California State Highway 18 marker (ACSC 1934)

Description

California’s State Highway 18 connects the city of San Bernardino to the San Bernardino Mountains north of town. It winds all through the mountains, providing access to the resorts of Arrowhead Lake and Big Bear Lake. On the other side of the mountains, it connects to Victorville. Back in the day, it had an even greater extent—from its current southern end, it followed the path of what is now State Route 91, all the way to the coast.

Our California State Highway 18 sign is made to look just like those posted between 1934 and 1940 along this historic highway. During this time period, rather than the state government posting route signs, that was the responsibility of the Automobile Club of Southern California (ACSC). The ACSC seal appears at bottom center of every shield they created. The sign has the same familiar miner’s spade shape as the current California route signs. However, it also includes the additional elements of a California grizzly (like the one on the state flag) and the words “STATE HIGHWAY” at the bottom. The numbers were a special font used only in California. We’ve gone to great extents to make every one of these details exactly like those you’d find on the original signs!

Our California State Highway 18 sign is a high quality, heavy steel remake printed in the United States. It has the same non-reflective, high gloss finish as the originals, making it indistinguishable from the original 1930s porcelain sign. And just like the originals, it will serve for years, both indoors and outdoors. We’ve even included two mounting holes to make installation as easy as possible. We make this sign in two sizes: the 15½ by 17¼ inch size of the originals, and a scaled-down 11.5 in. × 12.798 in. version.

We can make this sign with any highway number you want! And we don’t just do California signs either; we can also make signs from this era for any other state too, including vintage-style city limit and directional signs! Anything you would like—just contact Jake to place a custom order.