Upper McMicken

There's another one, not far from this, that has been painted over.

Hillsboro, Ohio

Yeah, made a special trip for this one.  Uh huh.

The Mill Valley

All along Spring Grove Avenue, there's a bunch of old signs.  (I haven't posted many of them.)  But, between Spring Grove and I-75, there are even more.  I need to capture as many as I can while the weather's good, because I'm certainly not going to freeze my ass off, sign hunting.

Once Again...

 

... we break the rule about businesses still in business.

See what I did there? It looks like a crack house?  Get it?  Funny, huh?

Camp Washington

 

Again, a business still in business.  But, it's my blog, and I make the rules.  And it's a blog, so who cares?

 

In another note, if this really floats your boat, check out Visualingual's blog for more ghost signs, and a lot more effort put into the history of the buildings and businesses. 

As referred to earlier...

The Enquirer did run a story on what they term "Ghost Signs", which is probably a better, catchier name than what I use:  "Old, Faded Advertisements, Often Painted On Brick Walls".

And they used a photo of one I just happened to find recently, myself:

Again with the Barq's. (There's one of these in Lower Price Hill I'm going to get this weekend.)

The Globe?

On Fifth Street, across from the Convention Center.  Taken from a smoker's balcony.

Camp Washington

 

I normally don't include businesses that are still operational, but this sign looked like it has been there for a while.  On Spring Grove Avenue.

Our 100th Post!

And by "Our", I mean, "My".

To celebrate, we, (I), have what I like to call a "Bear Post", as in:

"If it had been a bear, it would have bitten me."  As in, it was obvious, but overlooked for a long time.

On Vine Street, across from Kroger's.  Shoulda seen this one ages ago.

Vertical and Horizontal

All over the place.  There's another painting on the south end of the building, but the light wasn't right for a photo.

South Fairmount, on Beekman.

Two Sides of the Same Building

Barq's Root Beer must have either been The Drink in Cincinnati at one point, or at least they really wanted to be.  I keep finding these Barq's signs.

And in the second photo, note the phone numbers.  How old school cool is that?

Lunken Airport

The home of Eastern Airlines. Also sometimes referred to as Lunken Field.

You may have also noticed the new tags on each entry, listing the neighborhood in which the photo of the faded sign was taken.  Now, you and your friends can cross-reference the photographs and the neighborhoods, and plan sightseeing trips.  It's fun for hours.  For all ages.

Burns Street

Lower Price Hill.  Not long after this picture, someone had a scaffolding up against it.  Whether it was for cosmetic or structural repair is unclear.

Furniture

Not nearly as many signs in Northside as I expected.  Either I haven't found them yet, they've been brought down, or they never existed in the first place.  This one is on the backside of a building facing Hamilton Avenue.

Coca Cola, big as life

In Walnut Hills

A View from Three Sides

Queensgate, on the border with Camp Washington

Closer

South face

North face

And I think at least part of the building has been turned into condos.

Queensgate Reducks

This was originally featured in June, shot from the 8th Street Viaduct, as I was driving.  I knew there was more to it than what I could see at 35 mph, but didn't know how much more.

Northside

And the Public Library billboard appears to have a battleship on it.

Walnut Hills

On Gilbert, below McMillan.

No.

This should not be here.  It does not meet the criteria.  However, it fooled me at first.  If you'll notice, it's not a painted sign.  It's an absence of paint.  There were letters on this building on Spring Grove Avenue when it was painted.  But the letters were taken down, leaving the paint that surrounded them behind.

Columbia Tusculm? East End?

Cincinnatians love their neighborhoods.  If you refer to North Avondale as Avondale, someone will jump down your throat. 

Sometimes, even with a map, it's hard to tell where one neighborhood ends, and one begins.

Anyway, this is on Eastern Avenue.  I mean, Riverside.  (It was renamed a few years ago, because developers thought Riverside had a more pleasant sound.) 

Going Farther and Farther Afield

Avondale.  Reading Road, just south of Dana.

I'm actually encouraged by seeing these faded signs in other neighborhoods, because it feels like I've gathered all the low hanging fruit from Downtown and Over-the-Rhine.  It would be a sad day if I captured every painted, faded sign that still exists.

Mid-McMicken

Actually, this is in the Brewery District.  But, all of McMicken is a veritable treasure trove of painted signs.