Gary J Sibio
Bank Ghost Sign on Clark Street near North Avenue, Chicago, Illinois (2018-12-06 11-39-28a)
No one is sure of the name of the bank the sign was advertising. It shows a bowler hat and a mustache and the text reads “The old-fashioned neighborhood bank in the Germania Club Building”.
The Germania Club Building on which the sign is painted is located at 108 West Germania Place at Clark Street (Old Town)., a bit south of North Avenue. It was built in 1889 but, other than having to be painted after that year, we don’t know when it was put up. The use of the bowler hat doesn’t help because they were already very popular by the time the building was built and their popularity continued for quite some time. A building is being erected next to this which will block the sign.
The photo was taken using a Panasonic DMC-FZ50 camera. Editing was done using ACDSee Ultimate 2019. I cropped the image a bit and then adjusted the white balance, lighting and levels as well as raising the contrast, vibrance and clarity. I also sharpened it a bit.
Photo © 2018 Gary J. Sibio. All rights reserved.
#Chicago #Illinois #OldTown #sign #signs #ghostsign #ghostsigns #bank #banks #urbanarchaeology
Very interesting and beautiful find …
Thank you. They are fairly common in Chicago.
You find such interesting things. Outside right now my choices are snow – oh and some elk.
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m not a fan of snow either. Fortunately we’ve only had one small one.
A classic find once again. I hope it remains intact for years to come.
The building it’s on is on the landmark list so it’s pretty safe. However, the building going up next to it is going to hide it.
I love finding signs like that, especially if it is for a company that hasn’t existed for years!
Me too. Fortunately there are tons of them in Chicago.
I remember the old area by the L line just along the Chicago River that had so many old buildings you could find lots of them!
That’s a good place to look for them because that part of the city is relatively old. Old meaning after the fire, of course. These signs can be found all over the place. I live way up north (near Loyola University) and there are at least 10 or 12 within a half mile of my front door.
When I was little I lived in Skokie and then in Vernon Hills. We moved to Indiana when I was 5 years old. But I remember Chicago! I also worked downtown Chicago for nearly three years.
I’m pretty familiar with Skokie. I live over by Loyola University. I used to work in the Loop also, for about 25 years.
I love the loop, I used to work with various law firms throughout downtown Chicago. Always fun!
Beautiful post……….
Thank you. I’m glad you liked it.