Street Sign on Massey Avenue on corner with Belmont Road, Belfast

Tiled street sign supported on a fluted cast iron post, located at the junction of Massey Avenue and Belmont Road in Belfast. The sign comprises individual 5-inch-tall glazed tiles, each bearing a white letter on a black background spelling "MASSEY AVENUE", mounted on a cast iron back plate. Blank tiles fill the lower row, and moulded black tiles form the sign's perimeter, restrained by a wrought iron strap. The tiled sign measures 14 inches high, with total width determined by the number of letters in the street name. The back plate is bolted to the post at four points. The fluted circular post tapers from 3 inches wide at the top to 3.25 inches at the octagonal base, with projecting rings at top and bottom and a ball finial projecting above the tiled sign. The overall height is 60 inches. The base has been partially buried within the footpath.

This is a fine example of the standardised tiled signs erected on major thoroughfares in early twentieth-century Belfast. Prior to the early 1900s, street signage lacked uniformity. In October 1904, Belfast Corporation's Police Committee established a sub-committee to investigate standardisation. Initially, an enamel signage form was favoured, but in July 1907 this was rescinded. The Corporation instead resolved that "in future tile street signs be used in leading thoroughfares, and iron signs in other streets in accordance with the patterns now submitted", whilst prohibiting hanging or projecting signs on main arteries. This move towards uniformity was prompted by the city's rapid growth and the need for legible street markers. The Corporation's takeover and electrification of the city's tram system in 1905 likely provided further impetus, as passengers required clear identifiers for roads along tram routes. The distinctive white-on-black ceramic freestanding signs and similarly coloured wall-mounted variants appear to have been introduced or widely adopted from around 1907 onwards, initially along tram routes. The regularity of surviving examples—characterised by distinctive sans serif lettering and fluted cast-iron columns with ball finials—suggests these are Corporation installations from 1907 or later. Cast-iron columns began to be superseded by square-section concrete posts around the early 1930s. Glazed tile sign letters continued to be supplied by the Corporation until at least late 1955.

Massey Avenue was originally known as "Killeen Road" and was renamed "Massey Avenue" in spring 1924. The present sign, or at least the tiled signboard, dates from this period or shortly thereafter.

These prominently positioned signs continue to serve a useful function for today's public transport passengers. They retain historic interest for the citizens of Belfast and form part of the city's rich legacy of cast iron street furniture, which includes Parliamentary Boundary Posts, post boxes, and telephone kiosks. This example has group value with nearby listed street signs at Belmont Church Road and Earlswood Road.