First question. What color were mailboxes painted in the 1950s ? Secondly, Why are some fire hydrants painted yellow and some red? I even saw one painted red and blue! Is this just what paint they had on hand or does it mean something?
In the United States, the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) recommends these colors. (The abbreviation gpm means gallons per minute.) http://stmarysmessenger.com/2009062219/fire-hydrant-color-code ClassColor Water Flow ClassColor Water FlowAA Light blue1500gpm or moreA Green 1000–1499gpmB Orange 500–999gpmC Red Less than 500gpm ClassColor Water FlowAA Light blue1500gpm or moreA Green 1000–1499gpmB Orange 500–999gpmC Red Less than 500gpmClassColor Water Flow seems to be a flow code i asked my brother (who is old school 25+ years) FDNY and he said new york is same thing as above.
Mailboxes of all types were painted olive drab/brown in Portland, OR where I grew up. Not to mention that up until 1954 stop signs were yellow with black lettering throughout the country. Don't know about hydrants. Jim
I've seen yellow ones so I guess that would be concidered like orange. Like the yellow truck freight line is really orange. Ower must have been color blind. That is interesting, thank you! I guess I'll paint my hydrants whatever looks good in the scene.
Well they were all government back then so if it was olive drab where you live then it was olive drab all over. I guess I'll have to look at the military paints..UGH! Thanks!!!! Candy
While the NFPA standard is in effect now, the color coding MAY not have been in the 50s. The standard referenced is from 2007. Our local hydrants weren't color coded until recently (within the last year or so). They were however completely yellow.
New York City had Black Hydrants with Silver tops and Side Caps on them back in the 50's. Sorry I can't help with Rural Mailboxes never saw one till I was an adult; but the city had Mail drop boxes that were Blue on many corners, and what they called relay Boxes that were Olive Drab Green.
In my limited memory - I believe US mailboxes were painted a dark olive "back in the 50's". Not sure when they moved to blue. Mail carrier drop boxes are still olive green. Not disputing the hydrant code that was posted - but in real-life observations it has largely been at the dicretion of the municipality or county. Even in present day there is a wide range of colors. I was just in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and they are all painted silver. Here where I live they are blue with white tops. Other area communities still stick with traditional red.
I grew up in NYC in the 50's, 60's and 70's. the fire hydrants there were black with a silver top. They were still painted in the same colors when I retired in 1999. The mail boxes were painted olive drab. The hydrants in my town are all painted red. I've seen them in yellow or red, white and blue.
The mailboxes changed color during the Eisenhower administration, during the 1950s. They were olive drab before that. And I have read a story that there was a bunch of surplus olive drab paint left over after World War I and a lot went to the PO. I have a color photo on railimages of a mailbox in the early 50s paint scheme. I do not have the link here because my home computer internet connection is out due to wet telephone lines and I am at school. My mailbox picture is not the original real thing but a prop used by Universal when filming a WII movie in Corpus Christi. I would bet there is a "History of the Post Office" website that would have exact data. Here in Corpus Christi, the hydrants have yellow bodies but the TOP indicates the capacity. RED is most restrictive, 500 gpm, yellow 750 gpm and green 1000 gpm. I don't know hoiw far this went back. My work as a TV reporter here which gave me a lot of contact with fire dept only went back into 1966. Hope I can be helpful to a sweet Candy lady. (and a terrific modeler too)
Wow this can get confusing! Thank you all for participating in this thread. So much good information. If anyone else wants to respond please do. This is most interesting !!! Candy
I remember the olive drab colors for US Mail street drop boxes. Never even thought about it at all, now I am wondering if this was due to plenty of surplus WWII paints??? Don't recall when I first noticed that color changeover. Boxcab E50
Olive drab in upstate NY in the 50s, and hydrants were all red. I am beginning to think that hydrant colors were selected by local fire departments, and they were painted to make them visible when they were responding to a fire. :tb-biggrin:
Candy - Here are a couple of useful links. Mailbox Color for Your Era Collection Box Colors (PDF) - Jeff
The hydrant nearest my house looks like a rainbow blew up. Someone has painted it all kinds of colors. Boxcab E50
When I was a young lad in ancient times, here around town (Pittsburgh) the hydrants were red bodies with white fittings & tops. I lived out in the boondocks - no city water or fire hydrants 'til the '60s. Bob C.
Hey everyone! These links are great! 1955 is when the boxes changed colors. Have a look! Thanks Jeff! I'm still confused about the hydrants. I know it's probably trivial to some but I would like to get my era right. I'm doing early 1960s
Yes, I would also go with red. That is what I remember growing up in a small town in New Hampshire in the early 60s. I didn't see multi colored ones start to show up until the 70s.
I agree that red (or red and silver) is the best color for hydrants circa 1960. Today they can be many different colors...sometimes all at once, like this one in Indianapolis. cute:
