[[Signs/index.html|]]

{Ghost} Signs

This page aims to preserve photographs of painted signs from the past which may appear temporarily and seem likely to disappear. I am following the work of people who set up Ghost Signs websites.

Princess Theatre collection

This is to be found in the alley at the back of the Kakulas Sister grocery in the Princess Theatre building, on the way to the Leake St Cafeteria, in the centre of the complex. I don't yet know anything about the billiards saloon which used to be here.

Wade Drummond, the owner of the Leake St Cafeteria, found this sign in the same alley. It would be from some time in the period during which the Princess Theatre was used as a cinema, 1912-1969. By the way, it confirms the function of the present 'alley' with its elaborate portico (my photo of which may be seen on the Leake St Cafeteria page). It was the side exit (and perhaps also an entrance?) to the Cinema.

And here's the ghost sign of the Princess Theatre itself, now thoughtfully revealed above the Kakulas Sister sign - which used to be higher and so cover it. Update: I notice that the old sign is fading and may need to be repainted - and so made less ghostly - as there appears to be an intention to retain it.

20 May 2020. The sign is indeed ghostly now. Michael Finn, the owner, assured me he will get it repainted asap. 'It's on the list'.

Sadliers

Facade of 36 Henry Street, the Sadlier building, now a private residence, with re-emergent sign which only became visible again in late 2016. My photo 5 July 2017.

Ales Wines Spirits

Quarry St, 23, cnr Barnett St. ALES WINES SPIRITS Retailed Here. If they take the rest of the rendering off, the sign will be gone. But it looks as tho it's intended to leave it like this for now.

Victor Motors

This sign has been revealed by the demolition of buildings on Henderson Street on the site of the former Carters building.

The photo is courtesy Roel Loopers.

R&I

The bottom line has R&I - for the Rural & Industries Bank - which became Bankwest, the outfit that swindled the owner of the National Hotel out of his property - after he heroically restored it after some worthless children burnt it mostly down. Can anyone make out the top line? This is the southern side of the building I call the Lewis building after its first owner. Most of the downstairs is now Il Cibo. A didgeridoo shop was a tenant until recently.

Chalwell Wreckers

This was at 37 Wood St Fremantle in a photo taken 1 January 2008, and already too late, as the sign can barely be deciphered (especially as I over-reduced the size of the photo). CHALWELL WRECKERS moved to the corner of Wood and Stack, but they left there quite a while ago, and that building is also now no longer in use by them.

And these are the last days of not just the sign but 37 Wood St itself: the workman is actually dismantling the facade brick by brick as we watch - whence the new (and very temporary!) sign FREE BRICKS. Date: December 2012. The site is now an open yard used for storing building material or whatever.

This is about to become a ghost sign - by disappearing. This is the next Chalwell Wreckers establishment after the one above, tho they moved from here years ago. This building and another two or three adjacent are owned by a truck driver who apparently collects wrecked machinery - like wombats (bobcats) and tractors.

Here's a ghost sign in reverse: one just appearing. I wish I'd kept a photo of the completed work. It not only said PARNELL SIGNS, but also had a huge three-dimensional paintbrush with three large drops of (three-dimensional) paint falling from it. And now it's gone again, thus spuriously qualifying it as a 'ghost sign', when Parnell's took their business elsewhere, or went out of it altogether.
The business there now is Tinsmith Garage, which sells coffee ... and rebuilt VWs.

Library:
John T. Lyons was a signwriter. Here he is painting a sign for William Hooper, a watchmaker and jeweller in High Street from 1881 to 1940/41. Mr Hooper supplied and installed the Town Hall clock, which arrived from England aboard the SS Port Darwin on 4 April 1888. Ref. no. 2182, n.d.

UnderAdult

UnderAdult, photo courtesy of Franc Koning (from Facebook). It was the Underground Adult Shop in Queen Street. Just around the corner, at 6 Elder Place, there was an 'adult' (porn) cinema called Cine 2. I don't know if there was a connexion.

Two for the price of one. The sign on the corner pediment is d.hair.co (with a 'daisy' top left). It was a hair salon with the email address lisadaisy@hotmail.com.

The shops just before demolition began.

Just for fun

Thanks to Roel Loopers for this one.

References and Links

Ghost Signs UK - the original site

Ghost Signs Australia (nothing from WA until they used two of the signs above)

Paul Barry's bio of Bond - reference tba.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 4 January, 2016 and hosted at freotopia.org/signs/index.html (it was last updated on 26 July, 2023), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.