Sign from segregated railroad station: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A metal double-sided black railroad sign that reads: [WAITING ROOM / FOR WHITES / ONLY / BY ORDER OF / POLICE DEPT.] in white paint. The writing is on a framed square plaque at the top of the sign. The sign post is round and has metal work at the top where the plaque meets the post and that the bottom where the post meets the base. The base is round. There is orange paint that is visible in spots where the black paint has peeled. There is also rust on the bottom of the base.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1930s
• Created by: Unidentified
• Type: signage
• Medium: metal with paint
• Dimensions: Overall with Weight (H X W X D): 57 7/8 × 19 3/4 × 23 1/8 in., 66 lb. (147 × 50.2 × 58.7 cm, 29.9 kg)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Race discrimination
• Topic: Segregation
• Object number: 2015.23
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.