To kick off a new series of Light Capsules in Portland, OR for Portland Winter Light Festival, I wanted to start big. This incredible ghost sign at NW 8th & Flanders St continues around the side of the building, and contains a hidden layer so ghosted, I couldn't realize the top part in full.
Most clearly visible is the top layer for ROY BURNETT MOTORS, well intact today on the north-facing side of the building, painted by City Sign Co. Hiding underneath however, are two more ads, one for a storage company, and another for an unknown cigar brand, painted by Oregon Sign Co.
Perspective-flattened and stitched together in Photoshop.
Promo made in Photoshop to promote the event
Unfortunately, I confirmed after the installation that this actually says "DRAYAGE" rather than "DRAWERS," thus proving how some of these are particularly difficult to decipher.
DRAYAGE, not DRAWERS.
North Park Lofts as it looks in 2017
Built in 1908 as a warehouse space, it has had automobile-related occupants for most of it's existence. From the 40's to the 60's Roy Burnett ran a Chrysler-Imperial dealership connected with the DeSoto-Plymouth Building just two blocks south.
By the 1980's, the building was a fairly raw space, seven floors filled with used cars and auto parts. Dan Davis of Portland Building Ads recalls this era of the building with his personal account:
"I remember going there myself a number of times; you could wander through six floors of junked cars and car parts."
Located at the center of a quickly growing city of Portland, in 1999 the structure was extensively renovated, underwent seismic upgrades, and they chopped the top off to accommodate an additional four floors, to become North Park Lofts. While the top half of the signs were destroyed, fortunately they left the historical ghost sign remnants intact.
Photo circa 1997 by Dan Davis
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Made possible thanks to Adobe Creative Residency.
Thanks to Really Big Video, KitchenCru, and Dan Davis for his historical photography & research.
