News, research, and announcements about the San Francisco Bay Area’s historic ghost signs.
Novelty architecture -- that deliciously retro fad of creating buildings in the shape of inanimate objects -- is usually associated with Southern California. And it's true, some of the most stunning examples of this style can be found in and around Los Angeles . While Northern California might lack a donut hole drive-in , we still have some great examples of the art form. So here's a map to…
I love map making. And while the San Francisco Ghost Sign Map will always be my main focus, I still enjoy making the occasional silly little map about other physical phenomenon in the Bay Area. I am very proud of this map to feral labyrinths and spirals in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Inspired by hanging out at the Albany Bulb (which has two labyrinths), it seeks to jump off from the…
Bits and pieces of my Carnation Mush historic research are all over the web, but it’s time to put it all in one place. This definitive guide to all things Carnation Mush is inspired by the Carnation Mush sign on Market Street, which is one of my favorite ghost signs in the entire Bay Area. Revealed in 2011 when the adjacent building was demolished , I never expected it to still be here going on…
'm writing this post because I miss hills. Also known as Mountain Monograms , hillside letters are a form of geoglyph involving large letters, numbers, abbreviations, or short messages displayed on hillsides. Generally found in the western US, most online resources state that there’s somewhere between 80 and 90 of them in California, with between 5-7 in the Bay Area proper. However, I know the…
Why? It’s an iconic — and intriguing — advertising tagline. MJB Coffee is a San Francisco institution , dating back to 1881 and the same coffee import scene that spawned Folgers Coffee and Hills Bros. Coffee. Twelve of their signs remain in the Bay Area, eleven of which sport the Why? tagline. I've made a new, separate map just showing the locations of the Bay Area's MJB Coffee Co ghost signs.…
I just did a massive update to the San Francisco Bay Area Ghost Sign Map -- including adding 30 odd pins in San Jose! The first in the South Bay! Now bear with me — this is a very, very cursory start to mapping the South Bay but I had to start somewhere. So here we are! Do you know San Jose history or geography? Can you help me build out the pins in this city? Email me at kasey@kaseysmith.net with…
Owl Cigar signs are everywhere in San Francisco, even if most aren't visible from street level. To my current knowledge, there are seven Owl Cigar signs remaining in San Francisco, spread across five buildings, all of which are in the Tenderloin, Lower Nob Hill, and Nob Hill. 921 Post - one visible sign , one mostly hidden sign 124 Turk - hidden sign 128 Jones - hidden sign 725 Geary (facing Hyde)…
This might be a first in the history of this mapping project. A wall was cleared of old paint and it REVEALED old signs instead of removing them. Shocking, I know. We’ve seen it before in this 2021 post on Par-T-Pak beverage signs in the Bay Area. This building is known as “the Oriental Block” and sits on Washington Street in Old Oakland. Built in the 1880's by architect John Marquis, it’s been…
I’ve been doing some research on the OpenSFHistory site, cross referencing their pics with my map to see how many of these signs can be traced through the historic photographic record of the city. Specifically, I’ve been looking at their Vista Views Map which features, as the name suggests, big sweeping photos of the city at large. My goal - to find an image, or images for my book that really show…
In an earlier post I discussed the secret ghost signs of San Francisco - those quirks of geography or post earthquake development that are best viewed using Google Earth or similar satellite mapping software. It turns out that much like the ghost sign map in general, my understanding of San Francisco’s secret ghost signs is also evolving because I’ve recently found more of them. Not only did I…
In my last post I discussed the secret ghost signs of San Francisco - those quirks of geography or post earthquake development that are best viewed using Google Earth or similar satellite mapping software. It turns out that much like the ghost sign map in general, my understanding of San Francisco’s secret ghost signs is also evolving because I’ve recently found more of them. This ghost sign on…
Where - All Over the East Bay When - Saturday October 17th 2020, 9am-6pm Details - https://www.facebook.com/events/1165559053845066 After nine years of identifying, documenting, and researching San Francisco's ghost signs we are expanding the scope of our project to include the East Bay ! Given the scale of the East Bay this is going to be a TOUGH and LONG project so we’re turning to the community…
Thanks to a briefly revealed Par-T-Pak sign in the Lower Haight, this brand has been on all of San Francisco’s lips. So what is the story behind Par-T-Pak beverages and their remaining Bay Area signs?
I miss giving walking tours. With in-person tours canceled for the foreseeable future, I’ve decided to branch out my tour offerings
We drew a map to our favorite Oakland and Alameda ghost signs for the Oakland Museum of California. It’s on display as part of the exhibit You Are Here: California Histories On The Map.
Celebrate one of San Francisco's most iconic ghost signs - The Eat Carnation Mush sign on Market Street - with this enamel pin from the San Francisco Ghost Sign Mapping Project.
A rundown of the best ghostsign in downtown Oakland - now more visible due to recent construction in the area.
NEW SIGN ALERT! As shot on Kearny near Columbus,
RIP the Hunt's Quality Donuts sign on Mission Street.
Belfast Old Fashioned Mug Root Beer is the precursor to Mug Root Beer. It was originally produced in the 1940’s by the Belfast Beverage Company, headquartered across the bay in foggy San Francisco (Belfast Beverage Company harkens all the way back to the Gold Rush era). Eventually the name was shortened to Old Fashioned Mug Root Beer, and then simply Mug Root Beer. It’s currently produced by a…