Old Street Signs Auctioned : A New Avenue for Collectors

Frank Garcia’s announcement Saturday to his family that he was going to carve out a name for himself at an unusual Agoura Hills auction was no idle boast.

The small town where he has lived for 12 years was selling off surplus city street signs. And Garcia idolized one in particular: Idle Drive.

Before he left, however, he ended up buying Agoura Hills’ complete inventory of 24 street signs for $150.

Along with Idle, there were five-foot-long, reflectorized, green aluminium signs for such streets as Grey Rock, Rista, Middle Crest, Tenneyson, Ironwood, Buffwood, Forest Cove, Hillrise, Lake Lindero and Reyes Adobe.

Officials said each was left over last year when the city 10 miles west of the San Fernando Valley converted to a uniform sign style.

Garcia, 43, who owns an asbestos cleanup and removal company, said he would clean up his unwanted signs and sell them at an upcoming Agoura Valley Women’s Club swap meet.

Not Idle Drive, though.

“I’m keeping that one. It’s going in my kid’s room,” he announced with a grin. “That’s where it belongs.”

Garcia’s 13-year-old daughter, who had accompanied him to the auction, reacted with horror at that. “Daddy!” Carrie Garcia exclaimed.

“Oh, not in her room. In my son Michael’s. He’s 15,” Garcia said quickly, suggesting that no further explanation was necessary.

Among the handful of people at the morning auction, the only other person to buy a sign was Stephen Soelberg, chairman of the Agoura Hills Planning Commission. He paid $25 for two Laro Drive signs. He submitted his bid before Garcia decided to buy the whole lot.

“I live on Laro Drive and I collect signs. So these will go in my collection,” Soelberg said. He voiced surprise that his neighbors had not snapped up signs of their own.

“A lot of people live on these streets. Surely there should have been at least one person on each street interested in having their street sign hanging in their den or something,” Soelberg said.

Auctioneer Joe Donofrio, who heads the city’s recreation department, said he had not idled away his time with the sale.

“At least the city raised $175,” he said.