justforview

This post from CityKin a little while back showed the ghost sign at 13th and Republic. Today I noticed it was being partly dismantled. Not sure, but it seems like structural issues. I am curious if anyone knows.

A few more ghost signs around the neighborhood and downtown

The Belmont Cafe building and sign being demolished to make room for a parking lot

Rosco’s on-site sign appears to be repainted recently, but the storefront is closed

I am curious of the date of this huge Paramount Vodka sign

Need Money see WILL is vine covered

Rugs, Baking: Downtown off fourth

Hard to get a shot of this one along Vine

Detail of the above sign’s type

More layers than I can decipher

Outdoor advertisements that have been allowed to fade are commonly referred to as ghost signs. The term carries with it more or less specific qualities, but in general they are hand painted and were made in the first half of the 20th century and earlier before most cities started heavily regulating the outdoor advertising industry.

They are an important representation of the commercial graphic arts of the time and even though they have become obsolete they survive as reminders to what once was. They speak to the social, economic and physical character of the past and the time that has passed. Viewing them in their contemporary context often provides an interesting juxtaposition.

Cincinnati and OTR in particular is filled with these. While they may be interesting from a visual perspective alone, they are also significant contributors to the historic character of a place. There patina cannot be emulated. Only time can create the story that they tell, the sense that they give us.

While hand painted signage is still created in OTR and other neighborhoods there is a significant difference in the scale, placement, quality and techniques of ghost signs. I am a fan of both old and new, but want to see more efforts to identify exceptional examples that may merit some degree of preservation effort.

along McMicken in OTR