Massachusetts Roads - MA 27




SB from MA 36 to the end of MA 27 at Evergreen St. and MA 106.


SB at Robinson St. and Reed St. in Hanson, a bucolic community with bucolic signs.


The other direction at Reed St.


NB in downtown Brockton, where shield borders so thick even Connecticut would reject them are the norm. The railroad overpass is on Court St., and the old blocky regulatory sign is just past MA 28 at Main St.


One more old curve for your troubles, continuing north toward Stoughton.


The old 1892 Water Works building is at 1730 Central St. The reflection shows you how I write down directions for my trips.


MA 27 NB (or insert your favorite circle-shielded state here) is heading south here in Sharon, where it turns from Main St. onto Depot Street at the Unitarian Church and starts heading west instead. Basically, MA 27 is leapfrogging over I-95 (see the bottom sign) before heading back north again.


More leapfrogging (MA 27 turns left to the wide I-95) to Walpole, where MA 27 ducks under one railroad spur and then climbs over another in the last photo.


Continuing NB to Sherborn, where I capture both sides of the tercentennial sign because it's over 80 years old now.

Older SB LGS.


This old school is just a block of apartments now, but that's a bad idea because I'm pretty sure all old school buildings are haunted. Ghosts of failing grades and bad gym class stories and all.


Getting personal with another old sign south of Wayland.


Three stones (two views of the middle one at Concord Rd.) near Sudbury and Maynard. The last is at Old Marlboro Rd.


Two views of a 1930s (or 1920s) distance sign, one from Concord Rd. SB and one from MA 27 SB.


This is the state's earliest experiment with reflective material. The background behind the numbers was blacked out and silver first-generation Scotchlite was applied as the numerals. At night, they would indeed glow white on black. Nowadays, the sign background is made of reflective material and the numerals are non-reflective, but this was the best they could do at the time. I appreciate that, and I'm glad that one of the only examples of such signs still survives in the while. To protect this sign, I'm not divulging its location. That and I honestly have no clue where I found it, except somewhere in the general Maynard area.


NB entering Maynard.


Now inside Maynard, the signs aren't very helpful. Which way is east, which way is west? Why bother signing the directions? This is the only county route shield in all of New England, by the way, so marvel at it even though it's more green than blue.


Northbound at MA 111, found among normal shields with wider-spaced digits, and on to the Concord Battle Monument in Acton.


The NB and SB sides of an old town-erected sign inside the Concord Rd. wye.


Unhelpful to the last, MA 27 first pretends it's from Connecticut and then jumps in the way of an MA 4 shield so you can't tell where to go from here. May as well turn around and drive the whole route again.

To MA 3A
Onto MA 123
Onto MA 28
To I-95
Onto MA 9
Onto MA 62
Onto MA 4
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