Hannah Metzger
Audio By Carbonatix
Everybody makes mistakes. But not everybody’s mistakes are plastered onto official city signage.
A Denver road sign that misspelled California Street as “Califorina” was recently installed at the 19th Street intersection downtown. The sign remained in place as of around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18. However, a city employee was present and said they intended to remove it.
The Denver Department of Transportation & Infrastructure did not respond to a request for comment. But an unnamed, self-described “private citizen” driving a DOTI-branded vehicle had this to say when Westword arrived at the scene:
“Shit happens.”
According to DOTI, the sign was installed on Monday, Aug. 17, while the man driving the DOTI vehicle said the sign was installed on Friday, Aug. 14. No other California Street signs in the area appear to be misspelled as of Tuesday afternoon. However, the error was repeated on the incorrect sign, with the misspelling present on both the front and back.
The anonymous man claims that the sign and spelling mistake were the work of a contractor, not the city. But the city is taking the brunt of the ridicule online.
A Reddit post pointed out the erroneous sign on Tuesday morning, around four days after it was reportedly installed, inspiring mockery and annoyance.
“Proofreading is a lost art,” read the post, which has accumulated over 1,900 upvotes and more than 200 comments. “How did no one notice this?”
“We’re witnessing the steady decline of literacy,” one commenter said. “Way to go, City and County of Denver,” wrote another.
It could’ve been worse. At least they didn’t misspell Colorado Boulevard.
