'Ghost signs' in Louisville reveal bygone era. Here's where to find them.
Hidden on the walls of old buildings scattered across Louisville are fading remnants of the city’s past.
They’re called “ghost signs,” and they’re typically hand-painted advertisements of bygone businesses ― some dating back to the late 1800s.
These signs once lined commercial corridors in cities and towns around the world, advertising in bold text every manner of business: pharmacies and grocery stores, saloons and manufacturing plants.
“They’re such a special thing,” said Branden "Alyx" McClain, a muralist and owner of Slugger City Signs, one of the few remaining purveyors of this lost craft in Kentucky. “They show age and history, how busy certain areas were … a healthy environment.”
A combination of skilled artisans applying heavy (often lead-based) paint on porous brick has allowed these signs to survive decades of being exposed to the elements or, in some cases, being buried under layers of paint.
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“That texture that comes over time and that weathering is a special, unique thing,” McClain said. “As an artist, it’s damn near impossible to recreate.”
But this once-thriving industry practically vanished as companies increasingly turned to faster and cheaper methods of sign production.
“I could count on both hands the people in Kentucky that would do it from a traditional stance and not just project a graphic design image up on a wall,” said McClain, 30.
With its robust stock of historic buildings, Louisville is a veritable treasure trove of ghost signs.
Still, many have vanished, faded beyond recognition or demolished with the buildings they once adorned.
There are websites devoted to documenting this lost art form. About 10 years ago, Amy Purcell, associate curator with the University of Louisville’s Archives & Special Collections, noticed archivists elsewhere discussing how best to preserve ghost signs.
“I think there’s a certain art to it that you just don’t see anymore,” Purcell said. “There’s a little bit of a mystery.”
Purcell brought the idea to Mary Carothers, professor of photography, urban and public art, who assigned photography students to fan out across the city. They photographed dozens of ghost signs, some of which are still visible today.
Below are 10 ghost signs still visible in Louisville:
H.G. Young Druggist
1764 Frankfort Ave.
Perhaps one of the best-preserved ghost signs can be found in the city’s historic Clifton neighborhood, at the corner of Frankfort Avenue and Pope Street. On the east-facing wall of what is now The Champagnery is a sign that reads: H.G. Young Druggist.
The pharmacy operated at that location as far back as 1900. Four years later, it was included among a list of businesses that doubled as “branch offices” for The Courier Journal and Louisville Times, accepting payment for classified ads.
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Neff Pharmacy
2522 Portland Ave.
In 1999, after a 70-year run, Neff Pharmacy officially closed the doors to its shop at the corner of Portland Avenue and North 26th Street. Two faded pharmacy signs remain on the building’s west-facing wall: “Neff Pharmacy” in block letters can still be seen near the roof line. At ground level, the sign spanning most of the brick wall is largely illegible except the phrase, “prescriptions are our business.”
That intersection is actually a treasure trove of hand-painted signs. Across 26th Street are two signs for Shaheen’s apparel, in business since 1922. And the building across Portland Avenue is adorned with signs for a veterinary clinic and hardware store ― the latter still operational.
Schott’s Exchange
3200 Rudd Ave.
The Portland neighborhood also includes one of the more mysterious ghost signs. The barely legible sign on the east corner of a brick, two-story building at Rudd Avenue and North 32nd Street appears to read, “Schott’s Exchange.” There’s a word before “Schott’s,” though it’s obscured by utility pipes.
The word might be “Ed,” as in Ed Schott, who, according to the website Kentucky Cop Stories, owned the saloon that occupied the building in 1899 ― a little over 10 years after it was built. The lively tavern changed ownership over the years, according to the website, and served as the backdrop for a few politically motivated clashes between patrons. Schott himself was eventually sentenced to three years in prison for taking part in one of those fights, in which Jefferson County Jailer John R. Pflanz was attacked.
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Nick’s Bread
802 S. Clay St.
Look behind the beloved Smoketown restaurant, Shirley Mae’s Café, and you'll see the massive letters of “Nick’s Bread” outlined on the brick wall.
Ads for Nick’s Bread, made by Nick Warissee Baking Co., appeared in The Courier Journal at least as far back as 1919. As for the building on South Clay Street, it was built in 1880 as the home of a tobacco company manager, according to Shirley Mae’s website. It eventually became a grocery store and, later, bar, before being purchased in 1988 by Shirley Beard, who gave it its current name.
Levy Bro’s.
235 W. Market St.
One of downtown Louisville’s most iconic buildings, Levy Brothers department store, occupied the corner of Third and Market streets for roughly 86 years before closing in 1979. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building was outlined in electric lights in 1908, which, according to “The Encyclopedia of Louisville,” spawned a popular local phrase: “Lit up like Levy’s.” It now houses The Old Spaghetti Factory on the ground floor. But a large Levy Bro's sign is still visible high up on the building’s east-facing wall.
Ohio Valley Bags and Burlap Co.; Enro Shirts
1010 S. Preston St.
Another of Louisville’s entries on the National Register of Historic Places, this Shelby Park building dates back to 1886 and was once home to Falls City Jeans and Woolen Co., makers of what became known as “Kentucky Jeans.”
Enro Shirt company and Ohio Valley Bags & Burlap later operated out of this South Preston Street building, and signs for both companies are still clearly visible outside the front entrance.
The building is now home to The Burkhart Company.
O.K. Storage
1100 E. Broadway
In 1927, O.K. Storage started construction on a towering brick building at Broadway and Barret Avenue at a cost of $150,000, according to a Courier Journal article from February of that year. The building, now home to Louisville Office Furniture, still bears O.K. Storage signs on its east and west sides. The west side, however, is currently covered by a Louisville Hometown Heroes banner.
Columbia Trust Co.; Whirlaway (and others)
2532 S. 4th St.
Those who want to imagine how these signs would have looked when freshly painted can head to the corner of South 4th Street and Montana Avenue, where the LongTail Building is adorned with restored ghost signs advertising the brick, two-story building’s 160-year-old history as a grocery store, a bank and the beloved Whirlaway Tavern.
McClain was one of two sign painters tasked with restoring the building’s ghost signs. Most remain the original design (the LongTail signs are all new additions). But in a nod to the building’s horse racing betting history, McClain added to the Columbia Trust Co. sign the tagline: “A safer bet than your shoe.”
The building now advertises itself as “a multi-use entrepreneurial event space.”
J. Hoffmann & Son Highland Grocery
916 Baxter Ave.
There appears to be little record of this grocery, whose name stretches across the brick between the second- and third-floor windows along the front of the venerable Outlook Inn on Baxter Avenue. But the bar, known for its Bloody Marys, advertises itself as one of the city’s oldest, having existed as a tavern of some kind since 1860.
Dixie Dry Cleaning
990 E. Breckinridge St.
Last on the list is a ghost sign that, until recently, had been hidden from the public. As recent as 2017, the building at 990 East Breckinridge, housing a home security company, was clad in what appeared to be taupe-colored wood paneling and stone atop a brick base. Eventually, the paneling and stone exteriors were removed, revealing a ghost sign for Dixie Laundry and Dry Cleaning ― and the tag line: “Save by Cash & Carry!”
Advertisements for the laundry can be found in The Courier Journal as far back as the late '30s. One ad in June 1943 sought applicants for “steady work now and after the war.”
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Jonathan Bullington is an investigative reporter. Reach him at: 502-582-4241; JBullington@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @jrbullington.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Where to find Louisville's hand painted historical advertising signs
