Posted February 5, 200817 yr This thread is for brick wall signs (ghost signs) from any location. First up are 2 photos from a building in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. The larger sign on the right is for King Midas Flour and has the figure of a child in the lower right corner. Signage across the bottom of the building reads "Louis Aranoff Warehouse Fine Rugs & Carpets Flour & Feed". I'm interested in seeing your photos! Steve
February 7, 200817 yr A few from my wanderings: Columbia City, Indiana Decatur, Indiana Frankton, Indiana LaGrange, Indiana LaPorte, Indiana Allegan, Michigan Hillsdale, Michigan Celina, Ohio
February 7, 200817 yr Here are some of my favorites: Massachussetts Avenue, Indianapolis Reading Road in Cincinnati: Over-the-Rhine in Cincinnati: McMicken Avenue, OTR, Cincinnati Race Street, OTR, Cincinnati
February 8, 200817 yr Rob & Jermore, I really enjoy seeing your photos. You've photographed some nice signs. I particularly like ads that have a person or animal (Owl Cigars) painted in them. Here are a couple more from me. Mowrystown, Ohio - Two Pepsi Cola signs on a single wall. (Deleted) Welch, West Virginia - Flat Top Bottling Company I always want to see more of these.... Steve
February 8, 200817 yr i love these. cool idea for a thread. i like the indy one w/ the tumbleweeds in front of it best so far. cinci has lots of interesting old ads. i remembered this one i took in luling, texas. i'm always on the lookout for them. i'll have to think of a few more to add. keep'em coming crew.
February 8, 200817 yr A few more: Not all bricks, not all vintage, but :-P Cincinnati OH Looks like there was something here, but it's mostly weathered away. Cleveland OH Columbus Dayton Lisbon, Ohio Middletown, Ohio Southwest Pennsylvania Brookville, PA Indiana PA Johnstown PA Reputed to be very good Not a painted sign; tile inlay, but I think it's pretty nice Pittsburgh PA Milwaukee WI That's all I got for now.
February 13, 200817 yr Cuba Ice Cream Co. - Cuba, New York My car had a flat tire while driving through Cuba a few years ago. This sign was just down the block from the service station where I had the new tire (the old one was punctured badly) mounted. I'm not sure if it was worth $80 to get off the highway for this photo.....
February 13, 200817 yr There was a pretty sizable exhibit of this stuff on the walls of Talkies in Cleveland's Market Square recently. Not sure if it's still there, but it was cool.
March 1, 200817 yr Krey HOT Sausage being advertised on a wall sign in Memphis, Tennessee. There were numerous ghost signs in this area just south of Downtown. Unfortunately it was extremely overcast when I was there and many of the signs were too faint to get a decent picture of.
March 12, 200817 yr This first sign is right to the point! Located in La Porte City, Iowa. Ghost sign advertising Boscul Coffee on East 3rd Street in Dayton, Ohio. Another wall sign was underneath the Boscul advertisement - you can just make out some of the lettering. I believe that this building has been painted and this great ad is only a memory.
March 12, 200817 yr I love the Boscul Coffee ad. Too bad it's been covered up - signs like those should be preserved and protected.
March 12, 200817 yr hi Jerome, It's unfortunate that the signs can't be saved in any reasonable manner other than film. I like to visualize the interior of the American Sign Museum made out of original wall art! Of course 30 - 40 foot ceilings would be a must! Steve O.K. Two more. First is a sign on the business of Seigman & Wherleys in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania. They sold "Gents Furnishings Clothing Shoes". When photograhed the name on the sign over the door was down to just "Wherleys" while the newer sign advertised "Shoes Rubber Footwear Family Clothing PA Liscense Agent". The next ghost sign was on the rear of the building that was the location of the Farmers Union Supply Co. and Hardware in Versailles, Kentucky. Hy-Klas 100% Pure - the PAINT that LASTS You can just make out another sign to the right of the Hy-Klas ad. Something was 5 cents! (Most likely Coca - Cola).
