Oil, Coal Gas, Furnaces

Ghost, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Ghost sign in Batavia, Illinois. It's one of the few ghosts left in this town, although I haven't been able to figure out what the name of the original shop was.

Truck

Truck, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

We've visited these old relics a few times, but here's another view.

Aug. Hipp Market

Aug. Hipp Market, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A very old ghost sign on the east side of Aurora, Illinois. I've attempted to photograph it several times over the last couple of years, but between the trees in the yard next door, the fence, the No Trespassing signs, and the vines that grow on the building, it's kind of hard to get a good shot. I got this in the early spring, on a quiet Sunday.

I imagine that it's short for "Augustus", although I've not found a whole lot of info about this former market.

The Studebaker Theatre

The Studebaker Theatre, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Signage for the former Studebaker Theatre in Chicago. Now the Fine Arts Building.

Kresge's

Kresge's, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Ghost sign in a back alley in Streator, Illinois, that I shot late last year. Kresge's (properly S.S. Kresge's) was the forerunner to KMart, and stopped trading under that name sometime in the 70's. I find it kind of amazing that these things still pop up from time to time.

Hotpoint Appliances

Hotpoint Appliances, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Once again, it pays to wander around back alleys. This vintage Hotpoint Appliances neon sign (with a bonus hanger for a hardware store) was spotted in an alley in the tiny town of Polo, Illinois. I've visited this town a couple of times, yet this is the first time I've seen this hidden gem. I don't believe this was a hanging sign, but was a wall hanger from the beginning. I also don't know if this is anywhere near the original location of Port's Hardware, or if such a business even existed in Polo. It certainly isn't there now.

Shootin' The Bull

Shootin' The Bull, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Well known Bull Durham tobacco ghost sign in Des Moines, Iowa. I don't know what this building used to be back in the day, but it's down by the Mississippi, so I imagine it was a warehouse of some sort at one time. Still faded, and repainted at least once, but still hanging in there.

Title sound familiar? I recycled it.

Warehouse

Warehouse, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

An Allied Van Lines ghost sign on a former warehouse in Aurora, Illinois. This building has housed a number of businesses, most recently a custom motorcycle shop, whose banner sign covered up the top of this sign.

This building is around the corner from the Aurora Cycle Co. sign.

Gas For Less

Gas For Less, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

No Gas is more like it. This ancient vacuform sign is in Aurora, Illinois, tucked away around the corner of a building on a side street in a residential neighborhood. It's seen better days, clearly. It's still got a little towing globe on the top (which is all busted up), and it used to say "& Body" where it now says "Repair".

There are no gas pumps in evidence anymore, but I think some sort of repair work still goes on here. Spotted from a bike path that goes right by this building, reinforcing my opinion that it pays to walk around the back streets.

G.C. Murphy

G.C. Murphy, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

G.C. Murphy was a chain of five-and-dimes, founded in 1906 in McKeesburg, PA by George Clinton Murphy, and within three years had expanded to a dozen area locations. As the company expanded through the 1920's they became popular, particularly because of their locations in small and medium sized towns. Often, these towns were under-served for retail locations, and the well designed Murphy's stores, complete with lunch counters, would be a frequent and popular destination.

G.C. Murphy began to experiment with other types of store, eventually opening Murphy's Mart stores in suburban shopping centers to compete with Woolworth's and KMart type stores. These proved popular as well, and the company had grown to over 500 stores by the 1970's. In 1985, the company was purchased by Ames, which rebranded many older G.C. Murphy and Murphy's Mart stores, but a large number remained with the original names. McCrory's purchased the chain in the late 80's, but by the mid 90's had declared bankruptcy and closed many of their locations. By 2001, it was all over.

This G.C. Murphy tile entryway is in a former location in Streator, Illinois, just the sort of medium-sized town these kinds of stores flourished in.

General Office Furniture

General Office Furniture sign #2-Chicago, IL, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

From the archives, the former General Office Furniture location in Chicago. This was down on Milwaukee, near Grand if memory serves, and was hanging out front of a building that was clearly undergoing some rehab. When I saw the building the glass was out in the storefront, exposing a tin ceiling and some cast iron posts. I don't know if this sign is still hanging-I haven't been back in years.

I don't know much about the company, except that there's still a General Office Furniture listed in the city, over on Lake Street. I've often wondered if this sign was re-purposed from an old Chevrolet sign.

