If one's house isn't on the National Register, do you think it's still good to post a house plaque by the road? One home in a neighboring village has done so ("Smith House, c. 1824"), and it looks quite nice.
I had always planned on hanging a sign at the end of the driveway once I finished the exterior restoration in maybe another 3 years, but part of me has been considering going ahead and hanging one now. I've done enough on my house now that the community seems to know it's older than it looks, just from all the small town gossip.
If I do go through with it, I plan to have it hanging from a post; something like this:
Is it tacky if I would be the only house in my particular town with an actual shingle at the road?
Tacky or not ...within a year I will have signs made up with the name of the original owner as well as our names. Just don't know if it will be 2 different signs or something similar to "The Flory House ~ Restored by the Duphily family"
If you want a sign you should have a sign no matter what others would consider "tacky" ☺
You could also think of it as other home owners might be pondering just what you're pondering. If they don't have historical designation, is it tacky to do so?
Take the leap! Others may follow. It's not like you're trying to make a sign that falsely claims historical designation. So I don't think it's tacky at all.
--Proud member of the Industrious Cheapskate Club --Currently pondering ways to encourage thoughtful restovation and discourage mindless renovation.
Personally, I think that anything, so long as it's not obtrusive or offensive, that calls attention to the historic value of a home or neighborhood adds interest. In Galveston, the homes that survived the 1900 hurricane are marked with a plaque, and it's fun to drive around the island and see them.
I think your sign is lovely...I like the simple but whimsical design... some towns have ordinances regarding street signage so it would be wise to check in with the building department...
I remember a story about a woman who put plastic flamingoes up in her yard...she received a rather nasty smug note from a neighbor suggesting that the area was above such tacky decorations...word spread and soon all the other neighbors had pink flamingoes in their yards too--lots of them!
Maybe it would depend how large the property is. It could perhaps be combined with a street mailbox, then it would have function. I think this is more appropriate if it is a larger sized lot, less appropriate if you are closer to neighbors in which case I'd just do the brass plaque on the porch. You could copy one of the historically designated ones if you wanted. I think If it is in view from neighboring houses then I'd ask the ones that have to look at it.
The National Register of Historic Places is not the only registry that matters (if any do). Most states, many counties, and some localities have their own registry; each with their own criteria. It's useful to note that being on any registry does not, in and of itself, mean a whole lot or have much of an impact concerning preservation. Not being on any sort of registry may be, for some homes, just a matter of waiting for it to have some national, state, county, or local historical significance that just hasn't happened yet.
When it comes to signage, if the structure is not a commercial enterprise it would not have "est. [date]" but, rather, just the date of its construction and one may want to err on the side of modesty, as to the prominence of the sign, that is one step below the prominence of the home in relation to its setting (the more urban, the smaller and understated the signage) or historical relevance.
Some communities, like ours, have signage codes that govern the size, placement, and permanence of the sign.
Homes that receive rural mail delivery (mailboxes at street side) get a bit of a "pass" when combining the mail box post with the sign, unless snow plows are likely to demolish both (which ours do almost annually), in which case such a sign my not be prudent.
In the U.K., made up home names seem to occur with some increased regularity than in the U.S., though U.S. commercial property developers seem quite fond of the practice so it's not like Americans would think it beyond the realm of imagining one would name their home.
Nearly everyone who knew the builders of our home, James & Matilda ("Tillie") Leary, (and subsequently used to call our house "the Leary House") has moved or died since we bought it and no one, who lives on Leary Lane, knows it was once the Learys' land. So, I'm not sure to what extent any house plaque should have their name on it rather than ours (or any name we make up). Besides, it's usually not the builder or first owner who's remembered for any given home.
For example, Mt. Vernon was built by George's father, Augustine Washington, in 1735 and was known as "Little Hunting Creek Plantation". Lawrence Washington, George's older half-brother, inherited it and renamed it "Mt. Vernon" in honour of his commanding officer, during the Battle of Cartagena de Indias, Admiral Edward Vernon. George expanded it 1758 (while leasing it) and, again, in 1774 (after gaining sole ownership in 1762). Only after it was so well known that it no longer needed one did Mt. Vernon get a sign.
~James
Fourth generation in a family of artists, engineers, architects, woodworkers, and metalworkers. Mine is a family of Viking craftsmen. What we can't create, we pillage, and there's nothing we can't create. But, sometimes, we pillage anyway.
Where I grew up, so close to Cape May NJ with all its historic everythings, we were the only house in our neighborhood to have a sign with a name that wasn't a business nor the family's.
I was never told the reason why it was on the sign out front, hanging from the lamp post, but it was the same as my grandfather's call sign when he was out on his boat. So in summers when he'd go out on his Kris Kraft to fish, whether alone, with friends/family, he would use his CB radio with his call sign to say when he was out at sea, and when he was heading home. My grandmother, with the scanner in the kitchen, was able to keep peace of mind that way (she had lost a brother to the sea).
No one ever raised a fuss, demanded it be a certain way or even remotely thought it was anything worth bothering about.
It just was.
Now I know that some towns are much more code happy than they were decades ago, but to me...that sign was part of home.
--Proud member of the Industrious Cheapskate Club --Currently pondering ways to encourage thoughtful restovation and discourage mindless renovation.
