The Modern

Big art deco letters at the Modern in Minneapolis

The “Modern” has seen many incarnations over the years. Originally it was a laundromat—The Modern Laundry. Back in the ‘80s it was The Modern Times Café. Now it’s a Mexican restaurant called La Isla Del Kora. Through it all, those giant art deco letters have always remained. It’s a monument to a “now” that has long passed. That it has survived this long makes me happy. (Photographed on April 29, 2007, in Minneapolis.)

Coquette Sign

'Coquette' sign in Boston.

Not a font sighting. Seen in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on August 8, 2006.

I don’t know or care what this book is about, but the lettering on the cover is incredible. Seen in an antique store in West Salem, Wisconsin, on August 19, 2006.

Twenty Three

Dimensional letters '23' on a building

Dimensional letters seen on a building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, August 8, 2006.

Modern Pastry Shop

Modern Pastry Shop sign, Boston.

Just arrived in Boston yesterday for TypeCon 2006. While walking along the famous Freedom Trail, I snapped this photo of a great vintage sign. Scooby seems to like it, too. (By the way, if you walk on the Freedom Trail the wrong direction, should it be called the Tyranny Trail?)

Update, Febrary 2013: I never got around to writing more about TypeCon 2006. Sorry about that. It was pretty great. I did a short presentation about Adrian Frutiger (who was awarded the SOTA Award that year) and the folks from Bitstream did a musical number about Bitstream typefaces in the fashion of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Chess Board

Lettering on the back of an antique chess board

Lettering on the back of an antique cardboard chess board. Discovered in a yard sale, St. Paul, Minnesota, summer 2005.