March 13, 200817 yr I like to visualize the interior of the American Sign Museum made out of original wall art! Of course 30 - 40 foot ceilings would be a must! I like the idea of having some wall art in the American Sign Museum and/or a photo gallery of ghost signs. Here are a few other signs I really like. This one was inside an Aveda store in Atlanta (Virginia-Highland neighborhood): This one is from the West End in Cincinnati: And that one is from the Deep Ellum neighborhood in Dallas, Texas:
March 26, 200817 yr Packard sign in Cleveland, Ohio that I photographed in May of 2007. This was southeast of Downtown Cleveland. I lost my note that gave the address! Jerome, I really like the Texas & Pacific sign from Dallas. I ran across that one while visiting there last month. To the rest of the folks viewing this thread - how about a picture! Steve
April 3, 200817 yr Nicely preserved wall sign on a building in Princeton, West Virginia. This small town had a dozen or so ghost signs. I first photographed the wall art that was in Princeton during 1988. This photo is from a return visit in 2005. Text of the sign reads: Drug Store 2nd line unreadable Cold Drinks Cigars Stamps Men Women Children Clothing Hats Shoes Dry Goods Notions S. Ligasor There is some sort of image painted to the left with a quotation underneath. I could not determne what the art represented nor could I read the quotation. Maybe one of these days I'll figure it out!
April 12, 200817 yr Wall sign for Complete Restaurant Equipment and Trenton China Pottery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's a little tough to see the refrigerator through the tree, but the dishwasher is fancy! Steve Hagy photo.
April 16, 200817 yr here's some from around lower manhattan tribeca village new in the west village and lastly, a big new one going up on canal street
April 17, 200817 yr Interesting. We look with nostalgia at ghost signs that say "we buy eggs" or "cuba ice-cream". What will people think 50 years from now when they look at a "GTA IV" ghost sign? :-) Nice pictures of New York, mrnyc.
April 17, 200817 yr Heh, its doubtful there will be a GTA IV ghost sign... Its papered on instead of painted. Those don't last for very long (like virtually everything else we've constructed in the last 50 years)
April 17, 200817 yr I like this one in Over-the-Rhine (Cincinnati), and the story that goes along with it (the following paragraph is taken from an article from the Enquirer, see link below). [in 1998] as workers demolished an old structure near the intersection of McMicken, Vine and Findlay streets, an adjacent building's wall came into view. On it was a hand-painted sign in old German lettering. Apotheke, it said. German for drugstore. Workers painted the wall red, but at Dr. Tolzmann's urging [a fourth-generation German-American and an expert on the Tristate's German heritage], they spared the German word. “It's important we don't destroy the evidence and material culture that's here,” he says. “It's an integral part of the community identity. If you erase that, you succumb to historical amnesia.” http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/09/18/loc_our_german_soul_rich.html
April 17, 200817 yr Interesting. We look with nostalgia at ghost signs that say "we buy eggs" or "cuba ice-cream". What will people think 50 years from now when they look at a "GTA IV" ghost sign? :-)Nice pictures of New York, mrnyc. Actually you hit the nail on the head with one word. Nostalgia. I really do think that people will look back on the "old days" and think about how quaint things were around 2008. Wow. Weren't those Starbucks signs neat... Heh, its doubtful there will be a GTA IV ghost sign... Its papered on instead of painted. Those don't last for very long (like virtually everything else we've constructed in the last 50 years) There won't be very many true "ghost signs" on down the road. Painting an ad on brick is uncommon these days. How about trying to resurrect painted brick advertising? It worked for neon back in the '80's! I like this one in Over-the-Rhine (Cincinnati), and the story that goes along with it (the following paragraph is taken from an article from the Enquirer, see link below). A great sign. Many wall signs have been preserved because a building was constructed alongside the ad. I always keep an eye out for buildings that have recently come down as it may reveal a ghost sign! I have many. many more photos of ghost signs to post, but they are on prints so they need to be scanned....
April 19, 200817 yr Cooey - Bentz Co, Home Furnishers in Wheeling, West Virginia. Free Parking "Customers Only"!
May 21, 200817 yr This wonderful sign is located along U.S. 40 (the National Road) in Cambridge, Ohio. My guess is that the sign was painted and then another building was erected covering the sign. Like other wall signs in excellent condition that I have come across, there is nothing like a brick overcoat to preserve the ad for future generations. "The product of the Hour - White Satin Flour - Miles Ahead For Bread"
May 21, 200817 yr since i went back to luling, texas recently (why? for city market, the best bbq in the world!!!) anyhoo here is another "better" shot of the ghost sign i posted above: a different one in luling: hutto, texas & one soon to be lost to downtown austin development
May 31, 200817 yr Both Mail Pouch and Bull Durham tobacco slogans were painted here. These great ads are on a building located on Hoosier Street between 4th & 5th Streets in North Vernon, Indiana. The lettering for the business reads "G. H. __utchback Saloon". Here is a closer view showing a painted mail pouch in the ad for, what else, Mail Pouch Chewing Tobacco! The Bull Durham and Mail Pouch ads are painted in roughly the same spot so the lettering of the two signs overlaps making the wording difficult to decipher. The underside of the ad reads "Chew and Smoking" while the top of the ad has "Mail Pouch" on the right, but the left side has me stumped.
