Hello Beautiful!

 

Here I was this morning, thinking about dropping this whole thing.  (See previous post.)

 

And then, hours later, in the West End, not even looking for old signs, I find this gem, and a couple of previously undiscovered others.  Gonna take it as a sign to keep posting.

 

Why do this in the first place?  Besides the fact that it gives me something to do besides drink myself to death?  I like it.  I like these signs.  It is art, even if it was never meant to be.  Look at the layers on this particular entry: carpets, ice cream, household goods, bakery?  I just think it's beautiful.

 

And I love the historical aspect too: What was this (or any) neighborhood like when these signs were painted?  For instance, this one, along the 8th Street Viaduct in Queengate.  Right now, it's next to a viaduct, surrounded by brownfields, train tracks, and the Cincinnati Police Academy.  But, at one time, things must have been quite different.  Or like today's entry, on Freeman, near Dayton; not much seems to happen here now, but at one point, Freeman must have been a bustling thoroughfare.

 

Beyond that, this blog doesn't get a lot of attention, and that's okay.  I'm not doing it for fame, or money, (obviously).  I'm doing it because I like it.  Finding faded signs brings me a small measure of joy.