Virginia’s Welcome Sign

Brian November 24th, 2005

Did you know that the current “Welcome to Virginia” sign design is about 50 years old? I did not, until this post by Mark.

VDOT is considering five new sign designs and allowing people to vote for their favorites. Go here and vote for your favorite.

17 Responses to “Virginia’s Welcome Sign”

  1. # Chris from ASLon 25 Nov 2005 at 10:38 am

    I voted for the ships, but then again, it shows my bias towards where I grew up.

  2. # Adamon 25 Nov 2005 at 2:13 pm

    Out of the all the desings, no particular one jumped out as “striking” and totally representative of all Virginia. Nonetheless, I voted for the “Cardinal” design.

    I would have liked to have saw more designs that incorporate all of Virginia’s great features.

  3. # Nealon 25 Nov 2005 at 10:36 pm

    i didnt like the one with the boat, because there is a whole lot of Virginia who doesn’t have a whole lot of ships floating around in it. I kind of like the one we have now, but it does look rather drab comapred to the other ones, so I voted for the yellow one with dogwood flowers on it.

  4. # Brian Pattonon 27 Nov 2005 at 2:55 pm

    I would guess the Ship one will win, but I agree that it would be nice to have one that includes all parts of Virginia.

  5. # Kaye Dixon Buchananon 27 Nov 2005 at 9:41 pm

    My vote goes to the Dogwood , the Virginia Welcome Sign. Our Savior hung from that type of tree and He said the Dogwood tree would never be big enough to hang anyone anymore. Those trees are so beautiful in the spring time. There is not many states that have dogwoods.
    Hey Brian! Kaye

  6. # Brian Pattonon 27 Nov 2005 at 10:26 pm

    Kaye: I had never heard about that, but found this:

    In Jesus’ time, the dogwood grew
    To a stately size and a lovely hue.
    ‘Twas strong & firm it’s branches interwoven
    For the cross of Christ its timbers were chosen.
    Seeing the distress at this use of their wood
    Christ made a promise which still holds good:
    “Never again shall the dogwood grow
    Large enough to be used so
    Slender & twisted, it shall be
    With blossoms like the cross for all to see.
    As blood stains the petals marked in brown
    The blossom’s center wears a thorny crown.
    All who see it will remember me
    Crucified on a cross from the dogwood tree.
    Cherished and protected this tree shall be
    A reminder to all of my agony.”

  7. # Nealon 27 Nov 2005 at 11:17 pm

    I remember my grandma telling me that story when I was about 4 or 5. The Dogwood was my favorite tree from that time on, and I especially loved the ones in my grandparents yard, right there between Hansonville and “Dogtown.”

  8. # Ben Tribbetton 28 Nov 2005 at 7:15 am

    I think the Cardinal will win, I voted for that. To me, that is a good symbol for all of Virginia.

  9. # Annieon 28 Nov 2005 at 11:12 am

    Hi. I voted existing, not knowing what the cost is to put new signs up all over the state, but thinking that it is not broke.
    I thought vdot was in financial trouble. I don’t want to pay for new signs, when we have perfectly functional ones up already.

  10. # Julieon 28 Nov 2005 at 4:45 pm

    Thanks for the link! I enjoyed looking at the designs (although I can’t say that any of them particularly grabbed me). The funny thing about that site is that it lets you vote more than once!

  11. # Brian Pattonon 28 Nov 2005 at 5:05 pm

    Inspired by Annie’s comment, I decided to do some research. Here is what I found out:

    How much will new signs cost?

    The final cost depends on the design and the signs’ size. The average estimated costs to fabricate the proposed designs are: $375 per small sign, $1,155 per medium sign, and $2,285 per large sign. This translates to a yearly cost over the signs’ life of $31, $96 and $190 for the small, medium and large signs, respectively. The total cost is estimated at less than $100,000, which is less than $8,400 a year for 12 years. Even if the existing design is selected, there will be costs involved in replacing the old signs.

    Can VDOT afford to replace the signs?

    Yes. A combination of federal and state funds would be used from VDOT’s sign budget.

    That’s not too much if you say it real fast. :)

  12. # Nealon 29 Nov 2005 at 12:53 am

    What counts as a medium sign? I assume the one when you come through the tunnel after having been in West Virginia is a large sign. The one at Exit 74 on I-81 coming into VA from TN isn’t too big. Anybody know the one I’m talking about? Does it count as “medium,” and if so, would the small be about the size of a piece of notebook paper???

  13. # Brian Patton » Virginia’s New Welcome Signon 15 Dec 2005 at 10:39 pm

    […] (pictured). Click here to see the losers. We had a stirring discussion about the signs here, in case anyone missed it. (Link via Adam)

    […]

  14. # office furnitureon 16 Feb 2006 at 4:02 pm

    I totally undersand your point of view. And passed in to say Hi! :)
    Kief

  15. # database disaster recoveryon 16 Feb 2006 at 4:08 pm

    Hey great points. I am on the same page as you for this one. I am actually starting to put together a paper on blogs for school and if you don’t object I will use this as a example

    Thanks a bunch–Corey

  16. # Hydrocodoneon 03 Mar 2006 at 4:01 pm

    What is the Australian for foreplay?
    Brace yourself, Sheila!
    And the Welsh?
    Are you awake, Gwen?

  17. # home owner insurance coverageon 10 Mar 2006 at 8:22 pm

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