Thursday, July 26, 2012

Ghost Sign on Grand

Photographer Neil Murphy takes before-and-after pics of the city for his Time Machine blog. He hasn't added to the blog recently, but he shares this before-and-after with us.


©1985 by Neil J Murphy

A multiple ghost sign on a brick wall on Grand Street reveals layers of the past--Coca-Cola, Duckett and Adler (Neil informs us, "who were commercial photographers at 60 Grand Street"), and the Wintergarden theater. (Walter Grutchfield has more.)

Today, most of the mystery has been covered up in color.


©2012 by Neil J Murphy

5 comments:

  1. Damn, that's tacky. Does advertising even work? I mean, do they really think that because they put a beer sign on a building people are gonna run out and buy their product ?

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  2. I wonder where Neil Murphy has gone--his last post was in 2009.

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  3. I love these! They just don't make signs like that anymore! I live in Oregon, and we have the old "Made in Oregon" sign, is a lighted sign (was from when White Stag Clothing Company was located there), anyways they keep trying to take it down.... I love it, it gives charactor.

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  4. In 2007 Frank Jump made representations to the Landmarks Commission that resulted in permission for this location to be used for new hand painted signs. The one for Stella Artois came from the excellent 'Ritual Project', although the location has been used for other brands.

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  5. Thank you Sam Roberts, for this elucidation. I personally attended those LC hearings and everyone on the commission was vehemently opposed. I was sorry that this got through and did not know how. Some people (the building owners) will do anything for money. I have loved and appreciated the Coca Cola sign for decades. Sad that people view it as irrelevant nostalgia instead of the gorgeous piece of history that it was.

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