A whole wall full in Springfield, Mass.:

 

What an amazing wall! Really great picture.

Are You a Woman?  Take Cardui.  Cardui was a 38-proof patent medicine concocted (distilled!) by  the Chattanooga Medicine Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Too bad a doorway was needed at some time in the life of this building that sits along U.S. 67 in Prescott, Arkansas.  A few letters from a Firestone wall ad show in the upper left portion of this sign.

 

 

This is the ad that is to the right of the Cardui sign in my previous post.  I would have preferred to have seen the Henry George ad clearly, but, no offense to those who like Coke, there are many Coca - Cola signs around.  A portrait of Henry George is in the lower right corner of the cigar ad. The sign states that "I am for Fatigue" which is wording from both of the ads blended together. 

Detroit

 

 

 

 

All Suits All Overcoats $24 - $32.  An address of 127 North Fourth is beneath that proclamation while Established 1902 can still be read above.  Another ghost sign has lettering that can still be seen under the newer ad.  The name of the tailor or merchant who had these fabulous prices is unreadable.  This ode to fashion is located in Mingo Junction, Ohio.

 

All the legendary names in photo equipment of the 30s and 40s and into the 50s on that wall!

The Avalon Bar was still open for business in Mingo Junction, Ohio when this photo was taken in August of 2006.  The sign for the lounge is still bold and clear - Liquor Beer Wine Fine Foods.  Above the Avalon sign is what remains of a Mail Pouch wall ad.  "Treat Yourself to the Best" is lettered with the S & T covered by ivy.  At least one other wall sign is beneath the Mail Pouch ad.

 

Mayfield's Jersey-Maid Ice Cream shared the same wall as B. Martin in downtown Harriman, Tennessee.  For some unknown reason I didn't photograph the remains of the older sign.  Mayfield Dairy Farms was founded in Athens, Tennessee and still produces Jersey-Maid brand products.  It would have been nice if the Jersey-Maid logo that features a cow's head was painted on this wall!

Schoenhofen Brewing Co. of Chicago brewed Edelweiss.  This beautiful sign shows a shield shaped logo with a large "S' in the center with the Alps in the background and the flowers growing in the front.  Like many well preserved wall signs this gem was uncovered after the building next door was destroyed by fire.  A wrong turn near downtown Milwaukee led to my discovery of the sign at the intersection of 4th & National Streets.  Since I took the photo (1988 or so) the building on which it was painted has been torn down.

This Mobiloils wall was revealed after a building had been demolished on Grand River Avenue in Detroit, Michigan.  The color and graphics were just fantastic.  The Gargoyle emblem looks perfect (for a 60 year old sign) and the motor oil can looks as though you could reach over, unscrew the cap and pour a gallon of "Light Medium Body" right into your 1923 LaSalle (Actually "Light Medium Body" is most likely a type of beer these days).  I took this photo in October of 1988 and during my return trips to Detroit it became obvious that the building with this incredible wall was no more.  A great loss for art lovers everywhere.

fantastic catch -- it looked totally freshly done!

Just visible over the roof of a building is this ad for Mail Pouch tobacco.  Underneath the Mail Pouch lettering is another ghost sign.  This sign and several others can be found on Commercial Street in Mingo Junction, Ohio.  This extremely compact town along the Ohio River is dominated by railroad tracks and a functioning steel mill.

 

I thought this was pretty interesting... the dichotomy here is great...West Virginia Mail Pouch tobacco with Polish or Czech writing as well. It's in Cleveland at E.55th & Broadway.

The building is 120 yrs old, I guess the wall sign must be at least 100.

Not too bad of shape.

 

Not as interesting, but a sign nonetheless...at W.80th & Detroit (in Cleveland).

 

 

I thought this was pretty interesting... the dichotomy here is great...West Virginia Mail Pouch tobacco with Polish or Czech writing as well. It's in Cleveland at E.55th & Broadway.

