Manhattan's Roadside Attraction

Yale
The Yale Truck sign in New York City.

Credit: Rich Korn

July 23, 2002

Dear Preservation 911,

I must be a part of a very small minority who remember the Yale Truck sign in New York City and would like to see it preserved.

I vividly recall the sign from my childhood as we drove down the old West Side Highway between W. 39th and W. 40th St. The sign depicts a Yale tractor trailer truck shown in perspective, giving it a three-dimensional quality. It is atop a two-story building, placing it right in view of the passing traffic on the elevated roadway.

The property is now owned by the Jacob Javits Center, located one block south, which has no plans to demolish the building. But I fear the truck's days are numbered. To me this sign is highly symbolic of the city, and I wish it could somehow be preserved.

Sincerely,

Rich Korn


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