In a city like New York, history is all around us, even where you'd least expect it -- like the thousands of signs you'll pass while while strolling down city streets.
The New York Sign Museum in Brooklyn is working to preserve the unseen history behind vintage signage.
The museum is home to more than 200 rescued signs, advertising everything from restaurants and bars to barber shops and tailors.
David Barnett and Mac Pohanka are on a mission to ensure these pieces of New York City history don't end up in the trash.
"You sort of take things for granted, especially with New York City signage," Barnett said. "The signs have stories to tell. They're New York stories. That's why I think it's so important to save this stuff."
Their passion led them to the building in East New York where Barnett and Pohanka began the museum.
"For us, there's so much craft, there's so many stories," Barnett said.
"I mean, talk about a sign with stories. Right? Cops and, the mob bosses would have allegedly, would have, like, lunches there," Barnett described the history of one restaurant sign.
The museum also offers tours where visitors can learn how vintage signs reflect the city that once was.
"This is the Starlite Deli sign from Times Square. This was like a local institution. An older couple came on the tour, and they came up and said, we're the owners of Starlite Deli. They said, you know, it was it was so meaningful for them to see the sign here and to see it preserved," Barnett said.
For Barnett, the work is rooted in a family tradition he didn't even know existed until recently.
"My great-grandfather was a sign painter in New York," Barnett said. "I think the signs represent New Yorkers and they represent that part of us. The signs have stories to tell, they're New York stories. And, they are our stories to tell, so that's why I think it's so important to save this stuff, because when we lose that, we lose a part of who we are.
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