Belt

During the 1910s and 1920s, advertising became increasingly focused on automobile traffic. Whereas the pedestrian had a small field of vision close to the street level, the automobile driver, speeding down the center of the street, could view larger signs at greater heights. The traditional storefront sign was too small to be seen from the passing automobile. Belt signs were extremely popular forms of advertising, as they grabbed the attention of the automobile but were still relatively simple and easy to design and mount on any type of building. Belt signs are long, rectangular signs that boast the name of the business, product or service, or advertising slogan. These signs were mounted between rows of windows on upper stories of commercial buildings, as seen in the image below.

Belt Signs: Image courtesy of the University of Vermont Landscape Change Program and the Vermont Historical Society