GHOST SIGNS

Bob Corbett's list
Last up-dated 6/9/2007

A "ghost sign" is a sign that was painted on the brick wall of a business, but the sign has now faded and either can't be read, or has about lost all it's color.

It is possible to restore ghost signs, and there are several in Dogtown. The difficulties in restoration are many:

• Reading the sign in the first place.
• Getting permission of the building owner to re-paint the sign.
• Finding a sign painter with the skills to do the job.
• Coming up with the money to have the job done.
• Getting the city permits necessary to have the work done.

Those seem to the problems, but if others know other problems, well please let me know and I'll add them to the list.

BELOW IS THE LIST OF SIGNS I KNOW OF

• The Alpen Brau sign on the south wall of the Dogtown Gallery and Frame Shop at 1206 Tamm Ave.
  
  

  OTHER LINKS TO THE ALPEN BRAU sign project:

  Dogtown Buildings 1206, 1208 and 1210 Tamm Avenue St. Louis
  
  Repainting Alpen Brau Wallsign - Repainted from Original in 1904 World's Fair (Great pix of Lonnie in action)
  
  Dogtown Special Events: Alpen Brau Beer Sign St. Louis World's Fair, Ghost Sign
  
  
• 6771 Wise Ave. Sign from the CENTRAL CASH GROCERY & MARKET.
  
  
• Tom Haller reports: There is one on Clayton Ave. just east of the old Marietta's Pizza building use to say:
  
  

  DRY GOODS
  LADIES & MEN'S
  FURNISHINGS

  It's not as colorful or interesting as the ALPEN BRAU sign next to Seamus but I believe that is what it says. Take a look.
  
  
• Tom Haller also reports: Just west of the one above on Clayton is easy. The one that's on the east side of the lumber company wall. As you know the lumber company use to be owned by the Luechtefeld family for years and the business name was Forest Park Lumber. The sign used to say:

  FOREST PARK
  LUMBER & SUPPLY CO.
  OFFICE

• Both Tom Haller and Bob Corbett have been interested in the sign on the east wall of Patrick's Liquor Store at the corner of West Park and Tamm.

  Corbett reports: My Aunt Catherine tells me there was a man with a bow tie on it, and I know that it was Mrs. Catherine's Dry Good store in the past. Also, like the Alpen Brau sign, the original has been written over, and some -- not me -- can make out the DITTO LIQUORS near the bottom, written over the older sign.
  
  That one would be a great one to figure out. Sometimes when the sun is just right one can almost get a sense of some letters. I've always meant to go up there with a pen and paper and sketch out whatever I can get and then little by little, like that game on TV, try to fill in the letters.
  
  We know the category: Mrs. Catherine's Dry Goods store (clothing store).
  
  Now, to get the letters, and even where that man with the bow tie was....
  
  Folks, does anyone out there have any memories, or even better a PHOTO?
  
  

• There are two on the building of Faloni's tavern on Manchester, one of the east wall, recently repainted and one of the west wall.
• Farther east on Manchester there is a prominent one on what was once a feed store near January Ave.
• Several others, including some rather current signs, exist on Manchester closer to McCausland.