Vernacular Type
Main Street
Napa, CA
Contents History . . . . . . . . . 4 Metal . . . . . . . . . . 6 Raised Scale Plastic . . . . . . . . . . 9 Orientation Tarp . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Commerce Painted . . . . . . . . . 15 Stencil Hand painted Vinyl . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Serif Sans Serif Combo . . . . . . . . . 22 6 8 9 10 16 17 19 24 25 27 29 30 31 32 33 Legend 1. Thomas Building 2. Napa River Inn 3. Riverfront 4. Historic Place 5. Veterans Memorial 6. Amuse Bouche 7. General Store 8. Iron Works 9. Office of Education 10. Cache/Spartina 449 11. Napa Guide Main St Pearl St Main St
1 2 3 4 5 7 11 12 13 14 15 18 20 21 22 23 26 28 Fifth St
12. Morimoto
13. Guide
14. Riverfront Sign
15. Park
16. Blue Note
17. Toy Museum
18. Explore River
19. Shop
20. Air Force
21. County of Napa
22. Stand Here
23. Hank’s Takeaway
24. Downtown Joe’s
25. Rent
26. La Taberna
27. Fat Tire
28. Tasting Room
29. T-Vine
30. Asia Cafe
Main St
31. Zuzu
History
The town of Napa, specifically Main Street, is one of the most popular and historic places for tourists to visit and obtain a sense of the town’s rich history. Much typography in the town is modernized and altered from its original state, due to tourism. Nathan Coombs laid out the original town site of Napa in 1847.
The Napa River and the Riverfront building is one of the most well-known pieces of architecture in Napa as no one can miss it when visiting downtown. The Riverfront typography used is clear and simple for all to understand. One historical building is the Thomas Building as it still stands but is now a restaurant.
Thomas Building: Plaque remembering the original architecture before current modern restaurant.
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The Napa River Inn: Sign greets all visitors as they enter the hotel area.
The Napa River Inn sign is composed of metal and gives a rustic welcome to visitors. In the 1900s the Napa River Inn was constructed inside the historic Napa Mill with an eye on preserving elements of the past and present.
Riverfront Building: Part of many buildings along the riverfront of Napa
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Metal
Many of the signs in Napa incorporate metal type, however in different manners. One major reason again is to bring in customers and elegance to Napa establishments as many go to enjoy wine and the visual appeal of metal as a material brings a modern, shiny, interest to consumers. There are also many historical and memorial plaques commemorating buildings like the Napa Inn and the Veterans Memorial Park.
Raised
Both these examples here include raised metal text which then touched the texture. The historic places plaque has greater raised type compared to the Veterans memorial plaque which is smoother due to the typeface.
Historic Place: Recognizes the history of the Napa Inn
Veterans memorial: acknowledgment to all the soldiers who have served.
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Raised type is very noticeable as you walk down Main Street, like Amuse Bouche has a rustic, raised, rusty sign that captivates visitors to try their wine. One of the most wellknown metal types most people from Napa instantly recognize is the Napa General Store sign as it is very old and has natural withered effects adding to the building itself.
Amuse Bouche: a local wine very popular in Napa where one can purchase.
General Store: Next to the Napa River Inn, a equally historic structure
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Iron Works: An attachment to the frame of a building commenting on its creation.
Other smaller type signs acquire attention to detail to spot when walking. The city iron works type is close to the ground on the frame of a building, commenting on the date the framework was created. The small metal sheet on the post is dedicated to the Napa County Office of Education as it used to reside in such location but was removed and replaced with Cole’s Chop House.
Office of Education: Small recognition of the previous uses of a building.
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Plastic
Plastic type is a more simple and versatile material viewed in many establishments along Main Street. It can vary thickness, orientation, and raised effect in a simpler yet mass-production manner. These two signs are just some examples of plastic type one can fi nd, helpfully used to guide the viewer to areas in Napa or represent a shop.
Cache: A sign for a Boutique shop.
Napa Guide: Common helping guide to other destinations.
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Orientation
Walking down Main Street it is very notable the many different manners type in signs are oriented and presented. Morimoto is in a standard, simple orientation similar to the guide post aiding visitors to other Napa stores. Others take an alternative approach Spartina 449 established in 2009 is a popular apparel store with the theme of sailor stories and mermaids, encompassing type in a circular path.
Guide: A standard guide used to help fi nd locations down town
Morimoto: Asian Restaurant occupying part of the Riverfront main building.
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The Riverfront represents a whole little downtown district of its own possessing world-class restaurants, shops, and hospitality near the Napa River. Parking is a tricky aspect in Napa sometimes but with the use of a large type, fi nding parking is easier and clearer.
Spartina 449: An apparel store for clothing and other accessories.
Riverfront Sign: Decorative sign representing the riverfront area
Park: Parking one of the 2 parking garages downtown widely used.