The building is 120 yrs old, I guess the wall sign must be at least 100.

Not too bad of shape.

 

 

 

The language is Czech: 

 

"Clean and durable/longlasting for chewing.

Pleasant/agreeable and sweet for smoking."

 

I thought this was pretty interesting... the dichotomy here is great...West Virginia Mail Pouch tobacco with Polish or Czech writing as well. It's in Cleveland at E.55th & Broadway.

The building is 120 yrs old, I guess the wall sign must be at least 100.

Not too bad of shape.

That's a great sign!  I don't recall seeing any other wall signs written in Czech!

 

 

I thought this was pretty interesting... the dichotomy here is great...West Virginia Mail Pouch tobacco with Polish or Czech writing as well. It's in Cleveland at E.55th & Broadway.

The building is 120 yrs old, I guess the wall sign must be at least 100.

Not too bad of shape.

 

 

 

The language is Czech: 

 

"Clean and durable/longlasting for chewing.

Pleasant/agreeable and sweet for smoking."

 

Thanks for the translation!

 

 

THis is in Cleveland near E.9th & Carnegie.

I think this bldg is sadly scheduled to come down for the new Interbelt Bridge. You can't tell from this shot but it is very beautiful.

BONUS: to the right of the bldg...that's Central Viaduct streetcar tracks and remnants of a brick road. The viaduct over the river is long gone of course.

 

 

I'm not excactly sure what this says. Barr Dan Co.?? sth about upholstery...I tried googling but got nowhere.

 

 

When I first saw this thread, my mind raced back to a time years ago when I remembered my father taking 2 of my sisters and me to a not-so-friendly place around Cedar Ave. and the East 30s. He wanted to snap a picture of a wall sign from a building that he knew was probably scheduled to be demolished (I think that's why we were over there). A wall sign that was one-of-a-kind.

This past Fall, I drove over to Cedar Ave., going up and down, but could not find that building (or wall sign) that I was looking for.

A lot over there has been demolished...some 1980s/90s urban renewal. So, he was right...the building no longer exists.

But I scoured through photographs at my mother's and found his snapshot.

I cut out the 3 dorky kids standing in front.

 

Eliot Ness ran for Mayor in 1947.

Of course, he came from Chicago. He was Director Of Public Safety in Cleveland from 1935-1941, moved to D.C. in 1942. Came back to Ohio in '44. Then ran for Mayor a few years later. He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland.

 

 

Thats awesome.

 

When I first saw this thread, my mind raced back to a time years ago when I remembered my father taking 2 of my sisters and me to a not-so-friendly place around Cedar Ave. and the East 30s. He wanted to snap a picture of a wall sign from a building that he knew was probably scheduled to be demolished (I think that's why we were over there). A wall sign that was one-of-a-kind.

This past Fall, I drove over to Cedar Ave., going up and down, but could not find that building (or wall sign) that I was looking for.

A lot over there has been demolished...some 1980s/90s urban renewal. So, he was right...the building no longer exists.

But I scoured through photographs at my mother's and found his snapshot.

I cut out the 3 dorky kids standing in front.

 

Eliot Ness ran for Mayor in 1947.

Of course, he came from Chicago. He was Director Of Public Safety in Cleveland from 1935-1941, moved to D.C. in 1942. Came back to Ohio in '44. Then ran for Mayor a few years later. He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland.

 

 

Interesting memory and sign to go with it!  Since it is gone I guess that wall is now one of The Untouchables...  (I'm good at really bad puns)

Really cool.

 

When I first saw this thread, my mind raced back to a time years ago when I remembered my father taking 2 of my sisters and me to a not-so-friendly place around Cedar Ave. and the East 30s. He wanted to snap a picture of a wall sign from a building that he knew was probably scheduled to be demolished (I think that's why we were over there). A wall sign that was one-of-a-kind.

This past Fall, I drove over to Cedar Ave., going up and down, but could not find that building (or wall sign) that I was looking for.

