Goodbye to the Solari Board. If you’ve been to any major train station in the past 15 years, chances are you’re familiar with a certain sound: the flip, flip, flip of a large overhead departure board every time it updates. But that sound is becoming increasingly rare as analog boards that click—what are known as split-flap displays or Solari boards—are being replaced by digital versions. In January 2017, Amtrak removed its large overhead departure board from the middle of Penn Station and replaced it with a fleet of digital screens scattered throughout the floor. Penn Station is a universally detested space. Walking through it doesn’t generally inspire romanticism or happiness.…
Letterforms in the Urban Environment
