About the American Sign Museum!

The American Sign Museum promotes sign preservation and restoration by displaying nearly 100 years of signage. We preserve and protect American history and pay homage to the artistry and craftsmanship of days gone by. The collection explores an often overlooked part of our culture that hides in plain sight as part of our daily lives.

Tod Swormstedt spent 26 years on the staff of Signs of the Times magazine, which was founded in 1906. He became the fourth-generation editor of the “bible of the sign industry.” Tod parlayed all of his knowledge and contacts into a self-proclaimed “mid-life crisis project” that would eventually become the American Sign Museum.

In 1999, Tod founded the National Signs of the Times Museum. With accelerating support, the Museum was renamed and re-opened as the American Sign Museum in May 2005. Its temporary home within an arts center sufficed for several years, but growing pains ensued. The magnificent McDonald’s and Holiday Inn signs couldn’t be displayed to their full heights, and the collection was growing rapidly.

Tod began searching for a more permanent home for the ever-expanding collection. He needed a space that could fulfill his vision for an interactive Museum experience.  He found the Museum’s new home in Camp Washington, an appropriately historic area of Cincinnati, at the century-old Oesterlein Machine Company-Fashion Frocks, Inc. Complex. Its doors opened in June 2012.

In response to tremendous growth in visitors and over 200% growth in the collection, the Museum launched a $5.5M expansion campaign. Completed in July of 2024, the additional 20,000 sf expands the Main Street experience while also adding a theater, dedicated classroom space, and a Gallery for temporary exhibits and 300-person events. The expansion solidifies the American Sign Museum as the largest and most diverse public sign museum in the country. From sign and branding history to placemaking to a trip down memory lane, the bright lights of Americana is certain to resonate with a broad audience for years to come.