Need help with business sign placement

[Kentuckian]

I’m trying to finish a building for my micro layout called Tri-State Cold Storage. I’m not sure how to position the lettering on the building’s bays. I plan on using white dry transfer lettering over a black background. Please forgive the rough Notepad lettering.




Should tri-state be treated as one word, and lettered into one bay? Should each word be centered within the bay? I plan to use the largest font I can that will fit the seven letters of STORAGE into one bay. The era is 1950’s. Thanks for any help.

[wazzou]

I'd hyphenate in one bay.

[peteski]

I had the same thought, but with 4 bays, that would make the sign off-center. That might not look good, although, that could make the sign centered over the loading dock door. Hmmmm . . .

[mmagliaro]

I'd hyphenate Tri-State into one bay, and then add a word  to the industry name so it takes up 4 bays again.

Maybe something like:
Tri-State Commercial Cold Storage
Tri-State Cold Storage Inc.

[Missaberoad]

Looking at some prototype examples these two variations seem common.

Tri-State * Ice & * Cold * Storage

Tri-State * Cold * Storage * Warehouse

Also as an aside when I think of cold storage buildings bricked over windows are very common 

[NSEGeorge]

Add their logo to bay #1, Tri-State in bay two and so on. The logo could be anything from a stylized TSCS to an outline of the three states in question, to a polar bear or penguin!

[Rivet Miscounter]

I would put a smaller sign with their logo above the entrance on the left, (down close to the door/window, not on top) and then Tri-State, Cold, and Storage on the next 3 panels where it centers over the dock door.

[nkalanaga]

I live in the Tri-state region of KY, WV, and OH.  I've seen "Tri-State", "Tri-state", and "Tristate"

I don't remember ever seeing "Tri State".

Now someone will post an example!

[thomasjmdavis]

How about something like-
TRI-STATE| |   COLD   | |STORAGE| |  555-0000   Adding the phone number  (in smaller font to fit) will balance the sign left to right, and results in almost equal spaces between the words (you would need to add a half space either side of  "storage"  and wiggle tri-state and the phone number a little left or right), while keeping things centered in each bay (in this example, each bay is 8 spaces wide, with the phone number compressed to fit into 6 or 7 spaces).

[CR4100]

You can also set the era by starting the phone number with a word like TOwson 7-5309 instead of the more recent 867-5309 or the current 410-867-5309. (Say hi to Jenny for me.)

[wm3798]

Meh.  Just size the letters right and roll across the pilasters.



I did this one with a printed label and just stuck it across the top.  For a background building it works just fine.  I did cut the label around the pilasters, but it worked out just fine, I thought.

Lee

[thomasjmdavis]

You can also set the era by starting the phone number with a word like TOwson 7-5309 instead of the more recent 867-5309 or the current 410-867-5309. (Say hi to Jenny for me.)

I didn't think about that when I posted, but you are absolutely right. Some businesses kept using the letter prefixes into the 1970s. I still remember the TV commercials ending "HUdson 3 2 700" for Boushelle carpet cleaning in Chicago.  I heard so many of those commercials, I remembered the number, but I had to look up the name of the company (came right up when I searched for the phone number).

[rail_nut]

How about LIMITED in the fourth bay. Longer than INC Around here seen the whole name centered on the building.

[wazzou]

How about LIMITED in the fourth bay. Longer than INC Around here seen the whole name centered on the building.

Sounds Canadian.    

[Missaberoad]

Sounds Canadian.    

Need to throw a Dominion in there too then