Sign Painting degree program celebrates 100 years

Tucked away in a nondescript building on the campus of L.A. Trade Tech College, you’ll find dozens of students laying out designs and hand-painting signs.

This sign painting course has been around for 100 years at L.A. Trade Tech and is the last sign painting A.A. degree in the nation. Tom Carroll stopped by to chat with the instructors to understand how this old art form remains popular today.

Tom Carroll is a content creator for the Los Angeles Times. Before joining The Times in 2022, he created, produced and hosted the web series “Tom Explores Los Angeles.” He has produced stories for NPR and Gimlet. A fourth-generation Southern Californian, he is a graduate of Occidental College and the University of Southern California.