The writing is on the wall – sort of

Shawn Clubb

Of the Suburban Journals

South City Journal,South Side Journal,Southwest City Journal

07/12/2006



There's a faint apparition in Dogtown that some have seen outside a frame shop.



It's an old sign painted on the brick outer wall of the shop near Seamus McDaniel's, which touts a brew from a bygone era, "Alpen Brau."



Wall signs used to be common, but now all that can be seen of most of them are faint images of what they once proclaimed. Some people now call them ghost signs.



The Dogtown Historical Society wants to bring the ghost sign at 1206 Tamm Ave. back to life. The building houses the Dog Town Gallery and Frame Shop, but the wall sign marks it as having been a saloon.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:I haven't looked lately, but in what condition is the Switzers sign on the Landing?

trent wrote:There's a building down Washington, about 17th street on the north...I think it had an old wrigleys gum sign that looks pretty cool.



And I agree on the signage. I want more. Some new signs that I really like are WOW and Nectar. We need more fun signs.

DeBaliviere wrote:I'm also a fan of the A-B sign painted on the side of B.B.'s on Broadway. Perhaps our friends at Schlafly could commission their own sign on the side of another local tavern?

nicolankford wrote:what should be done is to get together an group to hunt down these signs....

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:I'll sign up for a group to hunt down the little morons who used them for target practice.

STLgasm wrote:I'd like to see the wall signs restored along Washington Avenue.



Regarding old signs (both painted and hanging signs), I am disappointed that St. Louis hasn't saved more of them. For such an old city, there are very few old signs to be found. New York has a ridiculous amount of cool old signage, and even Chicago puts us to shame. Old hanging signs definitely enhance the urban streetscape. Where have all our old signs gone?



There seems to be some bullsh*t silly ordinance that restricts hanging signs in many neighborhoods. Our commercial districts seem to have an overabundance of cheesy awnings with identical fonts that make for a very boring streetscape. It's time to get a little edgier and more varied with our commercial facades. A recent trip to Chicago made this glaringly clear to me.

ThreeOneFour wrote:I agree completely. It's time to revisit our ordinances- and it seems to me that a distinction could be made between restoring old signage and adding new advertising.

buckethead wrote:

trent wrote:There's a building down Washington, about 17th street on the north...I think it had an old wrigleys gum sign that looks pretty cool.



And I agree on the signage. I want more. Some new signs that I really like are WOW and Nectar. We need more fun signs.

King Bee. There's a picture of it 2 posts up.