Quote:
Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian
Honest question: why do people care about these signs so much? I personally find them a bit ugly / distracting.
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I think it's just a bit of a trend at the moment to want to see these sort of connections to the past.
Personal theory: The '90s/early 00s were a very polished, sleek time in terms of design and architecture. More recently, intentionally rustic and reclaimed stuff has become more popular as a reaction against that aesthetic.
I also think younger people who grew up in the 'burbs crave a bit of a grit, and evidence of things that were there before them--a sense of continuity. It's also why people like to be around old buildings: A neighbourhood comprised entirely of new buildings feel un-lived in, too simple, somehow, un-layered or inexperienced.
I always think of this place in my old neighbourhood in Toronto. It's a bar, called the Communist's Daughter, but you'd never know it, because they kept the old sign for the Portuguese snack bar that used to be in the building. This was one of the west end's first hipster-dive bars, established more than a decade ago now, and it exemplifies to a tee this aesthetic: old, vintage, reclaimed, perceived as more "authentic," or whatever.
Anyway, that's my complicated theory as to why people flip out for these signs.
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