Iconic Dublin Sign Illuminated Again After 13 Years
From Dublin People: Ireland’s first ever animated neon sign has been restored to its former glory for the first time 13 years.
The McDowells Happy Ring House sign on Dublin’s O’Connell Street has been given a new lease of life thanks to a grant partially funded by Dublin City Council.
It was created and erected in 1952 by sign experts Gaelite – and 69 years later, the firm was called back to restore it after it fell into disrepair in 2008.
Downtown Chattanooga’s ghost signs, explained part two
From Nooga Today: You may remember when we first dove into downtown Chattanooga’s ghost signs — the old painted advertisements on the sides of buildings that have been preserved for years. We loved learning the history behind the ghost signs so much, we decided to put out a part two.
Today, we’ll take a look at three more local ghost signs, one of which we will say a final goodbye to.
Old Edinburgh ghost sign of the butcher who created haggis appears on Costa shop
Famous butchers Macsween & Sons, that closed it’s doors back in 1996, made a cameo appearance outside the coffee chain in Edinburgh. (Image: @BruntsfieldMinx / Twitter)
From Edinburgh Live: An old sign for one of Edinburgh’s most famous butchers, who is thought to have curated the original haggis recipe, has been spotted by a resident of the capital.
In a tweet, Twitter user and Edinburgh resident @BruntsfieldMinx said: “Ghost sign of the old Macsween butchers shop on Bruntsfield Place.”
Spirits in a material world
Matt Cohen holds a can of Wilder’s stomach powder, a long-defunct product that is advertised in a ‘ghost sign’ on the side of a building in the Exchange District. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press)
From the Winnipeg Free Press: Over the past decade, Matt Cohen, a Winnipeg advertising pro, has been searching for ghosts in the Exchange District.
No, not those kinds of ghosts.
The ghosts Cohen has been chasing are old advertisements, splashed across the exterior walls of some of the city’s oldest buildings, dating back as early as the turn of the 20th century. What appealed to Cohen about these poltergeists is that they showcased the geist of zeits long gone, telling hundreds of unique stories about the businesses that once filled the city’s most historic business area.
History on the move: Iconic Chatham streetcar to undergo restoration, relocation
Workers remove the iconic streetcar from downtown Chatham on Tuesday. It will be restored and placed in a new home in the town. Matt Bell, contributed
From the Danville Register & Bee: A historic icon of Chatham’s downtown was hoisted away Tuesday to undergo restoration and relocation.
The reconditioned double-truck Birney streetcar was used by the city of Danville between 1926 and 1938 before being refurbished into a diner before World War II, the Register & Bee previously reported. It eventually made its way to the corner of Main and Depot streets in Chatham.
The diner is a Virginia Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the newspaper has reported.
Plans to Demolish a Historic Downtown Phoenix Motel Meet Firm Resistance
A 2013 photo of the building at the heart of a historical preservation controversy. Modern Phoenix
From the Phoenix New Times: Historic preservationists are hoping to dissuade a property owner from demolishing a motel to make way for a new cryptocurrency-friendly hotel in downtown Phoenix, citing the historic significance of a Midcentury Modern building at the heart of the dispute.
The building is located at 600 West Van Buren Street, near a strip of Grand Avenue renowned for its offbeat arts and culture, plus historic preservation efforts. Together with an annex, it once formed a travel destination called the City Center Motel, which was built with space-age Googie design elements including a distinct angular porte cochere that juts out near the entrance.
“It’s one of the last remnants of the original use of that thoroughfare,” says Modern Phoenix founder Alison King. “That motel stands as an artifact of what Phoenix was and what it stands for.” The bright yellow deinstalled sign for the former motel is being temporarily stored in her backyard, by the way.