A lot over there has been demolished...some 1980s/90s urban renewal. So, he was right...the building no longer exists.

But I scoured through photographs at my mother's and found his snapshot.

I cut out the 3 dorky kids standing in front.

 

Eliot Ness ran for Mayor in 1947.

Of course, he came from Chicago. He was Director Of Public Safety in Cleveland from 1935-1941, moved to D.C. in 1942. Came back to Ohio in '44. Then ran for Mayor a few years later. He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland.

 

 

 

 

thanks so much clueless!! i asked about this one on the previous page -- i remember it distinctly, it got a lot of publicity when it was going to be torn down. given the dumpy old building i'm not surprised, but still a shame its gone, the signage shoulda been saved at least.

 

***

 

these multi-layered paste signs were discovered by the lower east side museum on orchard st in lower manhattan, which has since moved down the block, but at least for now the old signage is still intact:

 

 

 

 

it looked like there is a lot more under the paint!

 

 

This sign is in fairly good condition excpt for the right end, which explains what "Larabee's Best The Economy ..." was. Beneath that right end of the wall an old Pepsi logo is coming through in red, white, and blue with the slogan "More Bounce Per Ounce" above.. Beneath Larabee's is the lettering "Swans Down" which is a cake flour that was produced by General Mills and these days by Reily Foods of New Orleans.

 

There are several signs overlaying each other here. Along the top where "John Hoffman & Sons" iss painted, "Tumey's Tavern" is showing through. Other lettering  reads "Finest Quality" and "Grocery Store".  There is so much going on with this wall that I can't decipher everything. Maybe someone can stop by and spend an hour unravelling the mysteries!  If you want to see this one in person, the wall is located at 1st & Perry Sts. in Vincennes, Indiana.

 

Florida Guy already posted this one, but I figured I'd share this anyway.

 

here's a former warehouse sign that can now be seen up close on the new section of the highline park:

 

This sign was on a building on the east side of Downtown Zanesville along U.S. 22 & 40 (the National Road) when photographed around April of 1990.  I love the owl perched on the cigar "branch".  Unfortunately the building and sign have not survived.

 

Nicely preserved Gold Medal flour wall sign at West Mansfield, Ohio. There were a couple of other signs painted on this wall but I couldn't make out the wording excpt for "Beers".

For the big picture, go here:

This wall certainly was popular over the years.  Abromson Quality Coal, Mail Pouch Tobacco, Colonial Bread, and Coca Cola all decided that this was a nice place to advertise.  Coke is being sold in a six pack of 12 ounce bottles.  Those 12's are KING size!  the colors on the Colonial Bread ad really look nice to me.  I photographed this sign almost 25 years ago.  The next time I drove through Portland. Imdiana the wall had been painted.  The visit after that and the building was gone.

Indiana Textile Ghost Sign by Eridony, on Flickr

we should bring this thread back -- hunting these down is a good covidy era thing to do!

 

london ghost signs -

 

 

‘Ghost Signs’ Haunt London’s Reviving Neighborhoods

Hundreds of hand-painted signs endure in parts of the U.K. capital, marking the city’s 19th century boom. But many of these advertising artifacts are fading fast. 

 

By Feargus O'Sullivan

December 2, 2021, 1:00 AM EST

 

more:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-12-02/artifacts-of-a-lost-london-live-on-in-fading-ghost-signs?utm_source=pocket-newtab

 

 

 

I remember the day this sign was discovered. I was in like 8th grade and they just tore down a bowling alley adjacent to this building. The sign came out in pristine condition - presumably because it hadn't been weathered since the 1930s when the building next door went up and left only and inch or two between the buildings. 

 

I was happy that the owner's of the building kept this and even touched up the paint a little. 

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4068161,-81.734621,3a,45.3y,133.57h,88.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqeMA9GBEs70FEEtvSdTPFg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192