Brewery District

We found this a couple of Sundays ago, at Mohawk and Stonewall.

Not far from this.

We can't make out much, other than what looks like German lettering.

Which reminds us of this.

As to the neighborhood, we're not sure. The county lists it as OTR, if you were talk to neighbors, they might say Mohawk, which is not a recognized neighborhood. But it also may be considered Fairview.

Cool Sweet Smoke

There has to be a good explanation for why this beauty has escaped our attention before now.

It's on McMicken, near Colerain, and very close to the Mockbee.

All we can offer is that we saw it years ago, but the lighting was bad, and we filed it away for a future shoot, and forgot about it.

Dead Letter Office

On our trusty map, it's indicated as Fairview, but, the Hamilton County CAGIS website says West End.  

Not that it matters.  But, it's in a nice little cluster of ghost signs, so we'll list it as both, so you can find them all on your next tour of local signage.

Some of the Best of the Best

 

 

There's so much going on here, the camera doesn't even begin to catch it all.  You've got the Buckeye Saws on the right, the illegible stuff across the top on the left.  Below that, C.M. Mockbee.  Below that, there's signage that wasn't bold enough for the camera, but is visible to the naked eye.  And below that, the Reliance Art Metal sign.

 

This is the fourth entry in the Ghostsign's calendar contest.  Go to their facebook and vote for your favorites, by "liking" the picture.  The 12 with the most "likes" will be selected for the international calendar. 

 

Several of you have already voted for the three entries we submitted previously, and I thank you greatly!  And, we hope you like this one enough to "like" it too!

Under My Nose

 

I find many of the ghost signs you see on here while riding my bike, or walking.  This particular sign is on West McMicken, home to many great pieces of art, and a favorite route of mine since 2012.

 

I just found this sign in August, when my parents were visiting.  I was driving them around, giving them a tour of the city, and I caught this out of the corner of my eye.  I don't feel too badly about missing it before, because when I'm biking, I'm coming down the hill, and this is only visible going up.  And, it hasn't been visible from Central Parkway until recently, because they just tore down some buildings and trees.

 

Note the secondary white square, which was probably another sign that has been covered up.

 

Revisiting a Fave

 

There is just so much going on, on this building.  And to top it off, it housed a SIGN company!

 

Click on the Mockbee link below to see other views.

Must Be the Light

Today, the sky was overcast.  Bright, but cloudy.  And I don't know if it was that, or something else, but ghost signs kept leaping out at me.  Like this one, clearly visible from Central Parkway, below Harrison. One excuse for not seeing it before: as you face this, it would be directly behind you.

 

But, that's not the only one.  I noticed three other ghost signs in OTR.  On Vine Street, no less.  So, it's not as if they're out of the way.

 

So, I'm crediting the lighting.

 

As for this sign: I'm seeing the following words: RELIEVES FATIGUE, GOLD CROWNS, TEETH, PLATES.

Senility

I've been eyeballing this for a while, on upper McMicken, and it finally dawned on me that I hadn't snap-shotted it.  Probably because the first time I saw it, the sun was setting behind it, and it was too dark.  After that, I think I just naturally assumed I'd already gotten it.  Maybe I have.  I can't find it in my records though.  (It's across the street from the Mockbee Building.)

Mind: Blown

Heard a story on WVXU about UC scanning old photos of Cincinnati, and posting them online.  And I went to look.  And I found a classic photo of a wall ad, pre-fade.

But then, I started looking at the structure, and I realized I knew what it was: The Mockbee Building, on Central Parkway.

And then I took a closer look, and realized something was missing between then and today.  AN ENTIRE FLOOR was chopped off the top of the west side.  Who does that?!?

 

 

There is/was a nightclub/art gallery/hipster event hall inside, called fittingly The Mockbee, but it does not appear to be operational.  Other than a company with the same name that sells fasteners and joints and stuff, in Northside, I've been able to find out zip about this place.  I was hoping Queen City Tour would have sumptin.

Brigadoon

I call it this because it's been visible to me from Central Parkway, but that's about it.  Last week, I took my bike up McMicken, thinking I could get a better shot.  But, I couldn't find it.  A few days later, I went again, and found some forgotten side-streets.  Still no dice.  So, I settled for this shot from Central Parkway.  And then realized, I already have it in the collection. 

Great story, huh?

Upper McMicken

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

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?

Upper McMicken

Maybe I'm crazy, but I see "MAIL POUCH".

No-Man's Land

That border between OTR, the West End, Fairview and Clifton Heights.

More Mockbee

Looking west, into the setting sun, on a steamy evening, on McMicken.

Lots Going On

The Mockbee Building.  The first two photos are from McMicken.  The third is from Central Parkway.  These are all on the west side of the structure.   Yes.  There's more to come, from the east side.