Toronto

To be perfectly honest, we weren't planning on taking a lot

of ghost sign pictures during this trip, as we wanted to

keep this hobby from overshadowing the rest of the trip.

 

But there were a few we could not resist capturing.

These two we found on the way to the Rogers Centre to see

some baseball.

We spent all of our limited time in the Downtown.

Toronto has a wonderful mix of old and new. 

And the old may block but never completely erase the old.

Booth Signs is still in business.

And we think we've found an older photo revealing

the rest of the sign.

Detroit

We've just completed a tour of the Great Lakes region, and 

we're happy to report the discovery of many ghost signs.

We have featured this one from our previous trip to 

the Motor City, but this is a better photo.

Many more to come.

 

Throw me the idol. I throw you the whip

 

You might think we're looking at the McQuat, or even the Conrad signs. 
But no. It's the red building in the middle.

"Tailoring Co.

Second Floor" is all we can make out.

We were in Indianapolis recently.

That's where the title of this entry comes from:
It's a line from Raiders of the Lost Ark, 

whose main character is nicknamed Indiana.

Yes. It's a stretch. Sorry.

Sharp-eyed readers will notice the McQuat sign again.

Experienced ghost sign hunters know that if there's one

ghost sign, there's a good chance there are others

nearby.

Even if they're illegible.

 

Downtown Indianapolis doesn't have a lot of ghost signs.

Many of the buildings are new.

And many of the old ones are limestone,

which, correct me if I'm wrong,

isn't easily paintable because 

it "drinks" the paint.

Marysville, Kansas

We caught these in another trip out west. 

Along Hwy 36.

A many-layered sign, on the edge of town. We believe there's a Coca-Cola sign in there somewhere.

And not far away, a tobacconist.

There's another sign we just couldn't stop to collect.  But we did find it on Google Street View.

City of Brotherly Love

Today we begin our series of ghost signs and streetscapes shot earlier this 

summer in a city rich with history: Philadelphia.

You'll note the Bailey Building in the lower left hand corner of the first photo.

And here it is again, from a slightly different angle.

This Post is Not About Ashley Frost

We're sure she's a wonderful person. She inspired someone to tag her on a highway wall in Council Bluffs, Iowa, after all.

No, this post is about the International Harvest complex.

Dawson, Nebraska

After leaving St. Joseph, we stopped in Wathena, KS, thinking the bedroom community would have a few ghost signs.

It didn't. A least not that we found.

But our next pause did.

Hello from Dawson, Nebraska. Along US 75. Population 146, according to Wikipedia.

Eggs

At least that's what we read.

We were so enamored with the red and orange and white of this sign 

on the side of the Jamieson Machine Company, we neglected to note the metal plaque. 

Wyeth made horse collars and saddles, and later automotive parts.

Finding a Resource to Compliment the Ghost Sign Hunt

Zooming in...

Dry Goods and Furnishings

And on the far end of the row:

Hopkins Imported Teas, Silks & China.

And this building is at 4th and Francis.

If you're so inclined, we recommend visiting this page for a little more history about St. Joseph and a lot of photos of signs before they were ghosts.

Jamieson Machine Co., St. Joseph Missouri

The opening on the second floor should be a tip off that this building is still in use.

But is it the Jamieson Machine Company?

Survey says yes. They're still in business.

Which makes this not a ghost sign, but still, faded ad art, which is the name of this blog.

More from Missouri

Still around downtown St. Joe.

Once upon a time it was a store. Now it's lofts.

Days Gone Buy

Once upon a time, in order to buy something, one had to go to a store.

Many times, these stores were clustered together in what was termed "downtown."

St. Joseph was no different.

Downtown St. Joe

It almost looks as though someone deliberately painted over the letters to make them unreadable.

Same sign, different angle:

Enhance:

St. Joe Redux