A one day road trip took us on a really cool visit to the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio – and, I couldn’t be more pleased with the visit. If you are unfamiliar, the American Sign Museum is located at 1330 Monmouth Ave. in Cincinnati, Ohio and is proud to be the largest public museum dedicated to signs in the United States.
While this is one of the most popular places to visit in the city, I truly wanted to go because it reminded me so much of the Neon Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A Recap on the Neon Museum
If you recall, back in 2017, it was our family goal to get to as many states as we could. During that year, we made it to 17 states. It’s definitely been one of lifetime highlights. During that year, we traveled to Las Vegas and made a visit to the Neon Museum (above).
That place had been on my travel bucket list for quite some time and I finally made it. I loved the outdoor tour and being able to see all of the various signs outdoors.
One of the main differences between the American Sign Museum and the Neon Museum is that the American Sign Museum is mostly indoors and it gives you the history of signage from the beginning to now. Whereas the Neon Museum is primarily an outdoor museum and focuses much of its content on Las Vegas signage and history.
Both are a must visit and very unique.
Upon Arrival
As we turned on to Monmouth Ave, I immediately pointed out the museum based on all of the signage and wall murals outdoors. As you enter the parking lot to the museum, there is a Holiday Inn sign, as well as an Arby’s sign.
Once you are in the parking lot, there are wall murals on the back parking wall, along with some larger statues. My favorite mural was of course the fashion mural outside (above).
We spent about 10 minutes outside of the museum, admiring the various murals, statues, and signs.
Upon entering the museum, itself you are greeted by the lobby and gift shop, as well as lit signs beaming at you from a distance. This is really exciting!
Admission is $10-$15 depending on if you are an adult or young adult. Tickets can be purchased in advance which makes the admission process easier.
Self-Guided Tour
Once indoors, you can tour the museum on your own, but you also have the option of listening to the guided tour on your phone. Headsets are available. Additionally, a scavenger hunt is available which keeps you engaged throughout your time in the museum.
As a family, we had a great time doing this – looking for ice cream and candy signs, as well as food signs, etc.
As we searched for things on the tour, I enjoyed playing the guided tour on my phone because I could hear more about each era of the signage as opposed to reading everything.
The Tour List
On the tour, you can listen to each era which includes the following:
- Introduction
- Letter Wall
- Big Boy
- Pre Electric Era
- Light Bulb Era
- Neon Era
- Plastic Era
- Main Street Local Signs
- Conclusion
Final Thoughts
We concluded our entire tour in about an hour which included taking photos along the way, checking off our findings using the scavenger hunt and our visit to the gift shop where I was happy to grab one of their orange American Sign Museum mugs.
Don’t forget that masks must be worn and social distancing is necessary.
This post is NOT sponsored by the American Sign Museum.
