Skip to main content

Highway Shields and University Logos

Image
By


Michigan, Wyoming, and, at one point, North Carolina.  Three states that have or had what appears to be their flagship university's logo within their highway shield.  Is that truly the case?

Within the roadgeek community - specific to those that are more sign enthusiasts - there has been debate on whether or not the three states do, did, or do not use the logo of their state universities in their highway shields.  Some say yes, while others say no.  So, I decided to take a closer look.

Michigan:

M-39 Highway Shield (Tom Fearer)

Big Blue. Trunkline highways which are noted as "M-Route Number."  At first glance, it sure does look like the M in a Michigan highway shield are the same - but when you look closely - they are not.

University of Michigan logo (1000logos.net)

The M in the University of Michigan logo is wider, and the point of the M is much lower than that of the Michigan highway shield.  As shown in the illustration below from Chris Bessert at michiganhighways.org, you can see that the two 'M's do not line up.  They are just different enough. 

The Michigan Highway M over top of the University of Michigan Block M.  The University logo is yellow, any overlap is Brown, and the Highway M is in blue.  (Image courtesy Chris Bessert / michiganhighways.org)

Even with that, the idea is that the use of the M for Michigan highways came from the university's block 'M.' Again, not really - a quick dive into the history of both 'M's is worth looking at.

The "Block M" of Michigan is to have first debuted on November 16, 1907, at a football game against the University of Pennsylvania. (1) From that point, the "Block M" slowly grew as the symbol of the university and its athletic programs. However, it wasn't until 1948 that the University of Michigan began to showcase the "Block M" in what we would call today its branding.  Over the next few decades, the "Block M" would develop even further as the symbol of the university.  In 1982, the University of Michigan applied for and received a trademark for its "Block M" logo.

Meanwhile, the development of the Michigan highway shield M began with Alan M. Williams with the Michigan State Highway Department.  Williams drafted the first state highway map in 1919, and it is considered that he was instrumental in designing the state highway marker. Williams was a 1916 graduate of the University of Michigan. (2)

In the end, it is just coincidental. The M in the highway shield debuted just as the University's "Block M" began taking hold. However, it was nearly 30 years before the Block M was officially part of the university's logo - and the two shapes are just different enough not to conflict with any trademark issues.

Wyoming:

Wyoming Highway Shields (Adam Prince)

The Bucking Horse and Rider. It is synonymous with the State of Wyoming. It is the logo for the University of Wyoming; it's on the state highway shield, and just about anywhere in Wyoming. They are all the same logo, and it is also a trademarked property of the state.

The use of the bucking horse and rider dates to World War I as the insignia worn by members of the Wyoming National Guard serving in France and Germany. (3)  The design is displayed throughout the state - from the university to highway shields and license plates to almost anything. The logo's origin is credited to a photograph of a famous rodeo horse named "Steamboat" taken at the Albany County Fair in 1903.

The University of Wyoming logo (1000logos.net)

The University of Wyoming first used the Bucking Horse and Rider for its logo in 1921. By 1936, it was well-known enough to be showcased on the state's license plates and highway shields.  Due to concerns about the counterfeit use of the logo, the state applied for and received a copywrite for the design in 1936. It has been since trademarked as a joint effort between the State of Wyoming and the University of Wyoming.

North Carolina:

NC 150 Cutout shield at the North Carolina Transportation Museum (Adam Prince)

Until the mid-late 1960s, the North Carolina highway shield had an interlocking 'NC' at the top of the diamond above the numerals. And like Michigan's, at first look, it appears to be the same as the logo for the University of North Carolina.  And like Michigan's, it wasn't.

The difference between the two logos is the vertical lines in the letter 'N.' While the NC highway shield N was straight, the UNC 'N' had curved vertical lines.

The 1901-1931 University of North Carolina Logo (logos-world.net)

As for what came first, the interlocking NC first appeared as the university's logo as early as the 1890s and has stuck ever since.  The NC highway shield first appeared in 1921 with an interlocking NC, but as discussed earlier, with a slightly different N. At most, the interlocking NC within the highway shield was "inspired" by UNC's logo.

By the 2000s, it was rare to find any interlocking NC signs standing.  This one near Troutman was one of the last standing. (Chris Patriarca, 2003)

The University of North Carolina trademarked the interlocking NC in 1982. (5) By then, the use of the interlocking NC on highway shields had long ended.  It has been suggested within the roadgeek community that it would be nice for North Carolina to bring back the interlocking NC in its highway shield - I am not sure if that will ever happen.

Sources & Links:

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Paper Highways: The Unbuilt New Orleans Bypass (Proposed I-410)

By
  There are many examples around the United States of proposed freeway corridors in urban areas that never saw the light of day for one reason or another. They all fall somewhere in between the little-known and the infamous and from the mundane to the spectacular. One of the more obscure and interesting examples of such a project is the short-lived idea to construct a southern beltway for the New Orleans metropolitan area in the 1960s and 70s. Greater New Orleans and its surrounding area grew rapidly in the years after World War II, as suburban sprawl encroached on the historically rural downriver parishes around the city. In response to the development of the region’s Westbank and the emergence of communities in St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes as viable suburban communities during this period, regional planners began to consider concepts for new infrastructure projects to serve this growing population.  The idea for a circular freeway around the southern perimeter of t
Post a Comment
Read more

Huey P. Long Bridge (New Orleans, LA)

By
Located on the lower Mississippi River a few miles west of New Orleans, the Huey P. Long Bridge is an enormous steel truss bridge that carries both road and rail traffic on an old-time structure that is a fascinating example of a bridge that has evolved in recent years to meet the traffic and safety demands of modern times. While officially located in suburban Jefferson Parish near the unincorporated community of Bridge City, this bridge’s location is most often associated with New Orleans, given that it’s the largest and most recognizable incorporated population center in the nearby vicinity. For this reason, this blog article considers the bridge’s location to be in New Orleans, even though this isn’t 100% geographically correct. Completed in 1935 as the first bridge across the Mississippi River in Louisiana and the first to be built in the New Orleans area, this bridge is one of two bridges on the Mississippi named for Huey P. Long, a Louisiana politician who served as the 40th Gove
1 comment
Read more

Legacy of US Route 466 Part 5: Old Highway 58 through North Barstow

By
Old Highway 58 is a relinquished portion of what was once US Route 466 in the North Barstow area.  US Route 466 served the North Barstow area from 1933 until it was truncated to Baker during June 1964.  The segment would become the easternmost portion of California State Route 58 which remained as an active highway until 1996 when freeway south of downtown Barstow opened.  Old Highway 58 has numerous remaining Caltrans signs and more or less functions as an alternative northern bypass of downtown Barstow.   US Route 466 can be seen branching from US Route 91 in North Barstow on the 1953 United States Geological Survey Map. Part 1-Part 4 of the US Route 466 Legacy Series can be found below: Legacy of US Route 466 Part 1: California State Route 46 Legacy of US Route 466 Part 2: Tehachapi to Bakersfield  Legacy of US Route 466 Part 3: Morro Bay to Shandon via Rocky Canyon Legacy of US Route 466 Part 4: Hoover Dam Part 1; the history of US Route 466 and California State Route 58 in North B
Post a Comment
Read more