Land of Lincoln

 

No, silly.  Illinois.  A whistle stop called Princeton.

 

 And these are cruddy photos of a great building covered in ghost signage.  But, due to a combination of distance, fading winter's light, and probably some pocket fuzz on the lens of my Droid, we'll have to settle for these.  For alas, even Google Street View can't help us here.

Land of Lincoln

No, silly.  The state capital of Nebraska.   While on vacation, I met another friend there, Chad, for a brief visit.  And, hunting wise, didn't get anything but this old restaurant sign.  (Had a job interview there once, as I recall.  Not to work there, but was interviewed while we ate spaghetti.  And yes, I got the job, largely, because I didn't cover everyone with sauce.)

It is a pity, because we passed a couple of ghost signs, and I didn't have the camera ready.

And Google Street View doesn't count in Ghost Sign Hunting.

A Touch of Cincinnati

While flipping through the stockpile, I looked at this one, and couldn't remember where it came from.  But, after looking at the picture before, and the picture after it in the files, I know when I took it, and I have a pretty good idea of where it is: Elm, between Liberty and Findlay Market.  What it once said, I haven't a clue.

 

Enhancement doesn't seem to help, other than we learn it was painted by Fred(?). (Lower right hand corner.)

Sign Zero

This could be the sign that started it all.

It's in Hastings, where I went to college, and where I returned for my first full-time job.  Anywhoo, I always liked this sign, and as far as I can tell, it's the first such ghost sign to imprint itself on my consciousness.  (The Clarke is now a retirement home.)

Old Market Lofts

Obviously, the "Lofts" part of the sign is new.  The "Ford Storage and Moving" is older.  And even older still, is in the crown at the top of the building.

 

Face/Off

This one is facing this one.  It probably deserves a better picture, but the only way to really see it is from a distance, and the way the sun was positioned kinda washes it out, and I was shooting with a phone, not a real camera, and wah, wah, wah.

 

Oh, and Omaha is arse-deep in snow today.

Stitch Them Together in Your Head

 

If I were clever, I would have taken the photo so it could have been connected, via some PhotoShop trickery, and more accurately reflected their true relation.    But, alas, I don't think I noticed the one on the right after I had taken a couple of steps.  They are, in reality, just 90 degrees apart.

3

These are on two different buildings.  I just grouped them together because.

In Brick

The Fairmont Creamery sign is in brick, as D.L. Hudson pointed out, however, the mess of layering beneath it, is not.

Weak. End.

 

As well occupied as Hebron was, Geneva was surprisingly empty.  Quality over quantity, I guess.  There's a simple elegence to Chick's Repair Shop.

 

And surprisingly, there was a ghost sign in Strang, which is a) very small, and b) strange without an "e".

A Lot

 

Hebron had more ghost signs, per capita, than... well, than I expected.  Seriously, who would do the math on that sort of thing?  Going to the trouble to locate as many signs as possible, (4), and then factor that number against the most recent population count, (1,559)?  What kind of nutjob would do that? 

Did You Know????

Hebron, Nebraska, claims to be the home of the "world's largest porch swing"?  However, it's in a park, and not on a porch.

More Vacation Photos

 

Dad had to stop by the pharmacy to pick something up, so I drove into town with him.  Along the way, I mentioned my hobby, on the off chance the town might have something.

Down an alleyway, I saw the ole' Hebron Dairy sign, and when we looped around to capture it...

 

Hidden by paint and spackle and whatever that is, the ole' familiar ETERSON sign.

I think Dad's interest was piqued, because we drove around Hebron, looking for more.  And the next day, we hit another town...

When We Last Left Our Heroes...

D.L. Hudson and I had just crossed 13th Street at Jones to get a better picture of the Skinner's Macaroni Products sign.  But, what's that at the left????

Not one, not two, 

But three ghost signs for White's Yucatan Gum!

Three!  Three wonderful ghost signs for White's Yucatan Gum!  Ah ah ah!

And a quick websearch finds a small, but intense collectable market for White's Yucatan Gum products, like this tin, and this pocket mirror, and more than a few other photos of not just White's Yucatan Gum signs, but specifically this display.  (Link 1 and Link 2) 

Finding and Finding

I wasn't happy with this shot, so D.L. Hudson and I crossed the street.

 

More of the story, still to come...

Shirts

 

Monarch Shirts.

But, I also cheated in the reading.

A Short-lived Trend

At one time, Nebraska had so much corn, new uses were sought for it.

 

This is directly across the street from yesterday's picture.  I only had to turn 45 degrees to get the picture.  Walked half a block, and got three more ghost signs.  Ahhh, Old Market, you truly are a ghost-sign-hunter's paradise.

National Pape

I suspect it really said "PAPER" at one time.

They Wrote the History

So, I don't have to.

Monaco Vitale

Still in Cincinnati

Another example of something I should have seen earlier, but didn't.  On Vine, just off of Central Parkway. 

And posted ahead of all the travel shots, just to re-assure you, gentle reader, that there are still many, many Cincinnati shots yet to be posted.

(In fact, I've been stockpiling, assuming I wasn't going to be out and about much this winter.)

Same Building

North Face

East Side

 

Omaha's Old Market

The Big O

The Old Market, Omaha, Nebraska.  It's a former warehouse district that's been gentrified.  It's been a cool hangout for years, and it wasn't until I hit it on this trip that I knew how cool.

 

Because of the signs.  I knew I'd find a couple, but, jeez.  I felt like a big game hunter who stumbled upon a nature preserve.

My host for the day, D.L. Hudson, was kind enough to not only drive me to the Old Market, but was also patient as I got giddy over faded paint on old brick.

 

And soon, he was pointing out signs, like this Schlitz "doormat", comparing it to a Toynbee Tile.

 

Many more Omaha signs coming... 

More from the Tracks

Mendota, IL

The Eahlers sign, not so much the Setchell.

 

Take with the Droid, from the window of a moving Amtrak car.  Oddly enough, if you look at the building on Google Maps/Streetview, the picture quality isn't that different.  So, obviously, it's always overcast in Mendota, and Google uses camera phones.

The Joy of Discovery. And the Pain of Obliviousness.

This is in the alleyway behind the Macy's building.  It's near other ghost signs, and close to a big, ugly 70's mural.  I'd noticed the Shaftway (whatever that means) sign before, but didn't pay it much attention, because it didn't immediately meet the strictest criteria* for this blog. 

It wasn't until yesterday when I happened to notice the painted awnings. 

So: happy for finding something.  Sad for not seeing it before.

 

 

 

*The strictest criteria meaning arbitrary rules created and ignored by me when convenient.

What Once Was

On Main Street.  It was the Second National Bank.

(More photos from the trip a-comin'.)

 

 

Galesburg, IL

Picture 1 is from the westward trip.  In Picture 2, the train is headed east.

Not meeting any of the qualifications for a ghost sign really, but I liked the artwork.

Long Time Gone

I'm back from travels.

Amtrak took me partway across the country to visit family and friends,

but I saw so much more.

(There are a few photos from the windows of the train, but many more that are better.)