Ghost Signs of Northern Kentucky

 

Latonia, a neighborhood of Covington. 

Tim's closed down before the pandemic.

Note the details, like the Latonia sign, and the L&N locomotive. L&N stood for Louisville and Nashville.)

And directly across the street from Tim's was John's.

From Covington, we skip over to Newport:

The original sign for Newport's famed Green Derby has been uncovered as the tavern undergoes renovations.

(This one we've featured before.)

Back west, to Ludlow:

And then skipping back east to West Covington, for the piece de la resistance.

A cornerstone marks the building as erected in 1867, but we suspect the beer sign isn't that old.

We still can't tell what kind of beer was advertised at what is now the Playhouse Bar.

Newport, KY

Found these in May.

They were gone by mid-June.

If it keeps on raining...

The Army Corps of Engineers is still in business, so this doesn't really count as a ghost sign.

Look Down

Our battle cry for ghost sign hunting is "Look up!"

Well, if we had a battle cry, it might be.

But it's just as important to look down too.

We didn't actually see this one. Ronny Salerno did, as we did some hunting with him earlier this year.

That's actually him in the reflection in the door.

Did we mention his book on ghost signs comes out today?

There's a book signing at Igby's this evening.

Psssst! Wanna Buy a Library?

On Monmouth.  

Marx Brothers

First featured by Visualingual, last February, and we had to have it.

Our "research" also found this.

More "research" turns up this.  I'm guessing this was their factory, and the store was around the corner on Monmouth.

Bonus: Across the street.

Newport Continued

Looking north on Monmouth.

And perhaps outshining the Wallpaper ghost sign, is the infamous Brass Ass.

While this gentleman's club is still in business, and does not qualify as a ghost sign, they do have a lovely neon marquee worth featuring.

Whoa

Located near Weingartner Alley and 11th, in Newport, KY, and somewhat reminiscent of a recent discovery in Avondale.  Hennard is/was a used auto parts dealer.

We couldn't find anything specific about the City Stables in our research, but we did find the City Codes about the historic neighborhood, if that floats your boat.

Bonus shot: Stuck basketball.

Service in the Rear

Forbes Alley, just off of Monmouth and 9th. 

Checker Stores.

And in the front...

The Checker Store sign is on the back of the shorter buildings. 

The taller structure is labeled as the Dine Schabell Company, on the front.

The big white spot on the side is illegible.

But, we did find this.

Side note: There were tornadoes in Nebraska last night, and what caught my eye in one photo of the damage?

No More Monmouth

 

Taken from the White Castle parking lot, a block west of Monmouth.

 

Something something National Bank.

 

Many More Monmouth

 

This is the other side of this.

Much More Monmouth

More Monmouth

Monmouth

 

Not surprisingly, the main drag in Newport's CBD has several ghost signs.

Expect More

 

Sunday, I got on my bicycle, and I rode into unfamiliar territory.

So, expect more ghost signs from Covington, and from Newport, like this one.

Recently Departed

 

This place can't be too long gone.  I used to buy smokes there.  So, sometime in the last 14-18 months, it went under.  Not all that surprising, but a tad bit regrettable.