Stop & Peek

Stop & Peek, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I don't know anything about this beat up old sign I found in LaSalle, IL. It clearly used to say something other than Sieber Stop & Peek-the neon tube sockets don't seem to match up. And that old car in the sign at the top is a bit of a non sequitur as well. Was this a model shop? A car dealership? Something else?

The building it's attached to is quite plain, just a brick building with a couple of doors on it. No windows, no other signs. And it appeared to be closed up tight, too, so I feel comfortable calling it a ghost sign.

Anyone got any ideas?

Farmers' Elevator & Supply Co.

Farmers' Elevator & Supply Co., a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A couple of grain elevators in Morrison, Illinois, a town near the Iowa border and right along the Lincoln Highway.

Aurora Cycle

Aurora Cycle, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Through the Viewfinder Tuesday! I've shown you this sign before, but I felt it was worth giving it the old Duaflex Dust 'n' Crud Treatment.

This is one of a few ghost signs in the city of Aurora, and it proves my point that it's always worth it to get out of your car and walk around a bit.

Rockford Mattress Co.

Rockford Mattress Co., a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A very old, very weathered, de-neon'd neon sign in midtown Rockford. The whole neighborhood is a bit of a rundown faded timewarp-lots of little storefronts and buildings with old bones. Two separate painted signs for Coca Cola and one for Bull Durham Tobacco. And this.

There appears to still be a furniture store in this building, although it wasn't open at the time. I'm surprised they continue to use this old sign. I'd love to have it-I'd paint one side up all shiny and new, and keep the other in it's current state of decay. All new glass, of course.

I also wonder how it got that dent in the side.

International

International, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This excellent set of ghost signs is tucked away in a back alley in Aurora, Illinois. This building used to be a warehouse and dealership for International trucks and implements, but I have no idea when that business moved. It has been in the process of being converted to other uses for about three or four years now. It seems they only got about as far as bricking up some windows and putting new glass in a few others.

Aurora Cycle

Aurora Cycle, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

As befits a former railroad town, Aurora, Illinois has quite a few old industrial buildings dotting the downtown area. Similarly, there are still a few ghost signs hanging in there, usually hidden around the backs of these old warehouses and factories. This one hangs over the back door of what was at one time a factory, next door to a repurposed Allied Van Lines depot.

I've lived around here most of my life and have never seen this sign till last week. Just goes to show that you should always take a walk down the side streets and back alleys.

Liquor Store

Liquor Store-Aurora, IL, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This old liquor store neon sign probably said something else before the Budweiser plastic was installed. I don't know if it's original to this place or not-I think it's a bar now, not a liquor store.

North Shore Line

Old North Shore Line neon sign, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The Chicago, North Shore, and Milwaukee Railroad was a Chicago-based interurban line that ran from 1916 to 1963. One of the Insull Lines (along with the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin and the Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend), the North Shore initially only reached Evanston, running on a private right of way all the way to Beer City. In 1919, the road obtained trackage rights over the Northwestern Elevated, which allowed access to the Loop, and service between the North Shore's two namesake cities.

Despite entering receivership in 1932, the North Shore managed to survive the Depression, even going so far as to introduce a pair of streamlined articulated trains, the famed Electroliners that ran five runs a day between the Windy and Beer Cities. The North Shore also saw a steep incline in ridership during the Second World War, due in no small part to the road's service at both Great Lakes Naval Base and Fort Sheridan.

However, like most interurbans, it didn't last. The North Shore saw fairly strong ridership after the war, but increased automobile ownership caused traffic problems in areas where there was still street running. In addition, the new Edens Expressway took local riders on the Skokie Valley Route (in use since 1926), which put a serious crimp in profitability. But by 1963 ridership had decreased so much that the North Shore ceased operations, with a final Electroliner run between Chicago and Milwaukee.

I'm not sure where this North Shore sign once stood-it is currently at the Illinois Railway Museum and has been beautifully restored since I shot this.

Traction Terminal Building

Traction Terminal Building, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The former Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin Railway terminal in Aurora, Illinois, also known as the Hotel Arthur. Completed in 1905, it was the tallest building in Aurora at the time, as well as being the only hotel on the east side of the Fox River. In 1915, the CA&E leased space in the ground floor, and the building was renamed the Traction Terminal Building, a name it carries to this day. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, it's being restored and converted to downtown condos.