Street Sign on corner of Rosetta Avenue and Ormeay Road, Belfast

Tiled street sign supported on a fluted cast iron post, located at the junction of Rosetta Avenue and Ormeau Road in Belfast. This is a fine example of the tiled street signs erected on major thoroughfares in the early twentieth century by Belfast Corporation, probably to assist passengers in locating their stops on the city's tram system.

The sign comprises individual glazed tiles, each 5 inches tall, bearing white letters on a black background spelling "ROSETTA AVENUE", mounted on a cast iron back plate. Blank tiles fill the extra space on the lower row, and moulded black tiles form the sign's perimeter, which is restrained with a wrought iron strap. The sign itself measures 14 inches high, with overall height of 64 inches including the post. The fluted circular post tapers from 3 inches wide at the top to 3.25 inches at the octagonal base, and features a projecting ring at top and bottom. A ball finial projects above the tiled sign. The back plate is bolted to the post in four places at the rear.

The history of Belfast's street signage reveals a move towards standardisation beginning in late 1904, when Belfast Corporation's Police Committee established a sub-committee to investigate the matter. Initially favouring enamel signage, the Corporation rescinded this decision in July 1907, agreeing instead that tile street signs should be used in leading thoroughfares, with iron signs in other streets according to submitted patterns. This decision likely reflected the city's rapid growth and the need for legible street markers, and was possibly prompted further by the Corporation's takeover and electrification of the tram system in 1905. The regularity and distinctive sans serif lettering of surviving signs suggests all are Corporation installations of 1907 or later.

Rosetta Avenue was laid out as Rosetta Street in the early 1870s and renamed Rosetta Avenue in 1874. As the street lay along a pre-1907 tram route, this sign was likely installed between 1907 and approximately 1930, when cast-iron columns began to be superseded by square section concrete posts. Cast-iron columns with ball finials of this type represent an important element of Belfast's legacy of cast iron street furniture. This sign has group value with another listed nearby street sign at Ormeau Road.