UPDATED....Signs of a Different Sort

Rest in Peace, Avtar. 

 

Off topic, but, I think he deserves the mention.  The Hat Guy was a fixture in Cincinnati for years, and his passing saddens me.  I knew him well enough to know his real name, and he knew me enough to "demand" I take his picture when we crossed paths.  I feel badly, because in the winter, I'd see him walking without a coat.  Instead, he'd have a baby blanket wrapped around his shoulders.  I often thought about buying a coat for him, but never did. 

 

The Hamilton County Coroner's Office was closed today, for Martin Luther King Junior Day, so, the cause of death hasn't been released.  Channel 5 says he died Saturday, at the motel on Central Parkway, where he had been living.

 

His room was burglarized last fall.  When President Obama spoke at Eden Park, someone broke into Avtar's room.  He told me he felt they were targeting him, and knew he would be at the President's speech.  The last time we talked about it, he said he wasn't sure if anything was stolen, because the room had been trashed. 

 

Hat Guy, you will be missed.

 

******

There's a number of blogs and facebook pages that have sprung up since Monday.   Like this one: HatMan Movement.

At First Glance

 

I noticed this after I started shopping at the Walnut Hills Kroger.  And while it qualifies perfectly, I wasn't going to use it, simply because it offends me with its ugliness.  Yeah, there are other ugly ghost signs here, but for some reason, the Ohio Blue Print Company sign rubbed me the wrong way. 

So, this is not a post about the OBPC sign.  Instead, it's an entry for Finn Jaske, bleeding through, across the top of the building.

Hastings, NE

Rock Bottom

 

Presenting: the last of the Omaha photos.

  

 

But, by no means the last of Omaha's great ghost signs.  This collection was just the tip of the iceburg.

 

 

Perhaps, one day, our guide on this field trip, D.L. Hudson, will start his own hunt, and share the bounty.

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.

Is they is, or is they ain't?

Spotting ghost signs isn't always easy.  Sometimes, what I think is a sign may only be discoloration.  To brighten up your Monday, here's a collection of Maybees.  Put your guesses in the comment box.

 

1.  Northside

 

2. Over-the-Rhine.  If there wasn't a sign up there, there should have been.

 

 

3.  Downtown.  Race Street.

 

 

4. Over-the-Rhine.  To the right of the display window.

 

 

5.  Over-the-Rhine.  Just off of Main, on 14th.

 

 

6.  Omaha.  Old Market.

 

 

7.  Downtown.  5th and Plum.

 

 

8.  Walnut Hills.  Gilbert Avenue.

 

 

9. Downtown.  On Broadway.

 

Honestly, I think most of these aren't ghost signs.  I think it's just a case of I'm seeing that which I seek.

So Many...

 

And with the passage of time, I don't remember where exactly in the Old Market this was.

 

I can't tell you why I focused the shipping & receiving, and ignored the rest, either.

 

But, I can say we've just about exhausted the photos from Omaha.  There are only four more.