A Napa County Instragam trap is causing worries that it could become a death trap, and the county is considering moving its picturesque “Welcome” sign because of unsafe behavior by motorists and pedestrians seeking pictures of it.  

Wine country visitors who trek north up Highway 29 to visit the wineries are routinely delighted by the landmark “Welcome to this world famous wine growing region Napa Valley” sign. This sign has greeted visitors since 1949. But in the smartphone and selfie era, the sign is apparently causing the unintended hazard of motorists just plain stopping in the middle of the road to snap pictures, pedestrians running across the the busy Highway 29 to pose by it, and other safety hazards caused by people eager to take pictures of the sign with little regard for road safety.

There are no documented accidents, yet, but the Napa County Board of Supervisors wants to keep it that way. The Chronicle reports the board will consider moving the sign. (The Chron reports they were scheduled to discuss the item at Tuesday night's meeting, but the Santa Rosa Press Democrat has the update that “it was pushed off the agenda and will be taken up at a future meeting.”). The sign is currently stationed outside the outside Robert Mondavi Winery, and the trade group Napa Valley Vintners is urging the board to move it to another spot at Markham Vineyards north of Yountville, which has a turnabout spot.

“Up until fairly recently, it was innocuous,” Napa Valley Vintners VP of industry relations Rex Stults tells the Chronicle. “But with social media becoming so popular, it’s now become one of the must-visit places when you come to Napa Valley. I can’t think of a time during the day when there’s not people out front taking photos.”

The move would coincide with the construction of a Napa Valley Vine Trail, which hopes to complete “a 47-mile, walking & biking trail system connecting the entire Napa Valley - from Vallejo to Calistoga.”

The board’s vote would just be a proposal to Caltrans, and the Chronicle reports that Caltrans “would ultimately be responsible for deciding whether to move it.” Though the Press Democrat quotes a board of supervisors staff report that argues they don’t really need sign-off from Caltrans — but they do want consensus, saying “all parties desire to work together to improve the parking, traffic flow, and sharing of the site.”

There’s also another, identical “Welcome” sign for southbound travelers on Highway 29, about four miles south of Calistoga, but that sign has not caused any ruckus, and there are no plans to move it.

Related: On BottleRock Stage, Lizzo Reacts to 'Choke the Woke' Sign Outside Napa Home [SFist]

Image: Oleg Alexandrov via Wikimedia Commons

Richmond Blog and David Gallagher bring your attention to an old Vess Cola sign revealed on the side of a building damaged in a fire at Clement and 12th Avenue.

Richmond Blog reports:

"The 'Good?…it’s Perfect!' ad is on the side of the building adjacent to the Archive’s annex building near Clement and Funston, which has a restaurant, Taishan Cafe, on the ground floor and apartments above. The entire building has been closed off until repairs are made from the fire."

Vess Cola is still around, by the way. Manufactured and distributed mainly in the St. Louis, Missouri, it comes in such wonderfully vulgar flavors as cream, orange, lemon-lime (the uncola, if you will), cherry cola, black cherry, pineapple, peach, piña colada, strawberry, grape, blue raspberry, and kiwi-strawberry.

See, now that's funny. Almost.

Two-year-old Mid-Market cafe and eatery Machine — who, last week, poked fun at area addicts and homeless, among other characters in the changing neighborhood — responded to SFist's criticism via this new sign! And I love it. It's like the Ja'mie King of non-apologies, though not very quiche.

Anyway, you should check out Machine if you're in the area. It's actually quite nice.

Previously: Mid-Market Cafe Pokes Fun At Area Drug Addicts, Homeless

Call it click bait. Say that SFist is trying to rile you up. But this cafe/deli's sign, smack on Market and Sixth, is in poor taste. Crazy? No, not really. But tone deaf for sure. Certainly not a great way for a business to ingratiate itself into the changing area, into a neighborhood where residents who suffer from addiction and alcoholism are routinely shamed and demonized by outsiders.

That said, Machine Coffee & Deli, a 20-month-old cafe — replete with reclaimed wood, craft coffee, makers during lunch hour, and all that jazz — is a great spot. Like Show Dogs and the soon-to-be-shuttered Pearl's Deluxe Burger, they're helping revive the area. They should probably change their sign.

UPDATE: The cafe responds.

[Initially reported by Uptown Almanac]

Photo by Gerard Livernois.

We don't. But we remain hopeful.

In an effort to help fund the renovation of SoMa's jarringly adorable South Park, the actual South Park sign will be available for auction. Bidding starts at $1,000!

Also, for those of you living in South Park (near SFist headquarters!), there will be an photo exhibit tonight at Kim Pfabe's Sugarcane called "Faces of South Park" featuring familiar faces around the hood. Runs from 6-8 pm. Do check it out.

While some might argue that the modern design doesn't necessarily match the building, we are swooning over Twitter's new signage outside their headquarters. You like? Well, we do. So sleek, so fresh, so lowercase.

Doug Bowman, creative director at Twitter, says of the new sign, "The new @twitter HQ sign is an homage to the civic importance of its predecessor." Indeed. Twitter, if you recall, moved from SoMa to MidMarket last year taking over the old SF Mart spot.

To check out the sign yourself, head over to 1355 Market (at Ninth).

[h/t Kevin Montgomery]

SFist reader Casey Fisher sent us this delightful shot of a fallen Fell Street sign.

Friend of SFist Chad Fox just snapped this photo of a ca. 1968 sign for a hippie women's clothing boutique called Middle Earth at 1317 Grant Avenue in North Beach. Middle Earth, as far as we can tell, also had a branch in the Haight at 852 Stanyan, advertising "Far Out Fashions." You know, like turtleneck sweaters and peasant dresses.

And, obviously, before J.R.R. Tolkiens novels were the stuff of 3D Imax insanity, they were super groovy reads whilst mildly stoned.

The Grant Avenue storefront is now home to Win Beauty & Hair Salon, which as you can see below, has usually had an awning covering up the former sign. That awning's been removed as of this week for reasons we don't yet know.

Also below, a flyer from Middle Earth that was part of an auction of 60s memorabilia.

Photo: Google Streetview

Stop AIDS, San Francisco's live-saving nonprofit that helps prevent HIV transmission among all gay, bisexual, and transgender men in San Francisco, unfurled this blunt sign in the Castro over the weekend. You like? You should. It's very to the point. Kudos to you, Stop AIDS.

And if you're worried about how to explain this to your child? Take heart knowing that, instead, you won't have to explain to your child what all those frail and sickly men are doing in wheelchairs. (Yes, we get that HIV/AIDS is a now a somewhat treatable, yet still very fatal, disease, but... you catch our drift. Not to mention that HIV rates are skyrocketing among youth.)

You have to hand it to the wordsmiths at Market Street Cinema for not using "stuffing" in this tasteless yet appropriate ode to Thanksgiving and dancing naked ladies. Well done, house of sin.

And in case you were wondering/confused: no, they will not be serving Thanksgiving dinner.

"Julie's Supper Club and Lounge" by Demetrios Lyras.

We were walking along Duboce Avenue this afternoon and came upon this charmingly indiscernible and weathered hand-written sign. At the time we assumed it said something along the lines of "curb your dog." (Cue image of a dog strategically lifting its leg over the plants.) After several minutes of examination, we finally cracked the code. (Next stop, CIA, for us!)

Please do not throw garbage in our planter. Thank you.

It certainly is a nice planter, and it seems as though the note has done its job. Although, we imagine litterers don't tend to obey signs, especially ones that require a working knowledge of phonics.

"Can't help loving that man o' mine..." by Darwin Bell.