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November 10, 2004
Celco
The nameplate on an apparently disused CELCO substation at the intersection of hampshire and broadway.
It's difficult at first to focus on the text itself since the effect of the selectively-peeling paint is so beautiful. The colors must have been even more striking when the building was initially painted though with the contrast between the red walls and the bright green door.
That said, the letters themselves have more character and idiosyncratic charm than just about anything you'll find on a storefront today. As a result they are quite difficult to classify. They are clearly modern, as can be seen in the different stem widths in the capital M, however they are much less angular than the typical modern---witness the exaggerated lower bowl of the B and the reversed curve on the leg of the R. Also quite interesting is the asymmetry in the capital C, with a sharp, vertical upper terminal and a much broader, blunted lower terminal which is angled well off to the side.
Most interesting of all though are the art nouveau touches as seen in the elevated cross bar of the capital E and the gigantic, wedge-like serifs that balloon out of its upper and lower arms. A similar wedge effect can be seen in the capital T whose upper portion appears to have been a rectangle of metal with a semicircle stamped out of its bottom center. The result is a surprisingly successful contrast between the perfectly horizontal top and the graceful curves hanging below it.
Posted by cds at November 10, 2004 10:44 PM