8700 South State Street / Chicago, IL
The Federal Electric Company was established in 1901 and is located in Chicago, IL. Federal Electric began as a manufacturer of outdoor porcelain enamel-lighted advertising signs.
The signs that they produced were made of porcelain enamel cobalt blue and white block letters with electric light bulb outlets throughout the lettering. The lettering was very generic and each letter would have a maker’s mark on it that reads “Federal Electric Co. Chicago, IL”. Each letter would have a series of lightbulbs in it and would illuminate the sign. Some of their earlier signs had milk glass lettering as well.
Federal Electric Co. produced generic outdoor advertising signs for various companies and industries across the country including garages, gas stations, drug, drug stores, pharmacies, grocery stores, taverns, hotels, and beer just to name a few. They also produced signs for glass and oil companies like Standard and Phillip 66. During WWII, they produced air raid sirens and signal lamps to support the American war efforts. The signs that Federal produced were fully customizable and customers could order signs depending on what lettering was needed at the time. Various breweries also had federal electric produce signs for them, breweries like Pabst, Miller, Anheuser-Busch, Lemp, Coors, and Budweiser just to name a few as well as various beer distributors.
In 1956, the company became a corporation, renaming itself the “Federal Sign and Signal Corporation”. By this time, it made outdoor warning sirens, police sirens, fire alarms, and outdoor lighting. On July 2, 2019, Federal Signal completed the acquisition of the assets and operations of Mark Rite Lines Equipment Company, Inc., a manufacturer of road-marking equipment.
Below are a few examples of Federal Signs:
I’m always interested in buying Federal Electric signs and parts.
Feel free to contact me anytime.