Decades ago, DC was full of hand-painted signs pointing customers toward various retail establishments. They were eye-catching and distinctive, but they were also expensive, required regular repainting, and took a great amount of skill and time to produce. Eventually, the colorful come-ons were mostly replaced by more modern signage.
But lately, these retro visuals have been making a comeback. Maybe you’ve noticed the hand-painted sign above Chevy Chase DC’s Happy Go Bikes, or the one gracing the new outpost of Solid State Books on 14th Street. Solid State co-owner Scott Abel says the effort and expense were worth it. In May, he hired printmaker Alessandra Echeverri to decorate the outside of their new location, hoping to tap into the “allure of something a bit more analog,” he says.
Painter Patrick Owens at work in DC. Photograph courtesy of Patrick Owens.
There are no modern shortcuts: The signs are painstakingly created with brushes and paint, and they can take hours or days to complete. The craftsmanship is part of the appeal—for both the shops and the artists. Michael Theodoran, who owns the local business Caswell Sign & Design Co., ditched a career in graphic design and went to LA to study sign painting. “I was hungry for a role where I could use my hands to produce something tangible,” he says. “Signs are a part of the visual landscape of the communities we live in.” Now he’s set up shop in Mount Pleasant, and his work can be seen at the nearby restaurant La Tejana, the Georgetown clothing shop Buck Mason, and Happy Go Bikes.
Another local artist, Patrick Owens, has done work for DC restaurants such as Bartaco and All-Purpose. Why put in all that effort for something that will inevitably fade? “The quality and handcrafted feel that comes with hand-painted signs,” he says, “can’t be replaced.”
This article appears in the July 2023 issue of Washingtonian.
Before becoming Research Editor, Damare Baker was an Editorial Fellow and Assistant Editor for Washingtonian. She has previously written for Voice of America and The Hill. She is a graduate of Georgetown University, where she studied international relations, Korean, and journalism.
What’s Up With All the Hand-Painted Shop Signs?
Solid State Books and La Tejana are part of the trend
Decades ago, DC was full of hand-painted signs pointing customers toward various retail establishments. They were eye-catching and distinctive, but they were also expensive, required regular repainting, and took a great amount of skill and time to produce. Eventually, the colorful come-ons were mostly replaced by more modern signage.
But lately, these retro visuals have been making a comeback. Maybe you’ve noticed the hand-painted sign above Chevy Chase DC’s Happy Go Bikes, or the one gracing the new outpost of Solid State Books on 14th Street. Solid State co-owner Scott Abel says the effort and expense were worth it. In May, he hired printmaker Alessandra Echeverri to decorate the outside of their new location, hoping to tap into the “allure of something a bit more analog,” he says.
There are no modern shortcuts: The signs are painstakingly created with brushes and paint, and they can take hours or days to complete. The craftsmanship is part of the appeal—for both the shops and the artists. Michael Theodoran, who owns the local business Caswell Sign & Design Co., ditched a career in graphic design and went to LA to study sign painting. “I was hungry for a role where I could use my hands to produce something tangible,” he says. “Signs are a part of the visual landscape of the communities we live in.” Now he’s set up shop in Mount Pleasant, and his work can be seen at the nearby restaurant La Tejana, the Georgetown clothing shop Buck Mason, and Happy Go Bikes.
Another local artist, Patrick Owens, has done work for DC restaurants such as Bartaco and All-Purpose. Why put in all that effort for something that will inevitably fade? “The quality and handcrafted feel that comes with hand-painted signs,” he says, “can’t be replaced.”
This article appears in the July 2023 issue of Washingtonian.
Before becoming Research Editor, Damare Baker was an Editorial Fellow and Assistant Editor for Washingtonian. She has previously written for Voice of America and The Hill. She is a graduate of Georgetown University, where she studied international relations, Korean, and journalism.
Most Popular in News & Politics
Rock Creek Isn’t Safe to Swim In. RFK Jr. Did It Anyway.
Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2025
Jeanine Pirro: 5 Things to Know About the Fox News Host Trump Picked to Be DC’s Top Prosecutor
The Devastating Story of Washington’s Peeping-Tom Rabbi
Trump Fires Librarian of Congress, Fox News Host to Be Next Top DC Prosecutor, Possibly Rabid Actual Fox Terrorizes Arlington
Washingtonian Magazine
May Issue: 52 Perfect Saturdays
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
DC Might Be Getting a Watergate Museum
DC-Area Universities Are Offering Trump Classes This Fall
Viral DC-Area Food Truck Flavor Hive Has It in the Bag
Slugging Makes a Comeback for DC Area Commuters
More from News & Politics
Federal Agents Arrest 189 in DC Immigration Crackdown
Five New Galleries Are Opening at DC’s National Air and Space Museum in July
DOGE’s Geniuses Are Bad at Math, Ed Martin’s New Job Is to “Shame” People, and the Commanders Will Play in Spain
A New Book About Joe Biden Has Washington Chattering, the Library Wars Continue, and the Wizards Lost Out in the Draft
Meet the Duck Whisperer of DC
Rock Creek Isn’t Safe to Swim In. RFK Jr. Did It Anyway.
Humorless Scolds Fret About Trump’s Free Plane From Qatar, RFK Jr. Swam in Rock Creek, and We’ve Got 20 New Restaurants for You to Get Excited About
This Pop-Up Museum Is All About the Teenage Experience