of the shield was itself in the shape of the shield, that is, the metal was cut out in the shape of the shield. A border of 3⁄8 inch (0.95 cm) formed the outline of the shield, with a crossbar of the same width dividing the crown from the main body of the shield.
The name of the state erecting the shield was displayed 2 inches (5.1 cm) high in the crown, above the crossbar. Immediately below the crossbar were the letters "U S", also 2 inches (5.1 cm) high. Below this was the route number, 5 inches (13 cm) tall. A variant of the shield, intended for city use, measured slightly smaller at 11+23⁄32 by 11+11⁄32 inches (29.8 cm × 28.8 cm). This version of the shield featured a simplified legend, with "U S" moved to the crown of the shield and the state name omitted. The manual also allowed for the city variant of the shield to be stenciled on culverts and bridge posts.
A standardized block typeface was used to simplify the painting process, to allow illiterate signpainters to be employed.[citation needed] Much like the modern FHWA Series typefaces, several levels of condensation were available, from Series A (the narrowest) up to Series F (the widest). Because the standardized font was often made available to the states in die-punch form, shields were usually embossed.