Big in Dayton

It's not faded, and it's not a ghost, because the company still operates.

But, it's painted on, and sometimes, just sometimes, that's good enough.

On East First Street, on the edge of downtown Dayton.

Hello, You Beauty, You

Near the intersection of First and North Keowee.

So much going on.  So much to capture.

You can't tell from this angle, but there's another Coca-Cola sign on this south face too.

And so we bid a fond farewell to Dayton.

Next week, our agents return from New York City, with a haul.

Music and Beauty

Downtown Dayton does not have a lot of ghost signs.

Tomorrow, our last entry from the Gem City.

Whitewashed

Again, on East 3rd, in the Webster Station district of Dayton.

Dayton

This is on the back side of the building that also features this.

"Wholesale" is still legible, but not much else.

Below that... ? 

It almost looks like the concrete was added later.  

But that would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?

Webster Street

Just north of Dayton's Second Street Market.

Plummer Plummer

On Wayne, near Bradford.

As we stopped to get this one, the guy yelled from the bus stop across the street. 

"Is that still a day care?"  

Don't know. Not from around here.

"It used to be a day care."

Okay.

Something's Afoot at the Circle KK

Again, in Dayton's Webster Station neighborhood, and again,

not technically a ghost sign. (But it is faded ad art.)

The KK Motorcycle Supply Co. is still in business, dealing in

after-market bike products, 

Looks Familiar

Frankly, we had hoped for more ghost signage in Dayton's Oregon District, however, what was lacking in quantity, was more than made up in quality.

We've had an Owl Cigar advert featured here before, but it was in Nebraska.

Lowe Bros. Part 2

Walk down what appears to be an alley next to the previous entry and you'll find this.

There are a couple of ghost signs in this alley, which makes us believe at some point, it was more than an alley.  

After all, why would you spend money on a wall sign in a low-traffic area?

This is in the same alleyway.

Lowe on Higher Ground

The Lowe Brothers sold paint.  Their first home was flooded out by the Great Miami River in 1913, and they moved a few blocks east, to Wayne and Fourth, when they rebuilt.

While it's possible some of the paint used in the other ghost signs featured on this blog, it's unlikely.

According to the book Ghost Signs by William Stage, most wall dogs mixed their own paint.

Stoddard Co.

The Stoddard Manufacturing Company made cars in Dayton, from 1905 to 1913, if the Internet is to believed.

This angle is from the east side of the building, and by my guess, this postcard from the Dayton Public Library is looking southeast. 

As you can see, there was still remnants of the signage on the northeast corner, but it was too faded, and backlit, for a decent picture.

Reign On

Visit their upstairs showroom, and you'll likely be arrested for breaking and entering.

However, you can still enjoy the park-like setting on the outside.

Coffee or Pepsi

Above the Samu Apartments is an old, faded, covered Pepsi ad.

Beneath it, a newer sign promoting the consumption of coffee.

Just outside the Oregon District.

Bringing Good Things to Life

Unconfirmed at this point, but we believe General Electric is still in business.

Just not at this location.

Coda

A quick Googling finds that the Lorenz group is still in business, and according to their website, are one of the biggest publishers of handbell and choral music.

So, this falls not into the category of ghost sign, but rather faded ad art.

Sunday Drive

We'd been thinking for some time on an excursion to find more ghost signs.  It would seem all the low hanging fruit in Cincinnati has been picked.

So, with nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon, we loaded up Wall Dog 1 and drove to Dayton.

Downtown had a few.  The Oregon District had a couple.  But we struck gold in Webster Station.

A block of old warehouses and factories there, including the Dayton Iron Store building, have been turned into flats.

A zoom so youse can sees the horizontal and not just the vertical.