In 1978, photographer Mark Gubin climbed onto the roof of his studio in Milwaukee with a tub of white paint and no particular plan. On a whim, he painted the words “Welcome to Cleveland” in giant block letters—squarely in the path of arriving flights at Milwaukee’s airport.
A Rooftop Joke at 3,000 Feet
The sign sits directly under the flight path to runway 19 at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. From the air, it’s perfectly legible. For decades, confused passengers have hit their call buttons to ask if they somehow landed in the wrong city.
Flight Path Confusion
Gubin’s rooftop is part of a former single-screen theater he converted into a studio and home, filled with items like a Civil War cannon and Roman artifacts. “I worked for Smithsonian for a while,” he once said in passing.
From Local Prank to Global Joke
The sign has earned Gubin interviews with Today, GQ, Slate, and more. It even inspired a 2021 copycat sign in Sydney, reading “Welcome to Perth.” Gubin shrugs at the attention: “It just keeps coming around. It will not go away.”
In 1978, Milwaukee photographer Mark Gubin painted “Welcome to Cleveland” in huge white letters on his studio roof.
Located under a flight path, the sign has confused passengers for decades, many believing they had landed in the wrong city…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/rHHcOfl2Qn
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) May 9, 2025