Ghost Signs of Philadelphia
Beneath the neon and plastic of modern Philadelphia, Lawrence O'Toole has traced the evolution of our City.
Ghost Signs of Philadelphia
You can still see Philadelphia through the ages. This is most obvious in Old City, where you can see Philly as it was in colonial times, but it’s also true of later eras. The city’s history is tattooed into its walls.
This is the history graphic designer Lawrence O’Toole discovered when creating his book Fading Signs of Philadelphia, which chronicles advertisements throughout the ages. Many of the deteriorating hand painted signs of Philadelphia are still visible today, if you know where to look.
Surrounded by modern neon and plastic, the ghost signs of Philadelphia peek out to remind us of Philadelphia in the early 20th century. From the early days of motorized transportation to the first movie theatres showing Talkies, O’Toole has captured the evolution advertisement. The beautiful, clear handcrafted lettering stands in stark contrast to modern signage.
You can read more about the project on Philly.com here or see more of our city’s hand painted signs at O’Toole’s blog. You can purchase his book now on Amazon.
That was awesome. Thanks for putting that up here!— KDH- Very cool, I would love to see more.— The Moose is Loose
- Dibs on the band name Hope Machine Co..Also sounds like the title of a really good uplifting or depressing book or movie.Depends on the writers state of mind....whoa i'm back.Love the pics.— Mon
Awesome......Thanks!— Earl J- Very cool. Thanks Philly.com for putting this up.— Ruffian
- Very cool. My only complaint is that the slideshow doesn't list the address of these buildings.— everydayguy
- The Hope Machine is on 2300 North 2nd Street. I agree it would be nice to have the addresses. Still these are great pictures.— The_Unknown-Poster
- The theatre sign that advertises talkies is at 7th and Snyder in South Philly. Thanks for putting these pictures up.— Jay from Philly
- I have this book...
Ther is (was?) a building along side the R7 tracks that must have housed some kind of wollen mill. It had signs painted all along the wall with little slogans like "WOOL... best by test!", etc...
What was that business. Does anyone know? (It's not in O"Toole's book).— carl and sons - Great job! These Ghost Signs are history of the city.Same as old movie theatres, old buildings maybe followup on old businesses? Thankx, Joe— joethemailman
You say art, I see blight!- Interesting...I would like to see a follow-up with the vestiges of what was inside these buildings...maybe a before and after.— 5thstrretpast
- I like the newer Graffiti better....it will be revered by the future historians/inheritors of Killadelphia.— STEPHEN1988
- Wow! Nice job! I've been taking photos of the old painted signs around Philly for two years now.— Danny C.
