After my post earlier today about non-standard subway signs, my friend Jess left me a comment on Facebook: “There are some temp signs at the Columbus Circle stop that are in Chicago font rather than Helvetica. They drive me nuts every time I see them.”

As it happens, I had to catch the subway at Columbus Circle tonight. The first sign I noticed was another one of those weird black-on-white signs, presumably indicating a semi-permanent change due to station construction.

Then I saw this abomination:

Sure enough! Rather than being set in the usual subway font (a Helvetica variation called Akzidenz-Grotesk [Update: Actually Helvetica]), it’s set in something very different and obviously inferior. It looks stretched.

But nothing prepared me for what was next. Rounding a corner and heading down the stairs, I saw this highly irregular sign: