Guerrilla Public Service 2011

721K views · 15 years ago · documentary · evergreen

Artist Richard Ankrom documents how he made and secretly installed a missing exit sign on a Los Angeles freeway in 2001. He matched the look of the official highway signs closely enough that it stayed up for years.

HN people share it as a delight whenever fixing public signage, highway sign style or guerrilla civic improvements come up.

“The youtube video of this is a work of pure joy.”

9 comments from Hacker News

r
@rezonant2025 · in “Engineer restores pay phones for free public use”
Guerilla Public Service. If you've not heard of Richard Ankrom who fixed an exit sign on the 110 freeway, check it out. He made a documentary about it (and there are countless other videos on YouTube covering the story). ▶ this video He did it so well, the modification stayed in place for years. If you can do it right, I say go for it.
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b
@bb882024 · in “Guerrilla Public Service (2011, 2001) [video]”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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R
@RosanaAnaDana2021 · in “Guerrilla artist faked downtown LA freeway sign in 2001”
▶ this video The youtube video of this is a work of pure joy.
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j
@javajosh2021 · in “Guerrilla Public Service 2011”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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g
@greyface-2024 · in “He secretly changed this freeway sign, helped millions of drivers [video]”
Source documentary by the artist: ▶ this video
n
@netsharc2024 · in “He secretly changed this freeway sign, helped millions of drivers [video]”
Damn, the old Mac OS and dial-up modem connection noise took me to nostalgia-land! ▶ this video
j
@johnohara2023 · in “The Style Guide for America’s Highways”
The Artist: Richard Ankrom link The Public Service: Guerrilla Public Service 2011 ▶ this video
g
@gen32022 · in “How to Paint a Crosswalk”
Reminds me of the story of Richard Ankroms, who installed his own Interstate 5 exit sign. It hung for 8 years. Video of the process: ▶ this video link
d
@drawkbox2018 · in “Portland Anarchist Road Care Fixes Potholes Anonymously (2017)”
Reminds me of the "Guerrilla Public Service" vigilante[1][2] from 2001, he added an I-5 sign notification where people commonly missed the exit. [1] link [2] ▶ this video