Newly uncovered, and forever gone

 

This plastic molded sign outside a long-closed salon 

at 15th and Elm always held a certain appeal.

It's gone now, but...

Along the 15th Street side of the building we found 

a sign on the door, and...

More recently, the wooden panels were removed

from above the windows, revealing the 

building's use before it was a salon.

And, not too far away...

This sign is gone, along with the building it was

attached to near Central Parkway and Liberty.

Fake? (A re-examination)

We've long admired the detail on the power tools that grace the side of the Storey Machinery building on Central Parkway

And we were initially excited to get a closer look with the demolition of neighboring structures.

But.

We now know that it's been a lie. Of a sort.

The power tools were painted and then hung on the side of the building,

not directly applied.

Should we be offended? Is this a bait and switch? 
Should we be more upset by the loss of the older structures next door?

Or should we just take it as it is?

 

Odds and Ends

First, a revisit, as we watch as different versions of this 

monumental sign fade and bleed through.

(McMicken, just west of Vine.) 

Not our normal fare, but this just always struck me

as a really cool name.

(On the curve going up Vine Street out of OTR.)

(On the back of the old Morlein Brewery.)

 

Uncovered

We regret taking our time to revisit this gem a block east of Findlay Market.

We wonder what the graffiti hides.

A little further up Vine Street, at McMicken.
We've had our eye on this for a while, wondering

if there was anything hidden under the white paint.

The overhanging sign seems to be a goner.

And while there was probably something there once 

upon a time, it's gone now.

 

A New Find and a Questionable Find

 

On Vine Street in Mount Auburn.
It's a pretty heavily traveled street, and we wonder 
why we hadn't seen this earlier. We strongly 
suspect there was another building blocking it
that was recently torn down.

Green Street, between Race and Elm.

We have some questions about this one.

It looks to be in really good shape, save the name of the proprietor

being unreadable. Suggests it was covered by boards or something.

But if you look at the Google Street View from 2018, 

there's no indication of a physical barrier protecting the lettering.

And there's no indication of lettering either.

Even more peculiar, the thin rods running the length of the sign are visible

in the Google Street View, as are the brackets on the corner.

And neither the brackets nor the rods seem to have been disturbed.

 So, we're not sure if this is a true ghost sign or a clever reproduction.

Revisits

 Regular visitors to this blog will recognize 

that we strongly encourage revisiting signs.

Here's why.

We'd often argued there was lettering beneath the red paint

here at 12th and Republic. And they laughed at us.

But just recently, those letters have started to become more legible.

And who's laughing now?? Huh? Who's laughing now???

Here's another you might recognize. It's on McMicken, by the Rothenburg School.

The letter has clarified itself to the point where we can now read Bull Durham,

a once popular brand of chewing tobacco. 

There's also the arrow on the right, pointing people straight ahead,

which suggests the writing across the top is the name of a local market.

Could it be this one?

Another favorite where the yellow has faded, revealing another sign beneath.

Compare it with a photo from eleven years ago.

Granted, the signs may not have changed all that much, but the cameras

in our phones certainly have improved.

Gone, Not Forgotten

 

The Davis Furniture Building, a long time favorite of ours, is no more.

The roof collapsed in early June of this year, after years of neglect, and it was torn down.

Let's remember it as we found it: vacant, rotting, and covered in ghost signs.

The Rybolt Heating-Cooling sign here was painted over.

Over-the-Rhine

A few you might have seen already and a few you might have missed.

 

Vine and Elder

We recently spotted this sign on Vine Street, at Elder.

Our guess is the "B" is the beginning of Bakery or Baked Goods.

We're unclear why what's going on with this building, as there's no recent sign of construction activity, but we can attest that this was uncovered this year. A look at Google Streetview shows the fake stone covering up in April of 2019.

And here's a bonus sign, (previously shared), across the street:

 

Main Street Mystery

Yes, we've featured this one before...

But we have something new:

This historical photo which shows what the sign once said.

Granted, it doesn't match what shows today, but it does

demonstrate this wall has been painted over multiple times.

Recently Uncovered

As seen from the corner of 7th and Vine...

And from the corner of Central Parkway and Race.

As the renovation continues, we're hopeful more will become visible. 

**Update**

(It was painted over soon after this photo was taken.)

Savin' the Day

A lot to appreciate here on Elm, near Findlay Market.

First, the quality of this cigar sign on glass, compared with the last few we saw.

And the artist: none other than Gus Holthaus,

who has a lot more signs on this blog than he's credited for.

Potpourri

Court and Walnut. Most recently, it was a fast food Mexican restaurant. Before that, fast food Chinese. Before that, a corner grocery store, if this Salem cigarette poster is to be believed.

Vine and Liberty. Previously spotted here. 

What's interesting is that the old sign was hung up on the wall, not painted on it.

But still, there's a ghost.

7th, between Vine and Race.

Court Street.

We don't remember. We believe it's on Vine in OTR. 

Main Street.

City Hall.

Race.