October 26, 200816 yr i came upon the old automat ghost sign in the manhattan theater district today old scribner's publishing building something about a sky rink ice skating rink
November 18, 200816 yr i was downtown in tribeca today and found some more old ghost signs & some other olde signage: old but repainted by the gentrifiers old redeveloped loading docks old coffee warehouse signs on these two buildings not a ghost sign, but thee funkiest olde corner street sign the whalebone sign has always been here, although its recently been repainted forgotten ny sez it is at least early 1800's & quite mysterious. might have been related to seaport business? a favorite on church street is being redeveloped, but the signage looks to stay another partial one couple semi-oldies around canal street on canal -- no ghosts here, the former 'grand theft auto' game signage has morphed already.... in soho does a reve '89 count as ghost grafitti? and last a favorite in the village...the old fat black pussycat theater ghost sign
November 19, 200816 yr ^ yeah, that one is the smaller one on broome next to lucky strike. the huge one on broadway was repainted over already. i think they were faux banksys, not sure, but i think i read that somewhere. ps -- this tribeca clock has kind of a ghost sign, the western face on the left is faded out, but the eastern face is ok:
November 19, 200816 yr I got a couple from Queensgate last year at night. I'll have to load them up eventually.
November 30, 200816 yr from around midtown manhattan yesterday 1898 pharmacy these look to be gone soon --- an old bickford's restaurant + an old pawn shop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bickford%27s_(restaurant) edit: i found this fun one in the archives. typewriters? facsimiles? huh? lol! its downtown next to the new fulton transit center -- so i dk how long it will last.
December 1, 200816 yr [...] the whalebone sign has always been here, although its recently been repainted forgotten ny sez it is at least early 1800's & quite mysterious. might have been related to seaport business? Whalebone was used in making corsets; I think they used the ribs. The building may have housed a business that brokered whalebone, or there may have been a second portion to the sign indicating that the business made/sold corsets. In the early 19th century, before there were efficient processes for extracting lighting fuel ("coal oil" or kerosene - the terms were interchangeable among people of my grandmother's generation) from coal or petroleum, the demand for whale oil for lighting drove a huge whaling industry in the Northeast.
December 13, 200816 yr http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/demolition_crew_uncovers_longh.html That's a cool article!
January 7, 200916 yr Yes, good article. The building that used to cover the sign has done a really good job at preserving the colors! Those ghosts signs really are a great feature of urban settings in the US. Now that I am back in Europe, I see lots of nice architecture, but I miss the pleasure of discovering brick wall signs!
January 8, 200916 yr that is an cool paint in the wall of the building!!! ___________________ Great thing to know about seo test.
February 2, 200916 yr i've been meaning to catch this one & i finally remembered to yesterday. it's a favorite of mine. it's in a little park in the village at 6th ave & bleecker st.
February 15, 200916 yr Some from Cleveland: 1. Detroit Shoreway area 2. Tremont (not old, but...) 3. 4. In Mansfield (The Flats): 5. 6. 7.
March 6, 200916 yr Red Top Brewing was located on Central Avenue in the Mohawk neighborhood of Cincinnati (there are photos of the brewery somewhere on this site!). My guess is that the Mingo Bottling Company must have distributed the tasty beverage in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. At the bottom right of the ad there is a red top painted in the corner. I photographed this wall in May of 1987 on a building located at 3rd & Vinson Streets in Williamson, West Virginia. When I was through Williamson in September of 2005 the building had been torn down.
March 11, 200916 yr Painted on the wall of a small store in Seminary, Mississippi. Coca - Cola ads seem to dominate the world of ghost signs.
March 11, 200916 yr as i recall there was a political elliot ness ghost sign in cleveland at least until relatively recently (1980's?), not sure it still exists anymore.
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