I got the idea to start "arrow collecting" from
Pittsburgh Orbit, which is a fantastic website. Essentially, here's some arrows found in the places I've been. They're simple directional signs, each unique in their own graphic sense, all found while trying to ignore the "easy" ones on street signs and pavement.
I followed this post up with another round of "collecting" in May 2019.
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| - A manicule (a type directional symbol which predates the graphic arrow) as seen on a door for Kold Kutz barbershop in Corryville. |
The typographical arrow is an abstraction of the projectile shot from a bow. Over time, arrows began to become more common than manicules, graphic depictions of hands pointing in a specific direction. In their early appearances, arrows marked the directional flow of rivers on maps and noted the movements of military troops on wartime documents.
A lot like
fading advertisements (or ghost signs), once you start looking for them, you'll never stop noticing them. Several fading ads even feature arrows themselves.
These photographs were made (and arrows found) between September 19 and November 19, 2017.
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| - Parking sign behind Mecklenburg Gardens in Corryville. |
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| - Sticker for experimental hip-hop artist, Haskell, Uptown. |
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| - Cigarette can, Downtown. |
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| - Parking sign, Downtown. |
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| - Parking sign, Downtown. |
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| - Pack Pharmacy parking lot, O'bryonville |
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| - Sign for Madison Diner, Madisonville. |
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| - Ohio Caverns signs for sale at Elm and Iron Loft, OTR. |
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| - Rt. 42 signs, Mason. |
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| - Rt. 42, Mason. |
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| - Rt. 42, Mason. |
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| - "Retro" arrow in Mod Pizza, Oakley. |
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| - Ollie's Trolley arrow, OTR. The details of this sign were covered in another post. |
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| - Insurance sign, Downtown. Unfortunately it doesn't light up at night. |
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| - Not 100% sure this is arrow, but one seems to be faded in the center bottom. This Downtown ghost sign was covered here. |
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| - Drive-Thru bus bench ad, Oakley. This drive-thru let's you come through on your bike and always has a decent selection. |
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| - Storage, Madisonville. |
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| - Madtree Brewery, Oakley. |
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| - Olympic Parking, Downtown. |