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Banners
Banners in Napa encompass a great quantity of type. Many are used to bring attention and represent establishments, like the Blue Note banner. It is very notable and represents the Blue Note jazz club which was founded in 1981.
Commerce
Many are used for commerce by advertising services and activities tourists can partake in while in Napa such as visiting the toy museum and shopping. The Napa Toy Museum is a very straightforward tarp with the main focus being on the bold sans serif type. Other banners prompt visitors to kayak or boat on the Napa River.
Blue Note: An old jazz club and venue since 1981.
Toy Museum: Located by Bloom Salon, directing people.
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Explore River: Both signs located same place with different fun activities
The Napa River is approximately 55 km long and is one of the main reasons downtown Napa was established. The banners include a mix of serif and sans serif type of different weights and orientation allowing for a playful look of the possible river experiences.
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The Air Force banner located in the Veterans Memorial Park commemorates soldiers who were part of the Napa community, as the park was dedicated in 1956. Other commerce signs are very obvious like the shop banner, where the vertical type is the main message to inspire visitors to shop and was recently placed.
Shop: Common banner found on Main Street infl uencing to shop more.
Air Force: Awareness to troops from Napa and Veterans Park.
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Painted
Painted signs are an interesting sight in Napa as they allow for a more human and traditionally painted approach.
Stencil
County of Napa: City folding sign to halt people/areas.
Stencils are commonly utilized in community safety signs, such as the social distancing stencil sprayed on the sidewalk and the property of the county of Napa barricade type. It is visible the remaining impacts and type created in Napa since COVID-19, from the social distancing spray painted circles found near businesses.
Stand Here: Social distancing stencil from the pandemic.
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Downtown Joe’s has one of the largest stencils towards the left side of their business and is very eye-catching due to its red color. Originally before Downtown Joe’s the building was called Oberon Saloon, built in 1893, people would go to smoke a cigar, get a haircut, relax, drink, and play pool. The building was burned down in 1932 but was rebuilt and since 1994 has been the home of Downtowns Joe’s restaurant and microbrewery.
Hank’s Takeaway: Newer restaurant with painted sign.
Downtown Joe’s: Old restaurant with its building from 1893, historical.
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Hand Painted
Other painted signs include Hank’s Takeaway and La Taberna which if closely viewed one can spot hints and small imperfections referring to its hand-painted type. The clearly handmade office for rent sign with a sans serif type reflects the complexity it is to simply live in Napa as prices rise.
Rent: Space available in Napa, hand made sign.
La Taberna: Restaurant
with a hand painted sign, minimalistic.
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Vinyl
Vinyl type is a very durable material utilized for many signs as it has many advantages from weather resistance and durability depending on its specific quality or intended use. Some can wither and be affected like the Fat Tire vinyl.
Serif
Serif type is viewed within many winerelated or elegant establishments like T-Vine Winery which was founded in 1992 by winemaker Greg Brown then was later on sold. The tasting room sign is part of the business Quilt & Co and was remodeled to reflect the Renaissance revival style storefront of the original Thomas Building built in 1908.
Fat Tire: Vinyl on a post, quality determined by weather effects.
Tasting Room: Part of Quilt & Co, wine tasting establishment using the Tomas Building.
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T-Vine: Another wine tasting location with vinyl type used.
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Sans Serif
The use of Sans Serif type allows for a bolder modern look and clarity to signs. Typically viewed within county signs directing space designation. Others compliment shops, like Bloom Salon and its awards, available live entertainment in Downtown Joe’s and Cole’s Chop House which utilizes the historic Williams-Kyser building built in 1986.
County of Napa: Another utility sign used to direct specific
Downtown Joe’s: More type from this establishment, and its offers.
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areas.
Cole’s Chop House: A dinning area using a building from the 1890.
Bloom Salon: Hair salon, very popular and highest rated.
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Combination
There is a mixture of materials used within type like the Asian Cafe Chop Suey and the restaurant Zuzu. Both incorporate metal elements surrounding the type of either electric or plastic material. A representation of the manner type is being integrated with different materials and styles to reflect a different visual approach as businesses modernize.
Zuzu: Spanish fusion restaurant, using metal and plastic type combo.
Asia Cafe: Chop Suey referring to a dish sold in the restaurant.
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Index
A
Amuse Bouche 2, 7
Asian Cafe Chop Suey 22
B Bloom Salon 12, 20, 21
Blue Note 3, 12
C Cache 2, 9
D Downtown Joe’s 3, 16, 20
G Greg Brown 18
H Hank’s Takeaway 3, 16, 17
N Napa County Office of Education 8
Napa River 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13
Napa Toy Museum 12
Nathan Coombs 4
Q Quilt & Co 18
R Renaissance revival 18
S Spartina 449 2, 10, 11
T Thomas Building 2, 4, 18
T-Vine Winery 18
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Designed and photographed by Kasey Martinez