Edmonton's 'ghost signs' resurrected online with help of new website
Edmonton’s historic ghost signs are getting new life online.
Luba Romanko is the Edmontonian behind a new online archive called
Hunting for Ghost Signs, which shows off some of the best-known local examples of the hand-painted messages that once advertised stores and services in the city.
“It is our history. It is the history of the working class people in Edmonton. We need to keep this history with us,” she said.
Once the primary mode of advertising, all of the signs were painted by hand in the early- to mid-1900s by painters known as wall dogs. Tucked away down alleyways and on the sides of old buildings, they promote everything from cigars and coffee to hotels and sportswear.
