As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. The 90 year old hand painted ghost sign discovered during the demolition of the Farmer building at the corner of Robson St and Granville Ave has vanished.
( http://vancouverstreetblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/hmv-closes-power-block-renovations.html )
Painted onto the exterior wall of the 1888 Power Building the ghost sign advertised Harold Lloyd's silent film Grandma's Boy. This film played across the street at the Capitol Theatre from Oct. 2-7 in 1922. The Farmer building was built in 1923 covering up the sign until demolition began on the site earlier this year.
Ghost signs also known as fading ads usually refer to old hand painted signs that advertise a business. As signage changed over the years, hand painted signs became less common.
The Mark James Group inquired about saving the sign to install in a new restaurant they are building. Unfortunately the work required to remove the bricks did not fit into the demolition timeline and the wall was demolished. Vancouver has now lost another piece of it's history.
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So they are finally going to work on this. Nice shots!
ReplyDeleteFine old sign- well captured.
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Thank you for sharing. I found this post to be very informative and sad at the same time. I think we should preserve old signs instead of demolishing them. I love old painted signs and you are correct in that they are not made like that anymore.
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