Past Tense

Ghost Signs

1. Grandma’s Boy, Granville & Robson

2. Louvre Saloon, Carrall, alley north of Hastings. This is the oldest ghost sign in town, dating from the old west, sometime between 1897 (when the Louvre moved in) and 1905 (when the Louvre Saloon became the Louvre Hotel). On the lower left it says “Boston House/up the alley/clean beds 20c.” This was likely Boston Millinery Rooms, listed in the 1899 Williams directory and run by a hat maker named Miss Mary Logan.

3. Bond & Ricketts Signs, Carrall, alley north of Hastings. This is just below the Louvre Saloon/Boston House signs. It’s hard to make out here, but it says “…& CANDLES / …Ricketts Signs / …shing.” Bond & Ricketts Ltd was founded in 1908 and later became Seaboard Advertising, the first sign company bought by Jimmy Pattison in 1967.

4. The Beacon, Hastings west of Carrall. This sign has since been recovered with new ones. It’s for an SRO hotel that would’ve been named after the Beacon Theatre (originally the 2nd Pantages) across the street, where the Portland Hotel is now located.

5. Cunningham’s Drug Store, Hastings & Columbia. These red signs were uncovered a few years ago after BC Collateral pawn shop closed down. They date to at least the 1930s, and although they’ve since been covered with an awning, they’re still visible from the sidewalk below.

6. Shelley’s Bakery, William and Victoria. This one is probably from the mid-1920s when Victoria Drive Grocery opened up. The building is being renovated for some kind of eatery, but the owner plans on preserving the sign.

7. GA Barrett & Co., 538 Westminster. This one was revealed briefly in 2003 when the new Chinese Benevolent Association building was being built between Keefer and Pender on Main Street. GA Barrett was a real estate company and this sign would’ve been from before 1910 when Westminster Avenue was renamed Main Street. Source: RedPistol on flickr.

There’s a good little article on the city’s ghost signs on Open File.